At the time of writing, Avengers: Age of Ultron is less than three weeks away. The excitement I have for that film is unparalleled to anything but the release of the first adventure - a film four years in the making and merging together characters from four franchises. It was a move no one expected will do well, as movie crossovers were usually kept for the DVD market or for horror icon clashes (Freddy VS Jason and Alien VS Predator are prime examples). And yet, it broke records aplenty, besting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two's opening weekend with $200m+ over three days and breaking the $1bn mark within three weeks. With that and The Dark Knight Rises, also released that summer and breaking the $1bn mark, superhero movies became big stuff. Fast forward three years and before its sequel, in a time where Marvel Studios is king, with each of their movies since passing $600m worldwide and a slate which apparently goes as far as 2028 - a slate ever-changing, as proven by their acquisition of Spider-Man. Main competitor DC is rushing through their attempt following financial success Man of Steel, Fox is rejuvenating life into both the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises, and Sony has been unable to match the quality or success with their Spider-Man films after their sequel-baiting attempts in Amazing Spider-Man 2 lead to yet another reboot. But looking back, does Avengers Assemble actually work?
The movie follows on from the events of all five movies before it, but canonically closest to Captain America: The First Avenger following the defrosting of "Capsicle" Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). Loki (Tom Hiddleston) survived his fall at the end of Thor and is now alleging with an unknown entity as he's given the task to steal the Tesseract and begin an invasion on Earth. Once arriving, he steals not only the film's macguffin but also various S.H.I.E.L.D workers, including Thor's friend Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) and Clint "Hawkeye" Barton (Jeremy Renner). With the world now at the risk of being wiped out, Director Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and assistant Maria Hill (Colbie Smulders) are forced to enforce the Avengers Initiative - bringing together all the heroes currently in their database to save the world when no one else can. This team consists of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) - who's currently testing out safe renewable energy reserves with new build Stark Tower - Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo, replacing Edward Norton following The Incredible Hulk), Steve Rogers and Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth). As expected, they don't get along very well, but following a tragedy amongst their ranks they figure out how to down Loki and his armada of Chitauri - aliens who abide to his rule - alongside S.H.I.E.L.D agent and obligatory female team member Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson). With its two+ hour runtime, the film manages to squeeze all of this into three clear segments: act one covers the threat and brings the team together; act two shows these characters clash with one another and see just what they have to face; then act three goes all bombastic and features up to 30 minutes of battle and warfare. But as concise as it sounds, with what it features helps carry out the great film that this is.
With films with large casts, it's often the case that a handful of the actors will be side-lined, and this is the case here with Renner who obtains the role of Avenger after working under the influence of Loki for the majority of the film. Once he's out of the trance he's still a bit undercut but adds some fun where he can - but you do have to wait an hour for that side of him to turn up, as instead you're left with a rather stern look on his face. On the plus side, he leaves plenty of room for the rest of the team and even Hiddleston's Loki, who because they have something more to do show why they deserve more attention. The most admirable is Johansson, who despite not being graced with any powers like her comrades holds her own amongst the ensemble, with slower scenes such as her interrogation with Loki also being the most tense and adding a bit of humanity to the team. But that's not to say the rest of the team falters by comparison. Ruffalo does a stellar job in taking over the reigns of his predecessor and standing his ground; Hemsworth is somewhat tied down by his lengthier dialogue but does so with pizazz, continuing the belief that he be worthy to possess the power of Thor; Evans succeeds in bringing his character to the present day by not limiting him to confusion but instead with leadership skills following him from the past; and Downey Jr is as ever the poster boy, filled with all the quips needed to lighten the mood. It’s also worth noting that they all have excellent chemistry with one another, thus sealing the deal that this madcap team can feasibly work.
Meanwhile, you have Jackson as the spearhead for the scheme, given the difficult job alongside Johansson and Clark Gregg of making it all work. Jackson does get a few little action sequences, but with Smulders and Gregg are mainly there as part of the organisation than the team itself. That said, all three have good performances, with Gregg standing out slightly as he's given a sizable chunk more to do than his previous appearances in Iron Man 1 and 2 and later Thor with an emotional blow at the midway point in classic Whedon fashion. But outside of the Avengers team itself, it's Tom Hiddleston who's at risk of stealing the whole thing. His success in both this and Thor allowed for an extended appearance in Thor: The Dark World and he's been confirmed for a small scene in Age of Ultron, and it's evident through his performance here that he deserves all the additional attention. He's just someone to be amazed by as he carries the film with such gravitas.
Something which may come to a surprise to viewers who haven't seen any Phase 2 entries is that this film is a lot funnier than its prior instalments. Whilst the Iron Man series had its share of jokes and Thor had "Another!" plastered all over its trailers, no one could have amounted for what's seen here - something which is accustomed to Whedon fans. Thanks to Joss Whedon's direction and screenplay, the film manages to stand out more against not only what it follows on from but also what it's up against by the competition. Whilst DC remains dark and brooding following the success of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, Whedon showcases what makes Marvel different - it's fun, it's light-hearted and a lot more enjoyable for a wider audience.
And that's the biggest selling point for the film. Not how well the story is - albeit with a slight pause for the action scenes, as epic as they are - or the performances, but the script. If the film was the same story-wise but followed the same conventions as the Dark Knight trilogy, you wouldn't have nearly as good a film. Joss Whedon was pulled this cinematic universe into the public eye and made it the juggernaut that it is now, and every film since has been trying to repeat that success. And with the release of sequel Age of Ultron so close now and the return of Whedon on direction and scripting duties for a final time, it's no wonder it's so anticipated. Avengers Assemble, as weird a name it is, is an assembly that may not have been required but was amazing nonetheless. The story has its weak points at times, and Alan Silvestri's score is memorable only by its main theme, but as the spearhead for a rejuvenated franchise, it's a great one. 9/10.
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