The Avengers (2012) ****/5: Good film for its entertainment value. The film revels in its superficiality

This film is good despite its limitations. It is good solely as popcorn entertainment and one can imagine the discussions between groups of teenagers and tweenagers (those in their early  twenties) that will ensue in the couple of weeks. ‘Did you see the hulk smash?’  or ‘the visual effects were awesome’ ‘the movie was really funny. I liked that scene between Hulk and Loki.’ ‘the action was worth the money. I came to be entertained and so I was. I would go and watch it again with friends.’ ‘What are you doing tonight? You want to go and watch the Avengers?’ Discussions of the sort will swirl for the next couple of weeks because of the genuine entertainment value of the film. This film is hardly profound and is very predictable however it does have moments of humour that compensate for the lulls and whenever there is doubt the filmmakers ratchet up the action be it with a brief confrontation or a couple aliens invading Manhattan. The film is clearly American centric and hardly encompasses the worldwide struggle.  The Avengers are not Earth’s greatest heroes they are America’s greatest heroes. The political inspiration for Americans or backward nations within its sphere of influence that incessantly kiss ass, is clear to outsiders that are not too thrilled by the film. The 3D effects do add some dimension and it is utilized effectively at points when it comes to the viewpoint of the audience as well as the scale of the action that takes place in the final battle. I must admit that the visual effects are pretty impressive when one considers the scale of the action. In the end however the battle is not as climactic because you eventually realize that it takes place within a pretty confined space and even nuclear bombs are brought into the fray. It would have been good if the film had some residual effect apart from the avengers themselves which would demonstrate that the struggle continues. The end of the film reminded me of other team movies with the most recent popular hit being The Fast and the Furious 5 (2011). In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), to which a reference is made by the all pervasive Tony Stark, the team clearly had a much wider struggle which required three movies however in The Avengers everything is wrapped up conveniently and so by the next film it will be another alien threat and massive action. It would have been more impressive if the main villains in the film were not so inept at tackling the Avengers particularly from a physical perspective. The use of Loki raises some doubts about actually testing the resolve of these mighty heroes apart from the army which appears flimsy. Even then the movie concludes pretty simply and one realizes that it is not necessarily about the story or making the film worthwhile or relevant for the years to come but about putting these superheroes together and have them wage battle thereby showcasing their power. That will always be good for the visual effects team. Also there is no restraint on the visuals and the action towards the end clearly gets out of hand simply because it has no meaning since anyone with common sense will be able to predict the outcome. There is no reason to cheer apart from when the Hulk gets going.

The film is basically about the avengers defending Manhattan from aliens associated with Loki, the brother of thor.

It is still a good film and it is clearly too big to fail however the lack of profundity paves the way for the other side associated with The Dark Knight Rises (2012). SO there is the side that is more inclined to watch The Avengers with all its thrills and spills and the other side that intends to delve beneath the surface with The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Each film has its own niche market and it is clear from my discourse that I side with the dark knight however I know those that will explicitly prefer The Avengers for its entertainment value as opposed to the profundity and sparseness of The Dark Knight Rises. I say sparseness because it is clear that in this case the action has to be one with the story from a realistic point of view and so it cannot exist unless there is justification for it and the whizz bang cannot occur extensively without sufficient reason. To each his own and the struggle continues.

What’s good about this film?

Hulk Smash; the gadgets of Iron Man; the might of Thor’s hammer; the leadership skills of Captain America; the archery of Hawkeye (not Legolas); and the cunning of Black Widow. When the director Joss Whedon focuses on their particular quirks or what makes them definitive the film is quite impressive on a dramatic scale and the choice of Loki seems evident in this regard when one considers that he is the god of mischief and tries to play them off against one another. Much like in The Lord of the Rings where the fellowship was threatened by the corrupting power of the ring that threatened the cohesiveness of the group. The parallel is quite evident here and undermined the film although the reasons for it were clear in the attempt to build a film solely through characterization. The film does hold dear with these particular quirks by having the so called heroes show of their powers sometimes in duel with one another as well as in the final battle with aliens that clearly did not have a strategy apart from ushering forth gigantic mechanized millipedes. The filmmakers clearly sidestep some issues by bringing unfathomable mystical sources into play: the tesseract (is that spelt correctly) which was featured in the some of the films leading up to this extravaganza. In Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) the Red Skull wished to use its energy for world domination and in Thor (2011) it was stolen or disposed (I can’t recall). This was  very good despite its bloated nature because the filmmakers clearly understand that energy is power. Energy from whatever source, be it oil or the sun keeps mankind’s economies going and I wish this issue was made more apparent on a more earthly scale apart from the interest of galactic terrorists. This debate about energy makes the film timely although it is sidestepped too often. When we are first introduced to Tony Stark as Iron man, who represents capitalism, his first lines speak to Stark industries working on creating clean energy sources through the arc reactor technology. This is good and so with the tesseract at the heart of the film (literally and figuratively) as its energy source the film, despite its superficiality, does score high marks especially as it is energy that powers the universe. Having such energy concentrated in a single nation or individuals does bring the notion of power into question.

The visual effects are superb particularly for  the scale of the final battle and a massive destroyer that can fly. America’s economy is booming in this film lol. The visual effects however are so pronounced and obvious there are not many unique shots. The most unique would come from the 3D shots where the audience is engaged by the final battle. We get a POV when a car is rolled over by an explosion for instance. When Iron Man is being pummeled by knocks we understand the stress of being attacked all round without being aware of the direction from which the blows are raining.

