Whedon successfully assembles ‘The Avengers’ (2012)

This blog series chronicles my first viewing of the complete MCU movie saga. I’ll examine each film under various categories that reflect popular discussion points. Next up is the sixth film, “The Avengers” (2012):

STRENGTHS

Writer-director Joss Whedon brings it all together with his trademark attention to character arcs, personalities and naturalistic snappy dialogue. Beyond that, “The Avengers” feels like it has a good reason to exist, as Thor’s peevish brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) aims to subjugate the Earth using a Maguffin called the Tesseract.

The film spends time showing how Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Captain America (Chris Evans) come to accept S.H.I.E.L.D.’s invitation and how they learn to work together – along with Thor (Chris Hemsworth), for whom this is personal. For instance, Tony’s ego and Cap’s disgust for egotists are immediately set aside when S.H.I.E.L.D.’s flying fortress comes under attack.

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WEAKNESSES

For the sake of picking at nits, I’m sad that there’s no mention of Betty, Bruce’s girlfriend, especially since Pepper has screen time and Jane and Agent Carter get acknowledged.

HEROES

Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) – the two Avengers to not have solo films – get a nice chunk of the spotlight. We learn via dialogue that they share a history, with Hawkeye having saved Black Widow’s life by disobeying an order to kill her.

It’s a huge oversight by the MCU planners that this tale hasn’t been shown on film, either on the big screen or within the “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” TV series. “The Avengers” is also a great Hulk showcase, as Ruffalo smoothly takes the reins from Edward Norton. We see Bruce gradually get a grip on “the other guy,” in the sense that he becomes more able to distinguish between allies and enemies.

VILLAINS

While Loki’s scheme is standard – he wants to rule Earth – his pontificating is engaging, as he argues that humans want to be subjugated (historically and today, there is indeed ample evidence of this) and that they will be happier if freedom is not an option. I like how this is a fresh and measured supervillain argument.

S.H.I.E.L.D. itself stays in the gray area in “The Avengers,” as we learn it had intended to make superweapons out of the Tesseract. The level above S.H.I.E.L.D., the “Council,” is overtly villainous, as it aims to nuke Manhattan rather than trust the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. to contain the threat. Is it just a “stupid-ass order,” as Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) says, or are the Council’s motivations sinister?

WOMEN

“The Avengers” fails the Bechdel Test, as no pair of women holds a conversation in the film. This is surprising for such an epic modern production, and one helmed by Whedon (some episodes of “Buffy” fail the Reverse Bechdel Test, as no pair of men speak to each other). As noted, Black Widow shines, and the top agent other than Fury or Coulson (Cobie Smulders’ Agent Hill) is a woman. But Pepper and Jane are shipped off to safety once things get hairy – not a great look for a 21^st century superhero film.

MIRROR TO REALITY

Some theorize that Earth’s perpetual state of war owes its explanation not just to the pattern proscribed by the military-industrial complex, but also to a shadow government. “The Council” personifies that theory. It’s also interesting to hear Captain America’s first impressions after having jumped from World War II to the present day: He’s disillusioned with what the USA has become.

BEST ACTION SCENE

I was an apologist for the special effects in “The Incredible Hulk,” but they are so much better four years later. The big green guy feels like a natural outgrowth of Ruffalo’s Bruce, and his scenes are (pun intended) smashing, as he delivers key blows against Loki’s army in the finale.

BEST COMEDIC MOMENT

The group dialogue is as punchy as you’d expect from Whedon’s pen. My favorite exchange is this one:

Bruce: I don’t think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy’s brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him.

Thor: Have a care how you speak! Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard and he is my brother!

Black Widow: He killed 80 people in two days.

Thor (with nary a pause): He’s adopted.

WORLD BUILDING

We learn that S.H.I.E.L.D. answers to “the Council” and get a sense that there are multiple extra-terrestrial threats now that Earth is on everyone’s radar. In fact, Thanos – of this year’s “Infinity War” — is shown in a mid-credits tag. And superheroes go mainstream in this movie. In the MCU, average joes and janes know about superheroes – as far back as the 1940s with Captain America – but this is the first time their presence openly plays a role on the world stage.

The TV series “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” (2013-present) would go on to deal with this new reality, including backlash – hinted at in a montage of news footage – stemming from the facts that New York City just suffered more death and destruction than on 9/11 (even “Man of Steel’s” Superman would be stunned) and that the Avengers have disappeared. More like “world tearing down” than “world building.”

FINAL THOUGHTS/EXPECTATIONS

“The Avengers” is bravura superhero filmmaking that plays on a deeper level than epic action sequences and nods and winks to comic-book fans. It doesn’t merely find a place for all our favorite characters, but proves that they are each a necessary player. A whole galaxy of potential threats have opened up now that the Earth has fended off its first insurgence, and I’ll be interested to see how this plays into the second phase of films. I also want to dig more into Cap’s feelings about modern America as it contrasts with his time.