A while back people over at Marvel Studios began an ambitious dream. Six movies and four years later we have been given the final product of the biggest project in the “nerdiverse” in recent years. “Iron Man” (2008) marked the first movie aimed at beginning a character’s story with the intention of later weaving it into the collective awesomeness that is “The Avengers”. Since then we’ve seen decent—“The Incredible Hulk”—disappointing—“Iron Man 2”—and I can’t believe it was actually good—“Thor” and “Captain America: The First Avenger”. “The Avengers” is a very important cinematic achievement because it isn’t a blockbuster. It’s the first child of five blockbusters. And when five monster hits are meshed into one it’s truly a force to reckon with.
The film had several disadvantages. Trying to adequately cover the multitude of characters featured in the film is a challenge for both screenwriters and movie-length. Also, a film contains this many super-powered tough guys it’s pretty hard to think of something that will actually scare them. And when you are holding the dreams and expectations of millions of fan boys—not to mention a risky $220 million budget—there is a lot that could go wrong.
But fans can rest easy; the film they’ve been given is truly remarkable. While DC Comics movies such as “The Dark Knight” have opted for a more dark appeal (definitely not a bad thing either), Marvel Comics films have almost all been bright, flashy, and witty. All of these things are what make “The Avengers” so much fun. The thing about these super heroes is that much like their comic book selves, they are not afraid to crack a joke when the fate of the entire world is about to be invaded by aliens. Sincere emotion is boiled right in with witty one-liners. Some of the most charming moments of the film feature bickering between the world’s supposedly teamed saviors. The film starts out a little slow, but the pace rapidly accelerates and never slows down. In a decade where action movies have become very generic, the fight-scenes are genuinely impressive here, and there are several visuals that are actually breathtaking.
The movie’s greatest strength is that it isn’t just for action-lovers or comic-readers. “The Avengers” is filled with little nugget quotes and scenes (ahem helicarrier ahem) that will make any fan boy squeal, but it has enough mainstream entertainment value that anyone will be able to thoroughly enjoy it. “The Avengers” stand as heroes of their world and now of this one. This is the Marvel movie fans deserve. Bravo.