The One Glaring Flaw With The Avengers No One Admits

2. Why Avengers Looks 'Different'

Avengers Arrest Loki
Marvel Studios

So, for those who've perhaps missed Avengers' unique look, the film was actually filmed in an aspect ratio of 1:85:1. Most other films, however, are filmed in 2.39:1, and it makes the film stand out for the worse. The reason for this, apparently, was so that the Hulk could fit into all the scenes without much adjustment, but given how most other Marvel films haven't struggled with that same issue in 2:39:1, Avengers sticks out like a sore thumb.

Everything just sort of looks squashed together - compacted even - and though the Battle of New York is every bit the spectacle today as it was back when it first released, there's something of a TV feel to The Avengers. The action isn't quite as boastful as it should be and, much like a TV movie, the scale is somewhat stunted; you never truly get the sense that humanity is at stake, and while the aspect ratio isn't to blame entirely, it's still a big reason as to why The Avengers feels somewhat lacking when revisited today.

One could surmise that Whedon's past experiences with TV meant he was more comfortable with the 1:85:1 format, but even 2005's Serenity was filmed in the traditional 2:39:1 ratio.

So really, Hulk is to blame for why The Avengers looks 'off'. Whether to instil a sense of continuity or just because Marvel Studios themselves acknowledged how jarring the change was, 1:85:1 was never used after the fact and 2:39:1 was reinstated as the primary ratio.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.