The Avengers (2012) Mini-Review — The Analytic Critic
When this movie first came out, Marvel fans went apeshit over how “awesome” it was. Imagine my surprise after watching it; I discovered that it’s highly overrated, narratively lacking, and chock-full of numerous flaws. What do I mean? Let’s take a look.
WRITING:
The script for The Avengers has its moments, but it’s also full of some very stupid concepts dreamed up by Joss Whedon. Let’s start with the fact that Loki returns as the main villain. Someone Thor was able to defeat by himself is now a threat to the Avengers because he’s stolen the tesseract. Ugh.
Okay, you can make the argument that the Chitauri are the main threat in the film, but they don’t even appear until 100 minutes in. That’s a huge no-no. This is ridiculously stupid writing. No offense, Whedon, but your excellent teleplays don’t translate well as screenplays, yet you keep trying it…
Anyway, this leads me to the second major issue with the plot — poor pacing. The Chitauri arrive only for the final action sequence, which is much too long for its own good, by the way. As a result, they aren’t that much of a threat because they’re severely underdeveloped.
Then you have middle sections that don’t have enough action. It takes almost a full hour for the Avengers to actually assemble. The film is both painfully slow and lightning fast, both of which undermine the plot as a whole.
That said, I do like the characters and the dialogue they generally spew. Whedon successfully brings the characters together in a believable way. It’s just unfortunate that most of the character development — well, how little there is — is given in boring monologues instead of organic actions.
CAST:
As much as I am sick of Loki, Tom Hiddleston does do a pretty good job in this role. He and Chris Hemsworth play off each other quite well. However, I’m not a fan of Hemsworth’s Shakespearean delivery — it fits the comic version of Thor, but definitely not the film one.
New to the MCU is Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk. Needless to say, I think Ruffalo is vastly superior to Norton’s, Bana’s, or Ferrigno’s. He also plays Banner quite well. I can actually believe that Banner is incredibly intelligent and aloof.
Relatively new are Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner. Both are okay, but neither is able to stand out with their performances in any way. In fact, neither seems that interested in the material at all.
The best of the bunch might be Chris Evans as Captain America and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. While RDJ has theatrical talent in spades, Evans brings a more natural acting method to the table and the two play off each other wonderfully.
I’ve saved the best for last: Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Jackson is most definitely one of the best actors of our generation, delivering Oscar-worthy performances in pretty much every film he stars in.
PRODUCTION:
Joss Whedon directs this epic mess of a film with some solid cinematography, though the direction of the story is all over the place. Action sequences and choreography are usually quite exciting, yet drone on for far too long sometimes. Characters speak how they’re feeling instead of showing it, which certainly doesn’t do the film any favours.
The lighting, colour correction, and editing are all pretty much outstanding. These all lend themselves to the viewer’s immersion. I also have to commend the elaborate set design, particularly the skyscrapers featured against a green screen. There’s truly an element of scale and grandeur.
The CGI is beautiful, too, capturing a feeling of realism despite having aged eight years. On the other hand, the costumes are almost exclusively bad. Between poor designs and an overabundance of vibrant colours, the characters look less like superheroes and more like cosplayers.
Out of every production element, only one comes close to perfection — the soundtrack. The music always fits the tone of the movie, and the main theme is incredible to listen to, even outside of the film.
SUMMARY:
Yeah, this movie is filled to the brim with ridiculously bad writing, horrible costumes, and some odd casting choices. That said, I can’t deny how fun it can be at times. No matter what kind of viewer you are — casual or critical — you will likely enjoy it to some degree.
The Avengers gets a 5.5. out of 10.
