Marvel’s The Avengers was THE 2012 box office juggernaut, without question. As of the writing of this article, it was poised to cross the $1.5 Billion dollar mark worldwide. Yes, you read the correctly, $1.5 BILLION DOLLARS. And with such enormous success, most would believe that there was little more to such a movie than extreme special effects and summer popcorn movie action. This, however, is not the case with The Avengers. Recently, and for a 4th time, I have watched The Avengers, and here are several reasons why the movie works and is the best comic book film ever made.
Note: As a DC universe fan, writing this article was a tough pill to swallow. However, credit where credit is due to Marvel for putting together their cinematic universe in a way that has us all asking for more.
1. Casting and Characters
There is no arguing that casting Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man has been a home run for Marvel. For this writer, when I now see Downey Jr., I think Iron Man instantly. He embodies everything that Stark is, from crass smart-ass to the most egotistical of personalities. Aside from Downey Jr., most of our other Avengers are lesser known but equally as valuable. And here is why they work:
Thor: Chris Hemsworth, relatively unknown. Paired with Shakespearean theater veteran Kenneth Branagh as his director, Hemsworth made the Thor character intense, relatable, and most importantly understandable. Let’s face it, Thor’s dialogue is nothing if not a bit hard to read in all its Victorian influence.
Captain America: Casting Chris Evans as The First Avenger raised many eyebrows. Evans made his name as Johnny Storm in the “it was just OK” Fantastic Four film series from several years ago. However, Evans appears to have left Storm far behind, and he has embraced the Captain America character and all its heritage. Evans makes the character his own, and makes us believe that one man can make a difference.
The Hulk: Not much can be said here, other than recasting, yet again, the Hulk character with Mark Ruffalo as the Banner alter-ego was surprisingly on point. The Banner side of this character was in need of being portrayed as an introverted genius, something his previous film iterations lacked. Ruffalo makes Banner appear damaged, burdened and vulnerable, something Hulk’s previous two films failed to do.
Nick Fury: This goes without saying, seeing as how The Ultimates version of the Nick Fury character was redrawn to resemble Samuel L. Jackson. Perfection!
Black Widow and Hawkeye: Two big name Marvel characters cast with two big name Hollywood actors; they are secondary players to Marvel’s cinematic Avengers universe, but important nonetheless due to their ties to S.H.I.E.L.D. These are two huge names, with Jeremy Renner now moving on to his own film franchise with Bourne, and Scarlett Johansson proving that the Widow needs her own spinoff film.
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22 Comments
Avengers is the best superhero for kids without a doubt, but TDK trilogy are the top 3 superhero films for older audiences (14+)
Ummm. Not really. The Dark Knight is great, but no way the other two are better than the Avengers. They were barely Batman.
The Avengers was for all ages. If kids could see it too, whats wrong with that? A movie moreso geared towards adults doesnt make it anymore credible or prestigious. I could name alot of “mature” movies that are garbage, pretentious, and just all round horrible.
I disagree with the previous comments, I think that Avengers is the best comic book movie ever made. Not ever rendition of a comic book needs to be gritty and dark (they’re people that dress up in costumes and fight crime after all). In the end the movie is a lot of fun, and it’s supposed to be just that. Marvel and Disney spent a great deal of time setting up these characters in film just so we could have a romp with them playing together and it worked. Lastly, Marvel’s set up the universe in which their characters can exist, ensuring the continuation of their characters on the big screen.
It’s just a shame they don’t have the film rights to some of their biggest characters because their definitely doing it right. (No offense to Nolan, the Batman movies were excellent)
@Jb
man comics movies are supposed to be fun k
but if they have something more something which we endure governtment over stepping(v for vendetta),human psyche(road to perdition,a history of violence),moral and philosophical consequences of a superhero being in a real world( nolans batman trilogy)
avengers just fun i liked the movie
but a great movie makes u think for weeks months thats what a great film is now u say this movie is the greatest of the comic book genre then i cant deal with u for i cant deal with people with no logic
Maybe I misspoke. Because Road to Perdition and A History of Violence I consider to be in a different category ( I probably should have said super-hero movies). But those movies and the Avengers share one thing in common, they’re loyal to the spirit of the comic. Whether or not The Avengers is the best comic book adaptation is subjective, certainly. At least we’ve reached the point where we can debate the merits of a variety of comic movies that have been done well enough to justify debate.
You want loyalty to the comics huh
go see sin city 300 and watchmen and nolan trilogy(year one,knightfall,no man’s land,killing joke,long halloween)
Avengers was fun and turned out surprisingly well but it’s not the best comic book movie ever made. Maybe it can vie for best team-up movie. It was predictable at every turn but enjoyable. The cgi was out of control and like the movie itself on the cartoony side. As for the characters, RDJ continues to play a variation on a theme. If you ever read an IM comic you know Stark is nothing like his take. Thor was a dopey kid’s matinee and his version in TA was limited, not much interesting going on there. Chris Evans doesn’t have the acting chops nor the gravitas to play Cap. He is miscast. His pjs-lookining costume makes it more apparent he’s like a kid trying to play grown-up. It may work for some but it just comes off awkward; could have turned out so much better with more appropriate casting instead of double dipping into someone aleady known for a juvenille hero like Johnny Storm from the terrible FF movies. I really find it ironically hysterical that there was soo much aticipation from fans beforehand about Hulk’s inclusion in TA but no one could care less about his previous moies. They were flops and at this point it doesn’t matter who plays him because he’s just and still is just as unbelievably a cgi cartoon character waiting to happen. Jeremy Renner has zero personality and muscle mass. For what he was given to do an unknown would have sufficed. He was pure stunt casting to ad gravitas to the cast list. Scarjo’s contribtion has also been just as inconsequential. The villain – dull, mustache twirling silliness and Sam Jackson just doing his shtick. TA was a well put together by the numbers shiny product, souless fun like a toy and then you want the next shiny new toy. Forgettable.
