Surprisingly very good!

Rating: 7/10 (6 May 2012)

It was a surprise that I actually liked Marvel's The Avengers. My expectations were a film about a bunch of superheroes exercising their powers for the sheer amusement of the comic-book fans. Indeed, I was right about the exercise of power (naturally enough) but the way such showing-off was employed is what I like about the film. While, on the surface the events may seem to revolve about a group of mentally immature superheroes, there are several references to a deeper meaning, presented in a hilarious, light way with focus on both action and dialogue alike.
The undertone found in The Avengers has to do with the current universal trend of freedom and rebels. Loki makes it clear that his purpose is to fix the 'problem' which earth inhabitants have of misunderstanding the meaning of 'freedom' claiming they 'are made to be ruled'. Also, there is an indirect mention of fallen regimes, in general, and particularly the fall of the Soviet Union. Though this subject is not dealt with depth, it gives some weight to the light nature of the film. A film about superheroes is not expected to tackle serious issues but, at the same time, films whose main aim is to entertain the viewer should still not be an embodiment of triviality as is the case in many comedies of the last few years.
This is delivered through a balance between action and dialogue. The film is action-packed like a superhero film should be, though this does not come at the expense of dialogue; action sequences are supported by the amazing CGI (with a special nod to the resemblance between Dr Banner and the Hulk). Dialogue, similarly, plays an important role in the development of events and the relationship between the characters.
Wittily, this is coated with a fair amount of good humour. Though some jokes could be predictable, the spontaneity of the performances makes them, unarguably, funny. For example, towards the end, when Rogers is giving orders to policemen, what follows is pretty predictable but the spontaneity of the policeman made viewers laugh despite themselves. Non-verbal humour even mounts to a point when viewers clapped hard – when Dr Banner's 'other guy'shut Loki up with a slight movement of his huge arms.
Such elements gather, in the end, to make a film that, successfully, transcends the circle of comic-book fans, delivering one of the best films of the season.