The prayer of a million fanboys and girls came to pass with the release of The Avengers on March 4, capturing the spirit and silliness of the comic book medium.
The premise of the film is simple.
The Tesseract, a cube of unlimited energy with a sassy personality has been stolen from the grips of the government.
Enter eye-patched government director Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, who will attempt to retrieve the cube before it becomes a gateway for invading alien life forms.
The plot is a mish-mash of clichés from the ’90s with the only saving grace being the injection of Avengers Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, The Black Widow and Hawkeye—the only man in the world who still believes archery is a useful skill against aliens.
The cast of the film is A-list, and the the movie’s greatest attraction is the chemistry between the cast and crew generate.
Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey, Jr., is both polarizing and charismatic as ever, managing to learn about personal sacrifices the hard way.
The Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson, beefs up the stereotypical “emotionally manipulative woman” role to new and interesting levels. Sexist implications aside, the female character quickly establishes herself as vital to the team, a message seriously lacking in other superhero films.
Joss Whedon, director and screenwriter of the film, adds his personal brand of humor that brings a new dimension to the film.
Prior superhero films have had only the occasional witty one-liner or goofy character in its midst. After all, serious superheroes need to have serious films.
Avengers does away with the formula, letting each character get their own moment to crack the audience into tears.
Superhuman brawls, the bread and butter of the comic book industry, are in full force in the film.
Thor versus Iron Man. Hulk versus Iron Man. Thor versus Hulk. Black Widow versus Mr. Archery.
There are more fists and witty one-liners shot here than in the set of a Glee episode. It embraces its brawn-over-brains film status with open arms and delivers all the action its trailer promised.
There are downsides to The Avengers.
The film’s antagonists are excruciatingly one-dimensional and unconvincing. The Chitauri, the invading alien race, resemble Power Ranger villains due to their exaggerated gestures and stilted dialogue.
There was a moment where one expected Rita Repulsa to be riding on the back of the dragons in the final fight, yelling the iconic line “Let my monster grow!”
Thankfully the cardboard cutouts labeled as villains had limited screen time and provided minimal embarrassment for the film.
Few films are able to achieve the epic status the PR firms and advertisers generate for them prior to release. The Avengers fulfills the lofty expectations held by audience members, providing fantasy, humor and a little patriotism in every scene.
Productions like it are few and far in between.
