Film Review: Marvel's Avengers Assemble!

10/10

As many people know, my favourite film of all time is 'The Elephant Man'.  To me, it is cinematic perfection.  I've never seen a film, before or since, that has genuinely moved me (still the only film that's ever made me cry!) and I never ever believed that any film could come close to making me rethink my philosophy.

Until now.

As I alluded to in my previous blog, I've loved The Avengers since about 1985 so the chance of me not liking a film version would be small, but to say I was blown away by Marvel's Avengers Assemble would be like saying Siberia is a little bit nippy.  Almost from the very first scene, the film grabs you, demands your attention and refuses to let you go.  And you don't even notice.

The set up is perfect, and really you don't NEED to see any of the five previous films that lead up to it (although if you do, trust me it makes it much better.

For me, Captain America is more like himself than he was in his own movie.  Tony Stark is just sarcastic and wonderful, Thor is several kinds of awesome.  Mark Ruffalo is the best Bruce Banner ever (sorry to the fans of Bana, Norton and/or Bixby) and if he doesn't get his own Hulk film out of this then there's no justice in the world.  The other two Avengers (Black Widow and Hawkeye) are not treated as extras, as you might reasonably expect and in fact easily have about as much screen time and development as the rest.

As for SHIELD, Cobie Smulders is just smoking hot as Maria Hill and Clark Gregg continues his deadpan nothing-can-shock-me performance as Agent Coulson (and he will be missed in the future films) but Samuel L Jackson is still 'The Man' and couldn't be cooler if you dumped him in an ice bath.

But as in 'Thor', the best acting was from Tom Hiddleston as Loki.  He displays such a believable performance, going from evil to humourous and everything inbetween.  His scene with Black Widow was one of the stand out moments (plus it had the phrase 'mewling quim' - 12a rating ahoy!) and his battle with Hulk was... Short but oh so memorable.

The final scenes are perhaps the best ever seen, certainly in a superhero film and possibly in any film.  This is what Transformers WISHES it could have been.  Some real fist pumping and 'Fuck yeah' moments but you never get lost in the visuals (which are stunning throughout).

And if you don't get chills when the Avengers form the famous circle (the one we've all seen in the trailers) then you might want to check your blood flow.

I have tried and tried to think of some negative points but the only ones I can think of is just the very minor disappointment that there didn't seem to be any 'hidden' gems in the film.  Would have loved a minor cameo from Agents Danvers or Morse (Ms Marvel and Mockingbird respectively) or maybe even tracking Bruce Banner while he's hiding out with his cousin Jennifer Walters.  But nothing like that, not even a mention of "We tried the Fantastic Four but they weren't even in this dimension".  Shame, but that is a churlish criticism at best.

So, is this now my favourite film ever?  No. But it's pretty damn close. The adult 'me' is telling me that The Elephant Man is still the best film I've ever seen. But the child 'me' insists it's The Avengers. Pfft, who wants to be a grown up at the cinema anyway?

Sod it, I'm going to see it again!


Oh, and Thanos.  THANOS!.  THANOS ON THE BIG SCREEN!!  Can this Avengers sequel just hurry up already??

Avengers Assemble!

And there came a day, a day unlike any other... when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat... to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand... on that day, The Avengers were born.

Not blogged in an absolute age.  Totally my fault - just not really been inspired to talk!  However, in a few hours time I will be going to see a film that I have been waiting for my entire life (and sadly, that's not a lie).

The Avengers (or Avengers Assemble for us in the UK).

As many know, I'm a comic book aficionado/nerd and the one book that I've enjoyed from the start, and still do, is The Avengers.  The teamwork, relationships, the infighting, the battles... There was something that appealed to me about this team that made me want to read more.  X-Men?  Too angsty and talk about whiney...  Spider-Man?  Yeah, he was OK.  Fantastic Four?  Often good, occasionally great but not for me.

(And I can't stand DC comics. Deal with it.)

The Avengers were a group of heroes that banded together because they wanted to make the world a better place.  That appealed to me.  They were together because they were friends.  And the film will show this too (I'm sure - my next blog will be the review of the film)

So I have decided to list my 10 favourite Avengers storylines, in no particular order.

1) Operation: Galactic Storm

A no-brainer to pick this as the first on the list.  A fantastic space war that spanned 19 issues and yet didn't feel too long, or padded out.  Bob Harras' crossover masterpiece that even now I read from time to time.  Hasn't dated.

Good stuff: All the Avengers together!  Avengers avenging!
Bad stuff: Cap's team seemed a little weak/one dimensional *shrugs*
Legacy: The Kree have never been the same and it helped bring Carol Danvers back to Earth.

