Marvel’s The Avengers

Caught this twice in theatres aka a very rare occurrence for me. The only other movie I watched twice in theatres was I Am Number Four because I had nothing better to do. Anw there are a lot of things I respect and love about The Avengers, so I just thought I’d write about it!

First of all, can I just say how much I love that the film title is “Marvel’s The Avengers” instead of just “The Avengers”? It means so much because you are acknowledging Marvel Comics for creating these awesome characters, characters brought to life in film.

And the cast! I think I actually love this cast more than The Hunger Games cast (for the first film anyway). I have never watched the individual superhero movies (Thor, Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man etc) at all before but that makes me unbiased toward The Avengers and able to judge it as a film on its own, no? 🙂

Or it could also be because some of them have starred in other films that I love. Chris Hemsworth (A Perfect Getaway), Mark Ruffalo (13 Going On 30, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Shutter Island), Tom Hiddleston (War Horse, Midnight In Paris), Jeremy Renner (28 Weeks Later omg ily – see pic below). And of course it doesn’t hurt that everyone is good-looking 😀

Oh and the fact the they, the original actors for their individual superhero films (other than Hulk I think?), came together for The Avengers? Utmost respect. Well anyway, on to the film.

Not sure if I was tired or what but I was half asleep during the first hour the first time I watched it. Thought there was a bit too much talking (but I did understand the purpose of this buildup). I did love everything else and it would be around a high 8/10. Paid close attention to everything the second time and absorbed the dialogue and now it’s been boosted to a near 10/10 aka something I can watch over and over again.

First half of the film was spent introducing all 6 Avengers and giving them a back story, through flashbacks etc. Good for people like me who know nothing about these superheroes. Everyone has a distinct personality and their own unique abilties which are shown to be put in good use during the film.

For instance, Black Widow doesn’t have superpowers but she’s skilled in interrogation, and in the movie she has displayed this skill at least twice and the villians themselves think they have the upperhand, without even realising that they are giving Black Widow all the information she wants. And with that, she breaks through the female stereotype that is included to ‘make everything look less gay’.

Heard that Black Widow and Hawkeye actually pale in comparison to the other heroes in the comics but I think the film did a wonderful job in portraying them! They aren’t technically heroes or gods but they shine just as much as the rest in the film. In fact if I had to pick a favourite, it would be Hawkeye but that could have something to do with Jeremy Renner hehehe.

HOW CAN I NOT LOVE YOU

Love how each and every character gets enough screentime, even the less significant ones like the other agents. Felt quite sad at the part where Phil fought even till his last breath and what Nick Fury said about him still having faith. Though I wish that the thing about Phil’s vintage card collection was real and not deliberate!

And how Nick Fury makes his own decisions and defies his superiors for what he think is right. He himself put faith in the Avengers too and I think there is a lot to be learnt from his character as well. The right thing to do is not always the easiest and not everyone will agree with you but it’s your choice, your call, and you see through it.

People like Phil and Nick show that you don’t have to have powers, be immortal, or be a lead character to achieve greatness. Phil’s death was sad but also an integral influence in bringing The Avengers together as a team. As for Nick, he defied his superiors to stand up for what he felt was right and his faith. Sometimes, faith is just what people need.

While it is not an uncommon “structure”, I did like how you think it’s just the hero versus villian but in the end the third party turns out to be the actual villian. In this case, the third party was the government who was later revealed to have started the whole mess due to their desire to build nuclear weapons of mass destruction with the Tesseract. (Safe House, anyone?)

As usual, my favourite is the psychological aspect. Despite having background info on each Avenger solely from this film (even till now I haven’t Wiki-ed them), it was enough for me to identify each Avenger’s inner demon and weakness. Not very sure for some but I think the most significant ones were Hulk and Iron Man. Love how everyone managed to overcome their own demons in the end.

• Iron Man: Captain America said that Iron Man only fights for himself when they were arguing. But at the end of the film, Iron Man was prepared to sacrificed himself to save the city from destruction by the missile. He was warned that it would be a “one-way” trip but he went anyway and I nearly cried when I thought he was going to die. Though there was this glimmer of hope inside me that said they wouldn’t kill him off because The Avengers is supposed to be all 6 of them.

• Hulk: He hates who he is so much to the extent that he refers to his Hulk self as “the other person” and even tried killing himself. He loses control easily which Loki makes use of. Yet by the end of the film he has accepted himself for who he is, and able to admit that he “is always angry”. With this admittance and acceptance, he can finally control this anger. At the start he tells one of the Avengers that he is “exposed” and has no armor and basically useless, but we have all seen what he is capable off. He is perceived by everyone to be the strongest of the team (“We have a Hulk”). His brute strength has fended off loads of the army freaks, beaten Loki into submission, and it was also him who saved Iron Man.