The humour will keep some of the uninitiated from detesting the film.

It is good to see Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) show a more heroic side because it was his lack of heroism and selfishness that ruined Iron Man 2. Maybe they will emphasize this in the third installment. The Hulk is clearly the star, along with Iron man, and he has some hilarious moments particularly one with Loki and in others where his simplicity and ultra testosterone come to the fore. The Hulk is truly for the testosterone driven male audience. It is no surprise that Tony and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) get along so well especially as the two are scientifically inclined. It was also good that they included Black Widow (Scarlett Johannsen) to diffuse the ultra testosterone on set.

The last good thing was the main dramatic moment in the film devoid of superficiality. It is because of this dramatic moment that the team of Avengers Assemble and it involves a character that has been ever present in the previous films leading up to this and so it delivers in this regard. The moment is callously manipulated by Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson) and so we go back to square one however it does seem like a real turning point.

The film moves by pretty quick.

What’s bad about this film?

The overwhelming superficiality and bloated entertainment values are the film’s strongest and weakest points. The film seems to rely too much on spectacle to keep going and so it becomes more about the characters and how their powers can enhance the action rather than a story that would encompass a wider struggle apart from the narrow minded American isolationist diatribe about it bearing the burden of the world through its security apparatus. The struggle takes place solely in America and one wonders whether the film will serve as a rallying cry for America to regain its global dominance for at the moment China looks like it will be the dominant national economy in the not so  distant future. One also wonders whether the aliens represent the Chinese; the US has always been concerned about China stealing its technology through spyware etc and it is no wonder the company shield is in charge as opposed to the army in times of war. That issue about China is pure speculation on my part but the film is so American centric that, as a realist, I will be seeking parallels in the everyday at every turn. The film clearly lacks a dramatic impetus for they spend the entire film concerned about Loki and then dramatically switch to the Alien invasion. This film should have had a proper build up so as to anticipate the climactic battle but it is all so hastily done that it just seems to come and go with no apparent residual effect i.e. there is no bittersweet taste left in your mouth.  The film is self contained and does not permeate the real day to day living thereby making you reflect on your place in the world.The Avengers survive the day so all is right with the world. There were some issues addressing the hypocrisy of Shield but that too is watered down after the significant dramatic moment that occurs in the film. It is all watered down as people forget all about such zany dialogue about those who serve and protect being corrupt hypocrites. Who cares about that let’s see some action. It is all water under the bridge anyway.

There are some irreconcilable moments with regards to the detective work of the characters particularly when it comes to discovering the true intentions of Loki. One can just imagine how Stark came to his conclusion about Loki and where he would be located. Loki himself is not as profound and pretends to be mysterious but his encounter with the Hulk completely abases him and makes him seem so insignificant it makes one wonder about the reason why he was chosen as the main villain. We see him interact with some higher order but their intentions should have been clearer apart from ruling the universe. It is clear that they are in control of Loki but eventually he assumes the titular villain role. The aliens eventually seem like power hungry zombies with no real control over their thought processes.  Batman Begins (2005) did this well when it came to the hierarchy of villainy. They do not have an actual plan apart from getting their hands on the tesseract. It is all flimsily done but there is too much going on to focus on such frivolities right. We need to see Hulk Smash some more. The film runs true to comic book fanfare and exaggerations. There is no real investigation into whether or not Loki was just a pawn or not. He is merely humiliated and by the end we do not get a sense of what is really out there; in the next film about the Avengers it clearly does not matter which aliens are invading.

The film exaggerates some things which are relatively puny. The final battle that is so impressive in its scale takes place only in Manhattan and is not as significant because as Earth’s mightiest heroes one would think that it would be more of an international struggle. The Avengers always seem in control of the battle and one never worries about them losing. It is shocking that the Council instructs Fury to release a nuclear bomb on tiny Manhattan.  It would have been more interesting if the battle was more  extensive thereby forcing the military to intervene alongside the avengers  and so nuclear bombs might have to come into play. Imagine the alien ships actually coming through the portal and there now be a genuine threat to America.  The battle is not as great which is why it would have been good if it was a case where the battle had commenced early thereby giving the aliens sometime to become entrenched in the city of New York and from there make their advance across U.S cities. In the mix could have been thrown in some philosophy about the inferiority of the earth’s citizens or the inherent superiority of the force at hand and the example it intends to set for other planets which it will conquer. All these things are mentioned by Loki but without the means to back it up he is humiliated. The heroism of the avengers would not seem so flimsy for when they do arrive on the scene after a few days or months of occupation then it would resonate. But we cannot have that so the attack is rapid and the aliens without a plan are bamboozled by the avengers and do not seem effective for as drones they are not impressive. This has been the failure of most of Marvel’s films of late and it is sad that they have to assemble the heroes to create something meaningful. Individually one wonders how the movies for the individual heroes will hold together. Who is Captain America going to fight? Or Thor? It all seems so frivolous for the sake of shallow entertainment.

Also how in tune with reality is this film. America is now going through a debt crisis and the economy is not growing yet Shield is allowed to build a massive naval destroyer that can fly. Wow. It is good for special effects and fantasy but what about reality. This is why the energy question should have been explored more effectively. No wonder America has such high levels of debt. Most of the characters are not as significant although there is now the call for arrows to be put back into production thanks to hawkeye.