Marvel Avengers Assemble

The total sum of my knowledge about superheroes could be written on the back of a stamp, leaving more than enough room for the history essay I should be writing instead of this review. In fact, I probably know more about the intricacies of the Vatican Postal Service than I do about the powers of Hawkeye or Iron Man. Nevertheless, I sauntered along to my local multiplex in search of two hours of 'check-your-brain-in-at-the-door' sci-fi action twaddle. Marvel Avengers Assemble definitely gave me that. When Loki (Tom Hiddleston) summons a vast alien army to attack the Earth, the director of S. H. I. E. L. D. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) brings together a group of superheroes in a last-ditch attempt to save the world. Many a film has had a similar set up, but few are like Marvel Avengers Assemble...

Films such as this are never, ever about the plot. Anyone who tries to convince you otherwise has been watching too much Inception and is, quite frankly, trying too hard. A film such as The Avengers (as we shall now call it) is all about the action, all about the fights and not about much else. This is, in many ways, the downfall of many action blockbusters. Transformers in all of its hideous incarnations, is the prime example of this. Thanks to Michael Bay's plot structure and abysmal narrative construction, the action overwhelms the complicated story and leads the audience to a) not care about the characters and b) give up trying to understand what the hell is going on. The Avengers, however, has bucked this trend and has constructed a narrative which is neither overly-complex nor non-existent. The action sequences in the film (and there are many) are really engaging to watch and are strong enough to stand alone from the plot: it doesn't really matter if the audience don't have a clue what's happening, the resulting effect is hugely enjoyable.

These action sequences are superbly constructed and the CGI effects really are first-class. I saw the film in 3D but, as usual, it didn't add anything to the effects and I could have done without the gimmick (especially during the dark opening sequence). The battle sequences will delight both hard-core comic book fans and (like me) the casual viewer who doesn't know his Captain America from his Director Fury. Everything about this film is big: the stars, the explosions, the fights, the locations, the CGI, Chris Hemsworth's biceps. To say that The Avengers is gargantuan in its production would be a great understatement. Its big-name actors (Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Evans, to name a few) all perform well together and it was nice to see the screenwriters not shy away from creating a bit of tension between their characters. Hiddleston as the super-villain Loki was very impressive, especially with his manically evil smile and Johansson put in a convincing tough-girl performance. There were a few issues with the screen time given to each individual superhero but these were somewhat unavoidable and, for the most part, the characters were engaging and well-developed. The script never forgot the humanity of the characters which made their exploits all the more thrilling and Downey Jr.'s arrogant Iron Man provided much of the humour which fitted well with the overall tone of the film. Director Joss Whedon clearly has a love for Marvel's characters and this creates a film which has obviously been thought about and crafted.

Whilst I sat through some of the film's earlier scenes with a perplexed expression on my face as scientists discussed the effects of gamma radiation on the Tesseract (as you do), I soon settled into the plot and could just about follow what was happening – always a plus when it comes to this genre of film. Although Mark Ruffalo's Hulk went through about six t-shirts during his various tantrums, to sit back and watch a big green giant smashing everything in sight to smithereens was perfect 'popcorn' material (Ruffalo has been signed up to portray the Hulk in six more films, so the effect may wear off after a while). Marvel Avengers Assemble is an entertaining romp through comic book royalty and is massive in its visuals and ambitions. A solid cast, some stunning visual effects and an effective balance between plot and spectacle all lead to a thoroughly mad, but equally fun film. However, I still may need my superhero revision book... 

Clapperboard Rating: * * * *