The Avengers (2012) Movie Review

Synopsis:

Thor’s adoptive brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) returns, gaining access to a powerful energy source known as the Tesseract. S.H.I.E.L.D’s Director, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) must assemble the world’s greatest heroes to help put an end to his plans.

Review:

Marvel Studios concluded Phase 1 of their MCU with Marvel’s The Avengers.

This film blended action, character, and visuals to create a global phenomenon.

Recent successes with Iron Man (2008), Thor (2011), and The First Avenger (2011) also helped to pave the way for further development.

This movie includes some returning faces that fans will recognize. Among them are Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America (Chris Evans).

Both actors are well suited to their roles, with Downey Jr. being a notable standout yet again. One other returning character here is the Hulk.

As with Rhodes’ re-casting in Iron Man 2 (2010), this character is also portrayed by a new actor.

Replacing Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/Hulk is Mark Ruffalo. Due to an improved script, Ruffalo appears more comfortable in his role in this film.

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) also makes his return, serving as the main antagonist.

From the outset, it’s clear Hiddleston has embraced Loki as a character in this movie. This makes his portrayal of the character more enjoyable to watch.

Tom displays much charm and charisma as Loki, yet is never presented as an imposing threat. This is also evident during the action scenes.

Also, making her reappearance is Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson).

Making a debut appearance in Iron Man 2 (2010), her character had a brief action scene. Otherwise, she had very little development.

While her character in this film gets more development in comparison, it isn’t that engaging.

Making his first major on-screen appearance is Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). As a whole, Renner does well with the material he’s given.

This is despite the character being outshone compared to most of the other Avengers.

As a culmination of the MCU’s (Marvel Cinematic Universe) Phase 1, the action had to reflect this.

Its final battle in Manhattan, New York, is the main highlight.

Most characters’ abilities are well portrayed, while others are less so.

As an example, Captain America (Chris Evans) has several action scenes in this film that don’t stand out.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) improves the character's action scenes. In that film and onwards, there is a notable improvement.

This same principle also applies to characters such as Black Widow and Hawkeye.

Pacing is also important for a film of this scale. This means juggling a sizable number of characters.

This also means juggling the central plot whilst maintaining the film's coherency.

What’s fortunate is that The Avengers balances pacing well. Its character interactions are at the forefront.

It’s during the first act and second acts when the pacing falters.

Conclusion:

Throughout most of its runtime, The Avengers concludes Phase 1 with some fun, blockbuster entertainment.

Despite some inconsistencies with pacing and some sidelined characters, it is worth a watch.

Sam’s Action Reaction score:

Characters - 7.5/10

Story - 7/10

Action - 7.5/10

CGI and visuals - 7.5/10

Soundtrack - 7.5/10

Overall score: 7.4 out of 10