I love it when a superhero group (and a juggling act) come together

Rating: 8/10 (26 June 2012)

Personally, I prefer superhero soloists to superhero teams, perhaps because it is easier to delve into and devote more time to a single superhero's characteristics, psychological motivations, and objectives. Also, I think, by their very nature, superheroes tend to be defiant, isolated loners - they are different from, and surpass the abilities of, common people. Therefore, I was particularly pleased by director Joss Whedon's triple accomplishment in "The Avengers". He faced the challenge of plausibly uniting, and coalescing several different actors with different acting qualities - especially when only one of them, Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man, has any national recognizability (no knock against the rest of the ensemble group, of course). Whedon faced the challenge of combining and meshing several wildly disparate superheroes resolutely used to being "lone wolves" and functioning solo. Finally, Whedon faced the challenge of giving each hero equal substantial time to strut their stuff in the spotlight, even the deceptively ordinary, non-superpowered Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). I think Whedon admirably succeeds on all three counts.
I also admire Whedon's deliberate, deft restraint in plotting "The Avengers". Much as it might chafe adrenaline addicts impatiently waiting for the cataclysmic New York smackdown, the movie takes its time to establish the god of mischief and evil Loki's (Tom Hiddleston') nefarious partnership with the Predator-like aliens the Chitari and their unholy contract (Chitauri, in exchange for the Tesseract's (or Cosmic Cube's) improbably infinite power, send an endless horde of warriors through a space portal to help Loki conquer Earth). There's a lot of necessary exposition in this first half of the movie. "The Avengers" not only has to gradually reveal Loki's ultimate motives and introduce (and reintroduce) each superhero's personality and conflicts. The movie must also surmount various obstacles (including slam-bang infighting and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s latent exploitation of the Tesseract to develop extraterrestrial pre-emptive strike weaponry) to the Avengers becoming a cohesive fighting unit. With the commanding, no-nonsense guidance of unflappable S.H.I.E.L.D. commander Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson), the Avengers grudgingly but steadily get their act together. They realize that saving the Earth takes priority over petty squabbles, disagreements, and even betrayals (including the one Black Widow uses to bring and unleash Dr. Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) into the fold). Yes, that's a lot of exposition to keep straight, but Whedon handles this mammoth task well.
Eventually, we get to the global battle, and what a colossal battle royale it is! Again, Whedon displays his juggling skills as all the Avengers make their unique contributions towards fighting the Chitauri threat. The director modulates the rousing fight scenes well enough so you don't eventually feel overwhelmed and worn out. The only three critical observations I have about the conflict are these: 1) the Chitauri, gliding in on their aerial cycles, seemed to serve the same purpose as the battle droids in the "Star Wars" prequels: gun fodder. In other words, they seemed to go down much too easily. Their only advantage was sheer weight of numbers, 2) it's a major miracle no citizens get killed, and 3) who's going to pay for the clean-up afterwards? Wait, there may be a fourth, shouldn't it occurred to the Avengers earlier that closing the portal was the solution? Ahh, whatever! It's a stupendous spectacle! Beside's the spectacle, there's much to savor in "The Avengers". Whedon, especially through the smartaleck banter of the self-absorbed Iron Man/Tony Stark, provides several hilarious one-liners and dialogue that keep this enterprise from sinking into ponderous self-importance. However, ironically, the wrathful Hulk provides the movie's three funniest scenes, especially when he confronts the vainglorious Loki at Stark's phallic tower and dismisses him as a "Puny god!" Downey and Ruffalo engage in inspired techno-speak when attempting to locate the Tesseract. Even the "non-superheroes", especially Fury's self-sacrificing man Friday Phil Coulson, demonstrate their heroism. Of course, the CGI special effects, including the way the Hulk resembles a pumped-up Mark Ruffalo and the undulating Chitauri spaceships resembling ancient whale skeletons, are mind-boggling but convincing.
I could ramble on and not begin to cover all the facets of this successful production. If you like Marvel, the Avengers, balanced ensemble work, and/or full-throated action thrillers, I think you'll love this movie. If you prefer cerebral, contemplative movies, I think you may find something to like about "The Avengers". The Dark Knight and any future adaptation of The Justice League of America should tremble at the high standard they have to reach. So be it! P.S.: If you have the patience to wade through the end credits, you will see a post-scene midway which sets up the sequel, where the Avengers will encounter the embodiment of death itself. At the very end, you will see our beloved superheroes enjoying shawarma in a deli. I looked up "shawarma" on Wikipedia - think shiskebob or gyro.