Ok Avengers time.

Saw this in theaters back in 2012. Had a great time. Plus there was a teenage couple making out during the credits like their boat was going down. So there’s that.

This has been in the top 5 for me forever. A really funny, exciting culmination of years of prep work. And I remember thinking Whedon knew how to treat these characters — sometimes better than their own stewards.

Done!

So The Avengers. This movie shouldn’t be as good as it is, inheriting as it does so many heroes and through lines. Yet Whedon is a smart storyteller and one of the best in the business at forging believable group dynamics, as we saw in Buffy, Firefly, etc. He manages to juggle all these larger-than-life characters and funnel them into a tonally coherent narrative.

Now, because it’s so busy it can’t possibly be as agile or as dramatically efficient as a one-off like Iron Man or Winter Soldier but it’s still darn impressive. Every hero gets his or her day in the sun, so to speak, with Tony and especially Bruce getting the best stuff. In fact, and this is something I really noticed during this watch, whenever the banter ended and the fights began, I was a little disappointed. As well-organized and exciting as the action sequences in The Avengers are, I think I like the scenes of Tony and Bruce in the lab, or Tony and Pepper teasing each other, or Coulson geeking out over Cap, more.

In fact I’d say the climactic battle could shed about 5 minutes and be the better for it — although that panning shot of all the heroes is pure fanboy fuel :)

Overall, The Avengers does everything well or, at the very least, serviceably. It’s a great popcorn flick with fist-pumping action, a great sense of humor, and a collection of really nice character moments. It doesn’t hit the dramatic high notes of the best superhero movies and its plot is a little unwieldy but it’s still among the best the MCU has on offer.

7/10

Avengers marked my return to the MCU for the first time in the theatre since The Incredible Hulk. No way was I missing this. To paraphrase Elaine Benes “I watched a lot crap to get to this point”. Short story: loved it. I felt like a kid again. Whatever you may think of Phase One, when our heroes meet up, it felt earned. The groundwork had been laid and this was the payoff. Tony and Cap’s first meeting, Tony and Thor tussling amongst the trees. That tracking shot. All produced a euphoric high sitting in the theatre. It’s not a perfect film but it was one of the best film experiences. See you on the other side!

Sorry for being late, I've been re-watching the Marvel films for this thread, but I always forget to comment, going to make this right.

Iron Man - 9/10 (For the first 80% this is pretty much a perfect comic book film, RDJ's portrayal of Iron Man differs from most superheroes without just resorting to "Be dark and brooding" like more and more films started to do after the success of The Dark Knight, and ultimately he's what makes the movie so great, the humor and fast-paced plot make it a consistently fun watch. However the movie does dip a bit at the end, it's not bad, but it feels rushed and comes across as generic in comparison to the rest of the film.)

The Incredible Hulk - 6/10 (I actually didn't mind the 2003 Hulk that much but this was a bit better, although upon rewatch my opinion of it has dwindled. Everything about it is competent and workman-like enough, but just nothing stands out. It's no disaster but it just gets dull to watch when so much of it is just focused on Hulk smashing things. I actually think the opening act of the film is bay far the best because of this, as there's some intrigue and suspense. The rest is okay but disposable.)

Iron Man 2 - 6/10 (I hated this film when I first watched it, like I found it to be a 3/10 film, but after rewatch, either due to lack of anticipation for extremely low expectations, I think it's fine. There's actually a lot to like in this movie, however whenever I'm starting to enjoy it the movie does something completely stupid that reminds me why I was disappointed to begin with.)

Thor - 8/10 (What's funny about Thor is how mixed it is, it seems people either really like it or consider it one of the worst in the MCU. Personally I enjoyed it a lot. The best parts of Thor are certainly in Asgard, but I honestly didn't mind the fish out of water material, and I found it mostly amusing excluding the overbearing comedic relief character that everyone knows and loathes.)

Captain America - 7/10 (Another one I didn't care for that I like more now, but unlike Iron Man 2 the flaws don't dampen the experience as much, the movie is consistently entertaining but something about it always felt rushed, it's hard to put to words, but I think this movie was one re-tooling away from being one of the best in the MCU. But as it is it's still good.)

The Avengers - 8/10 (I think Whedon really pulled through with this one. While the film feels slightly lacking in the magic without the theater element the film still holds up as a funny and surprisingly coherent superhero team-up flick.)

