As a kid, I could never figure out why The Avengers comic books didn’t appeal to me as much as other series, like the X-Men. In theory, the team atmosphere should have provided more than enough combinations, permutations and interpersonal interactions to keep me amused for hours. In practice, however, I was never able to relate to any of them. Luckily, Joss Whedon’s take on the familiar characters has helped me give voice to my youthful instincts
My path to clarity began with Mark Ruffalo’s pithy recognition that The Avengers aren’t actually a team. They’re a time bomb. They aren’t heroes who are called together for some high philosophical purpose or common cause, but rather out of necessity. They aren’t First Responders but rather Last Responders, if you will, and even then they have to be tricked into it by Nick Fury, who has himself assembled them despite the objections of higher forces.
As I began to question why they should be brought together so reluctantly--and why they are allowed to disband so easily once crisis has been averted-- I began to realize that they aren’t really the type of heroes I want to emulate at all. Sure, they have super strengths, but none of them actually embrace a value system that I can get behind. One is a flag-waving (and flag-wearing) anachronism, with an ethical sensibility that is so binary and antiquated that one wonders if they left it frozen in the ice. Another is a billionaire playboy (surely part of the 1%), who made his fortunes selling military weapons. Add to that a Norse god of lightning and two hired assassins, and you begin to wonder why the authors are so afraid of superheroes arising from among the regular population. Oddly, it is the big green guy that turns out to be the most relatable as a smart, quiet boy who would prefer to spend his life providing medical attention to the poor, but his bosses and his culture insist that he’d be of greater use smashing things.
What bothers me the most, however, is that these powerful people get praised for simply cleaning up their own messes -- or partially cleaning up their messes, since I doubt that they had to rebuild all the buildings they smashed, sweep the streets the next day or pay for those burning cars. Honestly, the Tesseract device that opens the portal for the evil Loki has connections to Thor, Iron Man, Captain America and Nick Fury. Couldn’t they have left well enough alone to begin with? It’s like they are getting credit for cleaning up their own oil spill, or solving a banking crisis that they caused, or narrowly defending us from the invading army that they had been poking at for decades. I suppose that is how powerful people have always portrayed themselves, hoping that when we make movies about them we will call them avengers instead of time bombs.
Oscar Chances:
In my opinion, the film’s best chances for Oscar consideration are in the sound and visual effects categories. But there are some serious contenders still on the horizon that could easily overshadow those possibilities.
Sound Editing (currently ranked 8)
Visual Effects (currently ranked 11)
Sound Mixing (currently ranked 12)
Makeup (previously ranked 25)
Art Direction: James Chinlund and Victor J. Zolfo (currently ranked 47)
Film Editing: Jeffrey Ford and Paul Rubell (currently ranked 50)
Costume Design: Alexandra Byrne (currently ranked 50)
I probably will add the film to my Adapted Screenplay rankings in my next round of predictions, likely somewhere in the middle to lower half of the list.
Some have placed The Avengers into their best picture lists as well due to its box office success, but my suspicion is that there is another superhero film opening in July that will put an end to that speculation pretty quickly. I have also heard Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr. mentioned as possibilities since they are former nominees/winners, but I didn’t see anything in their performances that I think could carry them to the end of the year.
As always, check the Tracker Pages in the upper right hand corner of this blog for the most updated predictions in all categories!
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Nice review! I agree those guys weren't particuarly impressive but I think because we got to see those people in their own movies it made the audiance like them - sure they have flaws, but hey they can step up when their help is needed. I don't think the film has much of a shot in Oscar season and I'm kinda baffled by the high praise it got, but it was really entertaining. I still prefer Thor and Iron Man to this, though.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sati! I know that I did skip several of the individual films, so it is possible that I missed something, and I do think that the Oscar talk, outside of the technical categories, is mostly people looking for something to talk about early in the season.
DeleteInteresting take on the Avengers you got there. Can't say I don't totally disagree. But then, you could argue that all superheroes are cleaning up their own messes on Earth. They all just seem to invite their arch nemeses to have it out on our little planet! Of the ones that are of this world, you could argue, if they didn't "decide" to be superheroes, there would have been no need for the super villains.