• Captain America: Out of all 6, I think his backstory is the most unclear to me. Ice jokes aside, what I know so far is that he is a war soldier who got experimented on but he was asleep for 70 years in ice because of a self-sacrifice or what? Anyway I’m guessing his biggest problem is that he can’t really grasp the new ways of people and their thinking after being asleep for 7o years. About fighting, war, etc. Not very sure but I get that vibe.
  

• Thor: He feels that it is his fault that Loki comes to Earth wanting to rule it (stemmed off from his being rejected by his father and following Thor to Earth for revenge??). The brothers are estranged but in the end, they return to Asgard aka “home” together.

• Loki: Feels rejected by his family and overwhemled with desire to rule but lacks conviction. I think there was this one little scene where he did look like he saw the error of his ways but according to him, “it’s too late” or something. But I think he gets it and anyway he goes back with his brother in the end.

• Black Widow: Wants to erase all the “red” and bad records she has (it’s her interrogation tactic but it’s still true) and even though we didn’t see all the bad thing she did, no flashbacks or anything, but from Loki’s words we understand the extent of her misdeeds. But I feel that by the end of the movie she feels that she has redeemed herself and is no longer that haunted by the past.

• Hawkeye: Is compromised, kils a lot of his own people. So imagine the guilt that comes with that but I think he’s able to not let it consume him, especially with Black Widow’s encouragement.
  

Like what Loki said to Black Widow, there are things you try to forget, but they always stay with you. It’s learning to come to terms with stuff and accepting it as part of who you are. Nice seeing all of them having conquered the thorns in their hearts instead of being consumed by them.

By the way, was Phil’s comment to Captain America about having watched him sleep a dig at Twilght?
Hahaha plus points to that!

Minor references to the individual superhero films here and there if I deduced correctly, but not too many or foreign to understand. But at the same time it’s like sort of a treat to fans who have seen the superhero films? Witty dialogue with the right amount of humour as well.

Love this too much to not post here!

It’s also a film of depth because it’s not just heroes saving the day and yay, you know? At one of the ending scenes, the film discussed the everlasting argument of whether superheroes are actually heroes or causing destruction. They didn’t go into it since that wasn’t the focus of the storyline but I think it was a nice touch.

It was discussed in the form of newflash(es) where people are being interviewed. Some worship the Avengers to the extent of getting tattoos, masks and beards. Then we have the cynical and skeptical people. Pretty wholesome. It’s not a war film and I don’t actually consider it a “war” in technical terms, but they actually briefly approached the issue of the after-effects of war and destruction.

Prior to this scene, during the epic finale battle, I was already thinking if they would talk about the destruction caused. So imagine my delight when they did!

And then on to the battle. Freaking epic and totally up to what I expect from a superhero film. Not to mention how classic I find the part where all 6 Avengers stood tall together. It just says so much. Working together as a team despite their extremely different personalities, being courageous and prepared to die.

Just love this part so much. It lasts a mere few seconds but I still find it a classic. A classic scene to me is one that really stands out brilliantly in a film, one that you will always remember. For example, many people consider the scene where Rose and Jack in Titanic stand on the deck under the sunset a classic (I do too).

And the final scene of the Stark Tower with only the “A” lit up? Most flawless and best way to end the film ever, I can’t think of anything better. It basically sums up the film in whole. A for Avengers – you remarkable people are an even more remarkable team.

Amazing closing sequence too (click to see), one of the best I’ve seen (Girl With he Dragon Tattoo has an amazing opening sequence). Probably a lot of work but I always wonder why don’t all movies put effort into the opening and closing sequences too because to me, it’s worth a lot of extra points 😀

Pretty sad the scene where all 6 Avengers go for a meal together as suggested by Iron Man when he regained consciousness was cut off wtf. Aparently everyone was quiet and it was an awkward meal since they weren’t proper friends to begin with hahaha.

All in all, The Avengers has everything I expect to see in a superhero film and more, portrayed in 143 minutes. Truly impressive. I thought I may be liking and praising the film too much, but I just checked IMDB and itranks #31 on the Top 250 Chart. Fucking impressive for a film that is still showing in theatres!

[All stills edited by me. Lazy to link and credit all gifs individually, but you can find them on The Avengers tag on my Tumblr.]