"You've made me very desperate" I said to Feige. Then the day came when that desperation turned to fulfilment.
7 hours ago I left the first screening of Avengers Assemble at the local cinema. It's hard to know what you think about a movie when you are so content. It's easy for me to join every other reviewer (minus a couple) and say how amazing this movie was. But when those comments and opinions are, in every way, justified it makes my excitement well placed.
After some amazing solo outings it was always going to be difficult to top. The idea of an Avengers movie could easily have outweighed how great it actually was. But somehow Joss Whedon and all at Marvel have managed to sculpt the closing act to the "first wave".
From the score to the action. From the seamless dialogue to the exceptional humour. It is one of those few movies that manages to make you feel every emotion. I love those types of movies. In some of the solo outings it seemed that, on the odd occasion, Captain America's acrobatics didn't materialise. Thor's hammer throwing was few and far between and could appear clunky. Hulk could even feel like he was treading more carefully through Harlem than a Hulk should. Even some of the fight scenes felt, at times to me, well choreographed but staged. This isn't saying I didn't enjoy any of the solo outings but in The Avengers all of the above seems amplified and done just the way they should be done.
It was easy for particular cast members to fall into the background. I feel that in just over two hours they were treated fairly and all had a moment to shine. Steve Rogers was actually my highlight. Instead of a scrawny kid finding his place in battle this actually felt like the stern and inspirational character we've come to know and love. He's relentless in his quest to win 'the war'. Robert Downey Jnr comes second and, somehow, personifies Tony Stark to a tea. It's not just the dialogue between these two that stands out but the evolution of their relationship. To come to an understanding that their initial thoughts on each other's character was wrong. Their relationship alone is the template for the coming together of the entire team.
Thor has the best bite of the action side of things. The emotional stakes are a lot higher for his character so his apprehension in doing battle takes more time to evolve. He's even pleading with his brother to the end. As for Hiddlestone's Loki...he was incredible! Jus when you feel there is humanity in him he brings you back to the reality of his intentions. He's evil through and through. Pulling the strings from beginning to end until he realises the just what kind of deal he's made. There's no point, until the finale, that you feel he wouldn't crush every moving object to obtain what he fault to do in 'Thor'. He's lost any campy cackles and embraced every dark intention that a scorned brother would have had by the end of 'Thor'. He has cemented himself at the top of the villain movie food-chain for all of cinematic history. If anybody 'got' his character more than any other it was Tom.
So what about the characters we've seen very little of in the past? Black Widow gets her real time to shine. Although human amongst superhuman individuals we get the typical strong female lead Whedon has a habit of using. And this is a successful evolution from the glimmer we got in 'Iron Man 2'. But this time she is more amped and deadlier than ever. She possibly grabs more screen time than some of the other, supposedly, bigger characters which helps to balance out the testosterone. We get every emotion from her. She's deadly, emotional, scared but, most of all, inspirational. Like Thor she too has an emotional investment in an element of the story. I think that the fact that her alluded character history matches her comic book version is just as exciting. As for Hawkeye I was gutted that he spent half of the movie in a different situation to the rest. But that serves the story, as a whole, even better.
Nick Fury is much more timid in this. The stakes are higher and he's in a situation where it seems like he can't win. He's a badass and plays the team into the places they need to be. He's quietly calculated in his motivations and his intentions are always for the greater good. Samuel L Jackson is Samuel L Jackson but being a big fan of 'The Ultimates' he's the perfect Nick Fury. Maybe he's not as devious as his comic counterpart but the distrust between himself and The Avengers is present. Maria Hill doesn't have a lot of time to shine maybe but her battling in the opening scene gives us a taste of the fact she will be able to hold her own. This just wasn't the time to explore her character.
Before I lay into Ruffolo I must commend another man. A character I have loved since 'Iron Man'. Agent. Phil Coulsen. He displays his bigger place within SHIELD and how instrumental he is in bringing this team together. Even more so than his presence in most of the solo outings. His important part in this movie is so bittersweet it's perfect.
Selvig plays a bigger part than first thought but I'm not a huge fan of Stellan's delivery in most of his performances. It was good to see his part in 'Thor' given a mention. Pepper makes a cameo (and looks Smokin') and there are reference points for Jane Foster and Hulk's previous outings.
And so...Ruffolo. I was a big fan of Norton. I was enraged when he was dropped. So when I watched this movie why couldn't I see Norton delivering the same lines in the way they were delivered? It worked the same way as Ruffolo delivering Norton's lines in 'The Incredible Hulk'. But this was a very different Banner. I never got the whole "we wanted to try and recreate what Bixby did" waffle. It was good for the character to evolve past that version. But, somehow, I now get it. That "tortured soul". Ruffolo did that. He was warn and weathered. He was a great addition to the cast in both roles. The Hulk himself was a fit of rage on legs. His fights are highlights of the whole movie and the CGI is very well done. Hulk is more animalistic but to know Mark played that on top of the mild mannered Banner deserves applause. I just hope they find the right story to let him shine on his own. I didn't think it was possible to top his incarnation in 'The Incredible Hulk' but it was.
A lot of the above comes down to Whedon. For someone to understand the characters so well and throw that all into an extended war movie AND have the characters shine through is genius. The way the solo movies and all interweaving arcs throughout the movie merge so smoothly without confusion is a masterclass in ensemble movie making. The dialogue was punchy. There wasn't anything that came out of a character's mouth that felt like it didn't belong. The sets and set pieces were well crafted. The Helicarrier deck was great as well as the 'prison'. Even the Dark Energy Research Unit (NASA facility) in the movies opening looks incredible and perfect. Nothing ever feels forced or misplaced. The fight scenes are plentiful and well done. Every throw, punch, beam and catch is done just as it would be on the comic page. They add the fun aspect to the movie and breaks up the many scenes of dialogue.
The only reservation I can think of at the moment are two oddly placed bits of humour. That is it.
Could this movie have benefitted by some additional cast and heroes? No. It would have fed my geeky needs but would only have served to complicate and already difficult task. I'm sure there as some aspects I will add when I have thought it through and words can't even describe the potential in the future after a seat weting mid-credit scene.
Believe the hype. This is a triumph and then some. If you've watched scenes don't feel like you've ruined anything. Many of the released scenes are tweaked. CGI is added in to trailer snippets. To go into a movie with such high expectations and still have those surpassed and a cosmic feeling.
Once I've had a second and third viewing in the next couple of days I shall review my scoring. I want to give it 10/10 but let's not allow the excitement to cloud my judgement. So for now:
Avengers Assemble 9.5/10
As always, your Craptain salutes you!