Believe in Heroes in "The Avengers"

Rating: 10/10 (7 May 2012)

Back on Earth through time and space, imperially arrogant god Loki (Tom Hiddleston) says, "Freedom is the great lie" Thor's half brother will make the world his new kingdom. The brave souls, who stand in his path, are The Avengers. Director and Writer Joss Whedon's "The Avengers" convincingly assembles solo superheroes and super egos to battle Loki and his alien minions in one of the year's best movies. Think of Whedon as Coach Phil Jackson, but for superheroes. Robert Downey Jr. as brash Tony Stark threatens Norse god Loki, "If we can't protect the Earth, you can be damn sure we'll avenge it." "The Avengers" is awesome.
The classic hero story requires a commanding villain, and that is Tom Hiddleston as Loki. Hiddleston is charismatic evil and sympathetic sadness. He evokes certain pathos for Loki, feeling betrayed by his foil half brother Thor, strong and compassionate Chris Hemsworth. Thor fights with all his might against his brother, out of love and honor. Blond maned and shredded Hemsworth balances aloof charm and conviction as Thor. Whedon's "The Avengers" is timelessly inspiring: We believe in heroes who believe in themselves and others and would sacrifice their lives for the noble and just cause. I think the captivating leads of "The Avengers" are Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans. Downey Jr. brilliantly hides beneath Iron Man's Tony Stark's cynical narcissistic veneer, a caring man wiser than his smart ass punch lines. Evans is surprising. Aside from looking amazingly chiseled he embodies in Steve Rogers (Captain America) a self doubting relevance, while the inspired leader emerges. His Rogers is the frozen super soldier who awakens 70 years later into a new war.
The cool Stark and the solid Rogers clash passionately. Stark mourns a fallen friend. Rogers asks if this is the first time he has lost a soldier. Stark screams, "We are not soldiers!" Whedon and Zak Pen's story is kinetically driven, with the foundation laid in character. Powerful egos and intentions must coalesce and foster value and respect—as some sort of functional family tasked with saving the world.
Whedon generates amazing performances, and infuses welcome wit and humor. To that end, Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury, Director of the clandestine S.H.I.E.L.D., maybe the sinuous plot device. After making a career of cameos in previous Marvel superhero movies, Jackson fleshes out his bad ass Fury. He brings a refreshing gruff self awareness, after all The Avengers was his initiative so that these heroes would fight the fight we couldn't. However, is he the tough love patriot or calculated manipulator? Jackson cannily walks that fine line. Beautiful and idealist Cobie Smulders as loyal Agent Hill is Fury's social conscience. Stark, Rogers, and Dr. Banner (Mark Ruffalo) discern Fury's possible other motives shrouded in National Security.
Exiled Loki brokers an alliance with the warrior alien race, the Chitauri. The Chitauri will let him rule Earth, if he brings them the Tesseract (Hyper Cube). The Tesseract harnesses the power of the galaxy, and is mysteriously tied to both Thor and Captain America. Loki uses the Tesseract to escape exile and breach S.H.I.E.L.D. Obtaining Tesseract, he brainwashes brave Agent Hawkeye (solid Jeremy Renner). Loki has a grand scheme. Expert straight man Clark Gregg as reliable Agent Coulson must call upon the team to protect the world. Scarlett Johansson is hot and deadly as Agent Natasha (Black Widow). She dispatches Russian mafia captors with Muay Thai and jujitsu in Jason Statham like style. She heads off to Calcutta to find Dr. Bruce Banner, and his raging green alter ego The Hulk. Ruffalo adds an understated brilliance and goofy charm that humanizes. We really believe that he has made his peace and controlled the "other guy". Coulson calls upon Stark (Downey Jr.), who is in the midst of clean power sourcing his Stark Tower. Stark has a playful relationship with his partner Pepper Potts (funny and beautiful Gwyneth Paltrow). Too bad Paltrow isn't leveraged more in "The Avengers".
Of course assembling a bunch of super powered heroes is not immediate team building. Whedon orchestrates spectacular clashes amongst themselves. Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America battling in the dark forest is visually stunning. The Hulk taking on Thor is wild and strangely comical. The Hulk gets the prize for his cage match with evil Loki. The audience exploded in applause. Ruffalo is amazing. His casual nerd nicely bonds with Downey Jr.'s impatient genius. Renner as Hawkeye is solid and edgy, and plays nice. Johansson looks awesome in the black body suit. Even more impressive she shades the darkness and nobility of Natasha. She has a killer scene with Hiddleston at the story arc.
"The Avengers" delivers with the explosive visual spectacle as our heroes risk their lives battling the powerful aliens as they pulverize New York City. Whedon is masterful with the action and the characters. He makes us believe in heroes in "The Avengers".