Puny Gods (#13: The Avengers)

If you've been reading this blog (and someone is, right? right? what am I doing with my life?), well, you've probably picked up that I'm a bit of comic book nerd. I'm not the guy with a bunch of cardboard-backed first issues safely stored in his basement or who can regale you with a detailed history of the Dark Phoenix. But, I did carry a subscription to The Punisher and The Uncanny X-Men for several years in my youth. I even replaced collecting baseball cards with Marvel Universe cards in junior high. (Full disclosure: I just ordered my Spider-man obsessed daughter a subscription to the kid-friendly Spider-man book for Valentine's Day* and I'm currently wearing a Captain America t-shirt). So, you can imagine my excitement in high school when I heard an Avengers movie was coming out. That was until I saw the trailer.

 
What the hell? Where's Steve Rogers? Where's Tony Stark? Where's motherlovin' Bruce Banner? Why do British people ruin everything? (Aristocratic period dramas on PBS excepted, of course).

Look, my admiration for Uma Thurman will be well-documented when we eventually get to the Tarantino canon. But Emma Peele is no Black Widow.

Alas, I had to wait until the Year of Our Lord 2012 to finally see The Real Avengers together in live action. But, good goddamn, it was worth the wait.

#13: The Avengers

Joss Whedon wuz robbed. I know Oscars don't usually go to the big crowd-pleasing summer pictures but The Avengers isn't your typical dumb, slobbering franchise blockbuster. Rather, The Avengers pulls together  the stars of four separate existing film franchises into one masterpiece of mayhem in a way that feels, yes, organic but doesn't lose the spirit and verve you want in a Big Comic Book Movie. The feat is all the more remarkable when you consider the startlingly different tones of the prior Marvel movies featuring Iron Man (shoot 'em up action comedy), Captain America (World War II/sci-fi), Thor (classical epic), and The Incredible Hulk (moody horror/action). That Whedon is able to mix those elements together in a way that works, doesn't confuse new viewers, doesn't alienate hardcore fans, but also entertains as all hell, should have earned him a screenwriting nod at the least.

If you haven't caught up with this one yet, get a life, but also here's the story in a nutshell: Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Norse God of Thunder, has a ne'er-do-well little brother named, Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Loki shows up on Earth to steal the Tesseract (a cosmic power source featured in both Captain America and Thor's debut films) from S.H.I.E.L.D., the covert government operation run by Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury. In response, Fury assembles Earth's mightiest heroes: Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Dr. Bruce Banner, also known as the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). After battling each other, the Avengers face off with Loki's alien army.

The performances are great and unselfish across the board, but Ruffalo, particularly, steals the show as the Hulk - a character that hadn't quite yet gotten its due on screen, despite two previous attempts.

Cold.

Warmer.

Bingo.

It might be that the Hulk, monosyllabic rage monster that he is, works better as a supporting character than as a lead. But Ruffalo absolutely kills it as Banner, especially when engaged in repartee with the one-liner machine that is Downey, Jr.'s "billionaire, playboy, philanthropist" Tony Stark. Also, this happens:

Can't also help but to love a movie that makes its emotional core a guy named Agent Phil Coulson.

"Yes, I'll hold while you kick that Russian dude's ass."

The Avengers is definitely the most fun I had at any movie this year (and probably in the top ten movie-going experiences I've ever had). It's a giddy Giant Slurpee of a movie. The only knock might be that it's a little too overstuffed and could've been about fifteen minutes shorter. Anyway, while The Dark Knight (which we'll get to soon, yes) is probably the best Comic Book Film of all time, I think it's safe to say this is the best Comic Book Movie of all time. Getchya popcorn ready for the all the sequels and spinoffs!

Verdict: KEEPER!

Next up: THE AVIATOR

*Fuller Disclosure: Also ordered myself a subscription to The Uncanny Avengers. Maybe I am that guy, a bit.