I love all the feedback; keep it coming!
Also, in the castIng dept I left out the great performance of Tom Hiddleston as Loki!
No doubt Nolan’s Bat trilogy should be considered not only as outstanding comic book films, but also in the pantheon of all time great trilogies like Star Wars (original) and LOTR.
The Avengers was a good pop corn flick, but saying that its the Greatest Comic Book movie is too much…. Just too many plot holes too many suspensions of disbelief, even for a superhero movie… Great action sequences aside, the invading race didnt really seem threatening. Even the Transformers Dark moon invaders were better…. Hulk cant control himself except when he can. Captain America can withstand Thor’s hammer strike with his shield but is blown backwards by a small grenade. And dont get me started on Black Widow using a glock to fight. . . Scary aliens indeed
I consider Batman franchise crime-thriller movies more than CBMs.
In the comics, we all know that all characters exists in the same “multi-verse” (a system of universes). And The Avengers is the first movie gives us a full recognition about that. Like in comics, when Thor talks about Asgard, we know there is a whole series about that. I did not see that in any onther CBMs. Superman or GL are not mentioned in Batman franchise. X-men movies are “assemble” movies, too, but they are all about mutants.
Style-speaking. We all know there are a lot of thoughtful moments and storylines in comics, but there are a lot of funny jokes, simple storylines, and “popcorn” moments, too. I believe Batman franchise is the “dark side” of the Cbm, and The Avengers is the “bright side”. Batman franchise is everything in the comics that The Avengers haven’t reflected, and vice versa.
I think TDKR and The Avengers are both good movies. They both have good score in Rotten Tomatoes (Avengers: 92%, TDKR: 87%). They both have good CinemaScore (The Avengers: A+, TDKR: A).
But I wonder about Watchmen (2009). Watchmen comic book is globally considered the best comic book of all time. And the movie version follows the comics strictly. Watching Watchmen movie is like watching every comics panels in the big screen. I consider Watchmen the best Cbm, but not even a good film. Weird, right? Maybe it is because the comics and movies have different languages.
@Steve – I agree with you about both films. “The Avengers” was a terrific film and the most fun i ever had in a theater experience and “TDKR” was an excellent film as well. I’ve never looked at it as a competition between the two like so many have, both films are so different and so effective at what they do. I think both ‘Whedon’ & ‘Nolan’ did exactly what they sey out to do with these great films. For me as a CBM fan it would have been F’d up if either one of these films failed, because it’s always better for the genre when both Marvel & DC succeed, regardless of which company you like better. Just think two CBM’s being the biggest grossing films of 2012, that sounds too sweet.
I feel that the Avengers is the best comic book superhero movie, but The Dark Knight trilogy is the best movie representation of a superhero.
@Mike – You make a very good point, i too believe “The Avengers” is the best Comic Book Superhero film to grace the big screen so far and TDK trilogy was a terrific movie representaion of ‘Bats’.
The cast there is also Tom Hiddleston, who has made a substantial contribution. It’s a wonderful actor.
“The writers also even take a brief moment to explain how Thor got to Earth this time around, having Loki mention just how much magic did the All Father have to conjure to send Thor to Earth, a nice footnote given that the Rainbow Bridge was destroyed at the end of Thor’s film.”
Actually, the line was even cleverer than that – he says dark energy, not magic. They used a couple of lines like that and about Thor being an alien to just subtly Clark’s-Third-Law the whole magical Norse god thing. You know, like, they’re not *really* magical gods, they’re *really* super-advanced aliens from another planet that just seem like magical gods.
What I don’t like about the avengers is that Loki is the villain, he was in Thor, Avengers and now Thor 2, don’t they have other villains lol,
It’s like General Zod being the villain in Man of Steel, then Man of Steel 2, then the villain in Justice League, it would be boring you want to see different villains
Great list, but I want to pick at you for your #2 entry.
I don’t think that “over-the-top” action is what made the action sequences in “The Avengers” so satisfying; at least, not by itself.
The reason the over-the-top action sequences worked, and especially the EPIC, HALF-HOUR-LONG climactic battle which is unbelievably awesome, is because they were NECESSARY to the STORY. They weren’t arbitrarily placed just to give people something to look at. They were not only really awesome, they also drove the story forward.
When Iron Man & Thor go at it, it’s plot-driven: they both have motivation to fight over Loki. When The Hulk and Thor go at it, it’s because Hulk is endangering the entire mission and must be stopped. When Black Widow and Hawkeye battle, it isn’t just to show off great choreography–she’s fighting to save him.
And in that climactic battle, the story progresses brilliantly as the team ultimately learns how to work together as a unit, and it underscores a MAJOR underlying emotional theme of the film, which is simple: the importance of team-work. It is great to watch these heroes put aside their egos, let their guards down and learn to TRUST each other, while figuring out how they can best serve the unit as a whole.
And then, and ONLY then, do they finally unleash the HULK, which was such a brilliant effing move–they’d basically saved him for the entire film, and built into the writing how utterly dangerous he is, and he did not disappoint.
All in all, a great list–but I wanted to chime in!
The film was entertaining and fun but it was a kids movie at the end of the day and not a masterpiece, I prefer my comic book movies with a gritty tone like The first Crow movie and first Blade movie.
EDIT* Loki says “How much *Dark Energy* did the All Father conjure…”
Not magic.
Thor’s dialogue does not have a Victorian influence. Far from it. I think the term you’re looking for is Elizabethan.