Time: 143 Minutes
Age Rating: M – Violence
Cast:
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
Mark Ruffalo as Dr. Bruce Banner/Hulk
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye
Tom Hiddleston as Loki
Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson
Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
Stellan Skarsgård as Dr. Erik Selvig
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
Director: Joss Wheddon

While I recall watching the 2012’s The Avengers a number of times, it had been quite a while since I had seen it, I think it might’ve even been around 10 years ago. Also, as the MCU has been progressing since then, my thoughts on many entries in the long running superhero franchise have been changing. I did want to revisit the film, mainly because I had the feeling that I wouldn’t have the same amount of love for it like I used to. With the upcoming Avengers Doomsday, I decided that now was the time for it. I wouldn’t say I dislike The Avengers, but it does not hold up. Not one of the worst MCU movies, and yet worse than most of the other movies in the MCU. 

One of the discoveries I found from revisiting The Avengers was just how tedious it was to actually watch, you really feel that it’s 2.5 hours long. The plot is pretty simple and formulaic: villains and aliens come from the sky to take over the world, heroes have to join together to save the world. The one credit to The Avengers is that it proved that superhero team up movies like this certainly were possible, which paved the way for plenty of other films. I wouldn’t say it’s good though. The initial setup is fine as it brings in each of the main Avengers characters, but after a while, the pacing really slows down. Unfortunately, most of the movie seems to take place on the SHIELD Helicarrier, and those scenes are dull and a slog to sit through. This movie largely consists of talking and exposition which were tedious to watch. Much of the movie is reliant on the character interactions and I think at the time it was novel and special seeing these distinctly different characters from different superhero movies interacting with each other. For whatever reason though, today, it just doesn’t hit the same way. The chemistry and interactions largely relied on characters just quipping and arguing. Tony Stark and Steve Rogers particularly have this constant beef and conflict that feels so forced, every argument scene feels shoved in and doesn’t feel natural at all. In spite of all the attempts at focussing on character dynamics and interactions, there’s not much depth to the characters. You have implied history between Black Widow and Hawkeye, and Bruce Banner is struggling with the Hulk, and that’s it. The characters established in previous movies feel condensed and flat here in comparison. It’s just so hard to connect with any of the movie, the majority of it is people standing around talking, broken up by mediocre action sequences, until they all come together for a big fight in the city in the climax. The humour is also very hit or miss and most of the quips generally don’t work. It was particularly irritating when the film seemingly tried to defuse the tension or emotional resonance in many of the scenes. The movie is brought up by its third act. It’s not great, the Chitauri are a generic alien force, and the action is weightless, lacks tension and can best be described as “stuff happening on screen”. But it’s at least fun to watch with the big climax that the whole film was building to.

The main Avengers cast with Robert Downey Jr. Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth and Jeremy Renner are generally all good, although they are limited by their material. Ruffalo shines the most out of them. Following some of the more recent portrayals of Bruce Banner/Hulk in Thor Ragnarok and the most recent 2 Avengers movies, it is startling watching the character being taken more seriously here. Oddly enough, Whedon’s take does actually take the monster narrative seriously, it plays into the duality of Banner and Hulk, and Ruffalo performs it well. Between the 6 Avengers characters, he’s really the only one who seems to be going through their own arc or change. Of course, Jeremy Renner gets the worst material, spending ⅔ of the runtime as a secondary antagonist when Hawkeye is taken over by Loki’s scepter. Even in the third act climax, he doesn’t leave any impression beyond being the Avenger with a bow and arrow. The supporting cast are solid too, from Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, to Tom Hiddleston hamming it up in his screentime as Loki. Honestly in retrospect, ignoring his very brief appearances in the third and fourth Avengers movies, this might be Loki’s least compelling appearance in the series. He feels pretty one note, but he’s at least entertaining to watch.

Joss Whedon is a director that came from TV and that is certainly seen all over the visuals of The Avengers. I’m not saying that the grey colour palette of Captain America Civil War is superior, but Avengers is weirdly bright, distractingly bright even. The shots, editing and general filmmaking are so basic, even the action isn’t really great. The action is generally fine but a lot of it is very standard and unexciting. It does pick up in the climax and is somewhat enjoyable with how large scale it is. The CGI, while not phenomenal, has held up better than some entries in the MCU that were released 10+ years later. Also, it was refreshing watching an MCU have actual sets on display as much as possible.

Despite some fun moments, The Avengers is just fine, largely a slog with some uninspired direction and visuals, weightless action, and tedious writing. I’m glad that I revisited it, but after this viewing, I’m pretty comfortable with never watching it again.