Superhero Media: The Avengers (2012)

Marvel Studios' The Avengers is, sad to say, far from the best Superhero film ever made, but it is certainly one of the most important achievements in superhero cinema. Put together by, what was still, an independent film studio, pre-Disney buyout, The Avengers is a tour-de-force of talented actors, ground-breaking CGI and ensemble storytelling never before seen in the genre. These days, it's easy to look back and spot the many flaws, like the overlit scenes, obvious plot and rush to the third act, but I feel that focusing on that kind of thing is really missing the point; the point being that this film is fucking awesome! I would have started reading Avengers comics when I was about twelve, and the film came out when I was twenty-two, meaning I waited for a literal decade to see this happen, and I loved it so much I saw it several times in the cinema. Much like my recent Invincible review, I'm tempted to just gush over everything that really worked in The Avengers, but I really can just settle for Loki, right? What a god damned amazing performance of a camp, preening villain, who was still chilling and threatening; right up to his scene with Hulk. 

What The Avengers is about, at its core, is family, specifically the surrogate families that we form around ourselves from friends and loved ones. Except for Hawkeye, none of the Avengers have much in the way of family, so they need to find and accept each other for who they are and what they bring to the table, even if what they bring is smashing. Speaking of Hawkeye, I'm still a little dark of his being on the wrong side for most of the film, but he makes up for it in the finale and in subsequent films. Now just get him some purple tracksuit pants and a one-eyed dog. And why not? The Avengers proves that fan-management and fan-service works when done well, like the various "Team-Up" moments in the Chitauri battle ripped straight from the Marvel Ultimate Alliance video games and Hawkeye's trick arrows, even if they are mostly 'splodie arrows at this point. We get to see why Cap is the leader even if Iron Man is technically the smartest on the team and the whole world celebrates the Avengers at the end, even if they only saved the one city. After the action finishes, boom, Thanos is coming, what an ending! 

And this is just the beginning! The Avengers introduced the idea of these characters crossing over and having relationships beyond the big team-ups and, after Iron Man 3, that became the norm, even if it was just Loki trying to make fun of Cap. The weird thing about The Avengers, even after the emotional journey reaching a climax in Endgame, this is still a damn fine film and well worth the watch. I know that some of the payoff in later films wasn't built in this far back, but retroactively developed, but damn, if it doesn't feel like there was a master plan all along; that's good film-making right there, even if Marvel or Superheroes aren't your thing. Though why are you reading this blog if that's the case? The backlash against "Cinematic Universes" and the Superhero genre has made The Avengers a popular punching bag and, I get it? I think it's a dumb thing to be mad about in terms of problems with the Hollywood film industry, but ok, you have your reasons. It doesn't stop The Avengers from being a fun film and one of the most influential blockbusters of the 2010s. Make no mistake, The Avengers is the new Star Wars.