2) Korvac Saga

The first Avengers graphic novel I ever bought.  Was NOT disappointed.  Avengers stories that involve god-like enemies always seem to 'work', and other than the Fantastic Four, no other Marvel team ever really battled them.  (And even the FF only seemed to win after a never-before-seen gadget created on the spot by Mr Fantastic.)

Good stuff: The ambiguous ending.  Guardians of the Galaxy are always good to see.
Bad stuff: Moondragon. Still don't like her.
Legacy: The story is screaming out for a sequel, but Korvac hasn't been seen much since this story, which is a shame.

3) Under Siege

Heartbreaking.  Utterly devastating storyline that shows sometimes you don't need more power, you need more people.  This version of the Masters of Evil are, IMO the best.  They take the Avengers to the edge and throw them over.  The Mansion is destroyed and in many ways the team are never the same again.

Good stuff: Wasp! Jarvis! Hercules! Captain America breaks down!
Bad stuff: Where were the reserve Avengers??
Legacy: In part, leads to the first Avengers break-up. And let's not forget 'The Thunderbolts'

4) Lost in Space/Time

The only West Coast Avengers storyline in the list (that doesn't mean that I didn't love WCA but they only had 100 issues to play with...)  A carefully woven story that sounds confusing and convoluted but honestly is just a brilliant read.  Can't recommend it enough.

Good stuff: The plotting is masterful.  Hank Pym is back!  Moon Knight!
Bad stuff: The sexual abuse of Mockingbird. The art isn't great.
Legacy: Phantom Rider is still around, causing strife for Hawkeye and Mockingbird.

5) Procter and the Gatherers

A good old-fashioned slow burned.  Bob Harras' other masterpiece.  The way that Procter and his team of Gatherers appeared and gradually got stronger, got more menacing...  This is what I wanted from my Avengers book after about 50 issues of (let's be honest) mainly dreck.  And I want Procter back!

Good stuff: The slow burn.  The reveal of Procter's identity.
Bad stuff: Too many unanswered questions.
Legacy: Not much, sadly. Desperately needs to be looked at and re-used by a future writer.

6) Acts of Vengeance

Perhaps a surprise to people that know Marvel that I've included this crossover.  Wasn't popular at the time and is often overlooked but I would rather read this than Inferno or any of the so-called 'worthy' X-crossovers.  A mad idea that partly worked but probably needed some tighter plotting.

Good stuff: Unique idea, putting the Avengers into the centre of the Marvel Universe.
Bad stuff: The comedy issues of the Fantastic Four.  And Daredevil beats Ultron? WTF?
Legacy: Civil War and Dark Reign must have been inspired by the story.

7) Ultron Unlimited

I've always liked Ultron. Never saw him as a thread though which is essential if you're going to be a MAJOR villain. Busiek's greatest storyline moved Ultron from a minor villain to a world-class threat.  Fantastic, fist pumping stuff.

Good stuff: Ultron is now the bad-ass he always should have been.
Bad stuff: Slight moustache twirling villainy from Ultron at points.
Legacy: Ultron is now a universe-wide threat (see: Annihilation Conquest)

8) Avengers Forever

Arguably Busiek's finest hour.  Ties up loose ends and clarifies some of the more confusing storylines in the Avengers history.  Not recommended reading unless you're a REAL Avengers fan though.

Good stuff: Songbird! Great fun for Avengers historians.
Bad stuff: Not easy reading if you're new to comics.
Legacy: Every time there's a continuity glitch, the answer is - a Space Phantom.

9) Dark Reign/Siege

The most up-to-date storyline in the list. The idea of an 'evil' leader of the Superhero community was genius and the man to do it was surprising.  Dr Doom?  Kang?  Red Skull?  No.  A Spider-man villain.  Yeah.

Good stuff: Some fantastic sub-plots, the Thunderbolts issues, and truly epic in scope.
Bad stuff: Far too big to remember everything.
Legacy: We'll see...  But the Asgardian subplot sort of lead into 'Fear Itself'.

10) Red Zone

The best story in Geoff John's short run.  The main villain was obvious from day one but the sheer amount of delicious evil involved, to do what he does... Brilliant.  And anyone that has Jack of Hearts in the team is OK by me.

Good stuff: The villain! Scarlet Witch! Great story.
Bad stuff: Shame the villain was signposted a few issues prior.
Legacy: Again, not much.  Might need to re-read it.

Also want to show some love for: The Kang Dynasty, Heroes Return, Dark Scarlet Witch Saga, The Kree/Skrull War, Fear Itself.

Feel free to comment if you've read any of these or want to suggest others I've overlooked.  But if you mention Larry Hama or Chuck Austen to me, expect bloodshed... :)