iREVIEW: Marvel's The Avengers

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston and Samuel Jackson. Written by Joss Whedon and Zak Penn.  Directed by Joss Whedon.

Films like The Avengers can very easily be reduced into a mishmash of superhero drama if its created by a lesser writer.  In the times when sagas based on even a single superhero is hard to digest once it multiplies into a sequel, the fact that I was left craving for the next Avengers should wrap the review right now.  But I won't wrap it up just yet!

So our planet is on the verge of a war against the Asgardians lead primarily by the king of Frost Giants, Loki.  Beyond this, I believe, the story is trivial!  I have said it time and again that a good film is never about a subject or a topic, it is simply about characters. Within ten minutes, we knew there is a war brewing up and we are going to win at the end of it.  But the excitement lies in the "how."

The Avengers would have easily fallen into the traps of naked action and blinding stunts, thanks to all the superheroes from The Hulk to The Iron Man packed into this venture.  But then we are caught off guard by the ego clashes of these characters.  After all they have been accustomed to heaps of praises, thank you letters, tons of media coverage and dreams of young gals. This would make any saint an egoist pig! And I believe this constant quarrel between the characters for ego adjustments is not only the crux but the genesis of this film as well.  It is the human element of egoistic complex that prevents the film from reducing into a dumb action flick.  Not once do we feel that a character is comfortable taking orders from the other! Not once do we feel that they are helping each other because they want to, it's simply because they have to!

However, the ending has to be reached.  The fact that the demise of the antagonist is not the climax tells us that the creators are still left with the task to weld a team together.  The war happens to be the reason. "It's all about the endings" Nolan once stated. I believe the last twenty odd minutes is what the entire venture is all  about. The Avengers fighting together. The adjustment of egos, sacrifice of personal space for the greater cause and search of qualities that complement the rest of the team is what the film is all about.

From a technical point of view, the film could have been chopped by 10-20 minutes.  The sequential introduction of each superhero seemed quite routine.  But again, I believe the relatively first slow hour was the fuel for the pumped up last hour of the film.

I still believe Batman Series by Christopher Nolan is on top of the psycho analysis of a superhero,  but The Avengers has crossed a milestone in socio-analysis of ego maniacs aka superheroes!