The Avengers (2012) Review

"I understood that reference."
-Steve Rogers



Loki (Tom Hiddleston) arrives on Earth with plans to lead an alien army and take over the planet.  Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) has no choice but to call on the Avengers to deal with the threat.  The Avengers assemble, but quickly realize they aren't so much a team, but a time bomb of personalities.  They'll have to figure out to put their differences aside if they want to save Earth.


What Works:

First off, the action in The Avengers is incredible.  The final battle in New York is, of course, wonderfully epic and a lot of fun, but even the smaller scale action is exciting.  I love all of the different sequences on board the Helicarrier and the three-way fight in the woods between Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is also a blast.

Mark Ruffalo is a wonderful addition to the series.  He replaces Edward Norton as Bruce Banner and does a much better job.  He's really funny, but has an edge to him.  Ruffalo's Banner is one of my favorite characters in the MCU and this is a great introduction for him.

The humor in this film is really on point.  Practically every character gets a one-liner at some point.  Joss Whedon gets a lot of flak for making all of the characters he writes so witty, and while I agree with that on some of his films, I think it works just fine here.

Up to this point, Loki has been by far the best villain in the MCU and bringing him back as the villain for this film was a smart call.  He's funny, charismatic, and cruel, often all within one scene.  His relationship with Thor is really fascinating and I love the brief glimpses of humanity we see within him.  Plus watching the Hulk beat the crap out of him is simply glorious.

My favorite scene in the film is when all the interpersonal conflict between the characters spills over in the Helicarrier lab.  The conflict feels completely justified and everyone has a fair point.  It's an exciting and well written scene and one of the main reasons this film works so well.   

Finally, seeing this movie finally come together after years of set up was truly fantastic.  This movie was so hyped when it came out, it's pretty incredible that it managed to live up to the hype and still hold up all these years later.


What Sucks:

I've got nothing for you.


Verdict:

The Avengers was such a hyped up film, but it lived up to the hype and still does.  The characters are great, the humor is hilarious, the action is top-notch, and Mark Ruffalo and Tom Hiddleston are stellar.  This is still one of the best films in the MCU and it has absolutely got it going on.  

 10/10: Amazing 


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