ReplyDeleteI loved this film, thought all the performances from everyone were excellent. Though not Oscar worthy. Robert Downey Jr. was at his pithy best with Stark here, it was nothing jaw dropping.
Thanks Jaina. Yeah, it may be that all superheroes are actually more trouble than they're worth.
DeleteI laughed at a lot of Downey's lines in particular, but can't say that I really remembered any of them ten minutes after I'd left the theater. Which I suppose is the point of summer blockbuster entertainment!
All humans make messes. God designed us that way. In antiquity we created Demi-gods to represent a higher state of man, "Mess included." Now we worship our Pops-stars, Business moguls, and Superheroes, "all mess included." Story telling was never about entertainment, story telling was always about the news, danger, and how to get out of trouble. Perfect gods don't sell, because they don't teach us anything.
ReplyDeleteThe Avengers teach us that we have a stronger "Ego" banded together, than we'll ever have apart. Never be afraid of stronger egos, they are always the ones who push humanity forward. LIFE IS FOR THE BRAVE.
Thanks Enigma Quin. But playing devil's advocate, wouldn't we be braver to stop worshiping those that make the biggest messes and find a humbler path? Might that, actually, be the first real push forward that humanity has ever made, away from the same nonsense that we've been stuck in over and over since the days of the demi-gods?
DeleteGood review here. Now time for Prometheus.
ReplyDeleteJust kidding. Sure you have other things to catch up on.
I haven't seen Prometheus yet, but it is in my queue at some point.
DeleteI think that's one of the biggest differences between most Marvel superheroes and most DC superheroes. Marvel is all about the flawed heroes and the anti-heroes. Some people think that makes them more interesting, others think they're simply flawed. While DC has mostly flawless superheroes, instead giving them weaknesses. Some people think that makes them more boring, and other think that makes them more of a role-model. Nice to hear your thoughts about the movie.
ReplyDeleteAh, I knew you'd have the answer for me! I can definitely see how DC relies more on kryptonite, for example. Still, I've always found Marvel's X-Men to be more interesting that their Avengers. I think it might have something to do with the X-Men's status as outsiders, compared to the Avengers who seem to represent all the best and worst of the powerful forces in our society.
DeleteGreat post. I never thought of The Avengers being the cause of the problems, but you do make a good point. I thought the cast had great chemistry with each other and the direction by Joss Whedon was tremendous. He had to include each of the characters back story just enough for new viewers, yet still provide new material for fans of the other flicks as well. Also credit should be giving to film editors Jeffery Ford and Lisa Lassek for providing equal time to all the different characters in this. Not one person is upstaged by another.
ReplyDeleteThanks Vern. I think you're right that they tried to give equal time, although I think that made the first half drag a little bit for my tastes. But given their options I think Whedon and all did a pretty good job.
DeleteGlad you saw this David. Whilst entertaining, I never thought of this as being Best Picture quality. Interesting review and you raise some valid points about the Avengers themselves contributing to the mess they have to *clean up.' Yeah, they definitely should've left that Tesseract device well enough alone, ahah.
ReplyDeleteI agree that The Hulk/Bruce Banner is perhaps the most compelling character, which is unexpected. I think his scenes with Loki is one of my favorites.
Thanks Ruth. And indeed, Hulk's scene with Loki is definitely the one that got the biggest laughs in the theater I was in.
DeleteVery interesting take - enjoyed the read. I think that each character, despite qualities that suggest the opposite, at their core are good people - and worth rooting for. Each has their own agenda, sure, but when it comes down to it they brush them aside, right?
ReplyDeleteI think the dysfunctional team aspect is what makes easier to relate to, honestly. Reminds me of my family.
Otherwise, excellent post as usual. I think Best Picture is a incredible long shot, but the tech noms are probably guaranteed.
Thanks my friend! I can definitely see the dysfunctional family aspect to it. As long as I get to be the Hulk, since he's the only one I can relate to!
DeletePart of me is even questioning whether it will stand up in the tech categories though, with so many films still to come, including The Dark Knight Rises, Life Of Pi, Spider-Man, etc. I'd guess Visual Effects and maybe Sound Editing are it's best shots.
Moonrise Kingdom HAS to be the next movie you see!
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