The Avengers Review: There Was An Idea

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There was an idea… in 2008 that for the first time in film, there could exist a universe that emulated what comics had been capable of doing for decades.  Comics had been capable of connecting characters that existed independently and then putting them together with others that were so wildly different that it shouldn’t work but somehow it did. In the comics, the characters would be off doing their own things for the most part and occasionally having a mini crossover with one or two other characters but then every once in a while, there would be a big event that called in all the major characters.

These stories would be grand, epic, and world-ending, plus it would allow us to see characters we never thought would meet have conversations. No one thought this would work in the movies.  It’s too hard and requires too much commitment from the audience.  They would have to watch movies that were seemingly not connected to understand the big event film. 

No general audience would do that. So Marvel played it smart, they took a lot of time and effort in creating those initial films to make sure they were first and foremost good films. They would make characters that the audiences would gravitate towards and then sprinkle in references to connect them to a bigger event.  This event was The Avengers in 2012. Five films that were all building towards this common goal. This is where the Marvel Cinematic Universe was truly born.

Now for a bit of context, I absolutely love this film. Not only, is it my favourite of Phase 1 but up until 2019, it was my favourite MCU film without hesitation. This also happens to be the movie I have seen the most without a doubt. When I got the DVD as a kid, I watched it 14 times in 2 weeks.

If you are doing the math, yes that is once a day for 2 weeks. I didn’t care, I couldn’t get enough. I used to get sick a fair bit as a kid too and when I stayed home from school I watched this movie nearly every single time. I basically alternated between the MCU and Harry Potter and if I watched the MCU, this was a guarantee.

In my opinion, the best part about this movie is the character interactions. When I eventually do an MCU ranking you’ll find that all four Avengers movies are quite high for this exact reason.  I just like seeing these very different characters put into situations where they have to work together.  Like how does a near-god-like Thor talk to the super genius Tony Stark? What does the boy scout Steve Rogers have in common with an assassin like Natasha Romanoff?

Even before we get to the action scenes, I just love this stuff. The scene on the Helicarrier is one of the best not only for some great character setup that gets paid off in this film as well as like eight years later but also for watching the clashing of personalities.  My personal favourite is the exchanges between Tony and Steve because the words said in this interaction obviously echo throughout the rest of the franchise.  This is what I loved about the few comics I read and the cartoons I watched seeing characters team up. 

I love the Avengers because they are different than the X-Men or the Fantastic Four as those two are more like families and they are more relatable than the Justice League. They are a team brought together by circumstance to do something great.  There’s only one character that wasn’t super established before this film and that’s Hawkeye. He does have a two-minute cameo in Thor but otherwise, this is the first time you get to see him. His character doesn’t get as much focus in this film as he will later but we know he has a relationship with Natasha and he is a badass with a bow. 

Loki gets to shine more than he did in Thor and like I mentioned in that review he gets to be even more charming in this film. Even though he is probably more villainous in this movie he does it with a smile. His wit and his comebacks for everything said make us laugh with him. He has his moments where he is threatening as well which allows the audience to laugh and cheer when he gets his comeuppance.  I love Loki in this movie. His outfit is iconic, his lines are memorable and this is what really started the craze for his character. 

Now let’s talk about the action.  The last 30 minutes of this film is one of my favourite 3rdacts of all time.  From the moment that Tony Stark is thrown out of Stark Tower, it is a non-stop thrill ride.  It all culminates in the circle shot that if you have a scene in the movie you know quite well because it is so iconic.  Everyone gets their moment to shine with each character doing something cool during the battle. The characters even play off of each other while they are fighting. 

We get to see combo moves and the different fighting styles working in harmony to take out their foe.  It’s great because there is an onslaught of aliens, so the Avengers can take them down.  I just love the team moments that we get through the fighting. I like when Cap gives everyone their orders, when Hawkeye gives Tony tips, or when we see Hulk and Thor take down the Leviathan together. My two favourite moments are when we see Iron Man use his repulsor beams on Cap’s shield to take down loads of enemies and when Hulk beats up Loki in Stark Tower.

This movie was a huge risk for Marvel. If this failed the experiment was over before it could even shed its training wheels.  This was the goal that they had when they started with Iron Man and they accomplished it. If audiences hadn’t liked it we probably wouldn’t have seen anymore. Luckily this movie exploded being the first Marvel movie to make a billion dollars.  It was in theatres for five months as people couldn’t get enough of this crowd-pleaser.

Going forward this gave the MCU the status of basically a must-watch, but I will tell you at what point it actually becomes a must-watch later. This heightened everything a superhero movie could be.  On a personal note, this movie also influenced my love of movies. I always loved movies but after this I was googling constantly so I knew which MCU films were being made, when the trailers were coming out, and most importantly when the next Avengers was happening.

So yeah, this movie was the definition of a slam dunk. No matter how many times I have seen it I always come back to it with a smile.  The moment when the team is finally assembled is etched in my brain forever and I don’t think I am not the only one.  If you have yet to check this one out, do so as this is the film that defined the universe!