Greetings, heroes!
I am, like many of you, prepping for Avenger’s: Endgame so I decided to do something that I’ve been meaning to do for a while: revisit the film that kicked off a decades long, twenty two film body of work and a multi-billion dollar industry which fueled the now terrifying entertainment monopoly that is Disney.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. I remember seeing this movie all the way back in 2012 in the theaters and I remember getting it on DVD as soon as I could. I remember loving the movie, loving the fandom, loving the theories and all but has the movie aged well?
Let’s discuss.
The 2012 film directed by Joss Whedon was met with box office and critical success and I’ve given the film a few recent re-watches. Considering that I am, in fact, The Prince of Unpopular Opinions, we’re going to talk about the negative first.
This movie is in fact the film that kicked off the third act bloat in Marvel movies. That entirely pointless battle with an entirely CGI army goes on way too long and while it does have some damn fantastic beats (we’re getting there) it does drag on five-ever (because it’s longer than forever).
Loki’s plan is dumb. I know a lot of his plans are dumb, but his plan is dumb and as a writer that is a sin I’m not willing to ignore.
Some of the characterization is a little flat: Thor and Hawkeye come to mind. Both of these characters have for sure had their ups and downs in the comics too but to have Thor merely be a vaguely British man who needs to be met with a bottle of dry shampoo is boring. Hawkeye is very similar, he is usually quite a fun character but because of plot he’s pretty dry and boring.
There are some inconsistencies as far as tech and effects go in this film. Captain America seems to be talking into nothing when he’s communicating with Tony on the Heli-carrier but that’s a CinemaSins-level nitpick and while I am a Prince of Unpopular Opinions, I am not a jerk.
So, we’ve covered enough negativity.
Let’s talk about this movie.
I love it. I love it just as much as I did when I first saw it in theaters in 2012. But there are a few particular reasons why I love this movie.
One is tone: this movie perfectly manages to capture the various tones in the comic book and of the different characters spread across several decades of lore. Marvel did one thing right: its casting is spot on. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark barely feels like he’s playing a role. Chris Evans as Captain America is perfect. Samuel L. Jackson literally was so powerful that he could change the canon of the comics to make him the new Fury and despite this being a fairly large ensemble cast, no one feels wasted or unneeded, even the heroes without powers.
I really want to give those two a moment of extra praise: a lot of non-comic fans have the same comment about The Avengers as a squad: why don’t you just fill it with magical folks? Well, Black Widow has a purpose and so does Hawkeye and the film lets them be extraordinary while also coping to them being human. Eventually Hawkeye does run out of arrows, Black Widow gets bloody and tired in the Battle of New York. They are both tired and sore and doing their best knowing that they are literally using sticks and stones against freaking aliens.
The action in this movie is superb. I was trying to figure out why I felt so much fatigue with the newer movies, especially the Russo Brothers directed ones that he seems to be trying to capture something Whedon does naturally. The Russos are trying to get that comic book shot that Whedon masters in the first movie, but their attempts like in Avengers: Age of Ultron feels stage and dumb rather than empowering and so cool because Whedon knows what he’s doing.
The dialogue sizzles still. This movie’s tone goes from truly upsetting to hilarious in moments and it never feels wrong or forced. That also goes back to spot on casting, some of the best moments in the movie are improvised and because of that, this movie feels like what it is: a superhero movie.
Comic book characters have a crazy tone tango to balance. How does one make a giant purple space alien threatening? How does one make two semi-queer vaguely British sounding men arguing sound compelling? By keeping them as true to form as possible while still making changes that make sense. Sure, it makes sense that this Iron Man isn’t a coke fiend. Sure, it makes sense that this Thanos doesn’t have the ThanosCopter, even though I’d pay cash money to see that. Sure, it makes sense that this Loki isn’t content to merely steal Thor’s cape and pass it off as an evil plan. It makes sense. Comics and movies are different mediums but you can blend the two and make something truly better than just the sum of its parts. This film embraces the absurd and it is better for it.
I want to talk about memes and humor more in depth because this might be the most memeable movie or at least one of the earliest. All of Tony Stark’s lines are hilarious and he steals the scene in almost every frame he’s in. Dr. Banner’s line towards the end “I’m always angry.” is one I repeat in my real life. This movie was one of the first to really adopt that meme culture would make a film memorable and it did.
The second part I want to really address is vulnerability. Breaking heroes down. The Battle of New York may be some of the finest comic book hero action ever and it’s because you see the toll the battle leaves on the heroes. You see everyone tired. Hawkeye runs out of damn arrows. It’s wonderful. Just wonderful. Those scenes are nearly heartbreaking to see Tony Stark tired and exhausted, to see the Hulk take hits that should blow away anyone else. I mentioned it earlier but there’s really something powerful to seeing heroes bloodied, tired and doing their best but still coming together to save the world.
I could continue on but for now, I’ll wrap things up. This movie was the perfect kick off to the MCU. And now looking back at the other films, I don’t think any of them have managed to live up to the large shoes left behind by the first entry into a now 20 film collection spanning over 10 years. If you haven’t seen the first Avengers film in a while, pop it in. I know it’s been nice to look back to a time when hero movies were a beautiful rarity and their success was a new and exciting thing for fans that were so excited to see their favorite heroes come to life on the big screen for the very first time. You can never go back home again but for now, I’m happy to enjoy just how brilliant this movie is.
See you guys after Endgame.