I give Avengers a 7/10.

Whedon hit the high notes where the high notes were necessary. Good action, great laughs, good dialogue, great character interactions, good fanboy moments. I feel like this movie isn't really lacking anything.

"...Whedon? Oh god. Whedon's making Avengers? Why?"

That's the reaction I had in like 2011 when I heard he was making it. I went to see it at an iMax 3D showing and enjoyed it. It was, in as pure as you can, entertainment. It was entertaining and still is. It's fun to watch, lots of action.

Yes here's the thing, the more I watch it the more I sigh at it though, the more I see Whedon's stamp on it. I don't like him, don't like his work. I see his writing style in everything he does and it's awful. The man can't write a decent plot, he can't write character interaction that isn't half one-liners and jokes. This shows through in this. In serious moments like "Loki has killed hundreds of people over the last few days." Thor "He's adopted." That isn't the response to your brother murdering people.... but it is a Whedon response.

But eitherway, I'm giving it a 7/10. It is an entertaining film to watch.

Scores updated to this point.

And a new poll!

Still love The Avengers. The film just flows so well and is diverting enough that even on repeat viewings, it’s over before you know it. I was so happy when Whedon was announced as director, although a little worried since he only had Serenity under his belt at that time. I knew he could handle an ensemble film well, but this had a more epic nature to it. Those fears quickly melted away as I sat in the theatre positively giddy at what was flashing before me on the screen. True on repeated viewings it does not feel as fresh, but the chemistry amongst the heroes, the fast-paced but engrossing action scenes and the pithy banter still resonate strongly.

The film and its payoffs just felt earned. Even though the earlier films in Phase One had some origin story problems and increasingly lackluster villains, it established the characters enough that once they met up on screen, it immediately felt iconic. We see these actors as these heroes now. It’s not Downey and Evans sizing each other up, it’s Iron Man and Captain America. Contrast that with Justice League (just for a moment, promise), where, yeah, you get to see Batman and Flash team up, but you don’t know THIS Flash. You’ve spent no time with him. It doesn’t give it that same spark.

As others have said, every hero gets their moment in the spotlight, except for maybe Hawkeye who is brainwashed for more than half the film and doesn’t really get to do anything substantial until the final battle. Reflecting back, Thor also is given little more to do than to continually appeal to Loki out of kinship and brotherly affection. It’s not much now, but one of the benefits to the rewatch is to see the seeds being planted for the ultimate effect. The Thor/Loki relationship certainly deepens over time up through Ragnarok. Loki also feels more visceral here. Not just the overlooked child, Hiddleston gives him a hunger and a whiff of wild-eyed insanity in his obsession to wage war and ultimately rule the earth. His plan still doesn’t entirely make sense to me. How he even knows who some of the Avengers are (I guess Hawkeye told him? 🤷‍♂️) and why he would bring them together just to drive them apart is “not a great plan” as Iron Man meta-tells us before the final battle.

Ok, full disclosure. I did not want to like Mark Ruffalo when I first saw this. I really liked Norton in the role in The Incredible Hulk and a major re-cast always leaves me a little anxious but damned if he didn’t win you over immediately. Norton played Banner well when he was on the run, desperate for a cure, and evoked a feeling of being on the outside and trying to scramble back in. Ruffalo plays it better as the man more comfortable in his own skin and who’s reached an equilibrium with his dual life. We’ll find out that he still has issues in later films but at least for most of this film, the re-cast felt smooth and worked within the narrative of the story.

One final topic as I note that once again the review goes on and on. When Cap first confronts Tony in the lab and discovers him hacking into the SHIELD database, there is a great exchange between the two of them that is really elevated once you’ve dived further into the MCU. Cap says they have orders and should follow them (like the good soldier he is) while Tony says that’s not his style and starts to question what SHIELD is holding back from them. Cap also thinks Tony is selfish and would never make the sacrificial play for his team. He doesn’t take anything seriously and I’m trying to provoke the Hulk into making an appearance, does not weigh the consequences of his actions. Contrast that with their positions in Civil War. How they have both influenced one another to make the changes in their arcs in both this and later films. How those changes will bring them closer before driving them apart (and hopefully back together at the end of the day).

I’m going to give The Avengers 7/10. It’s fun, has diverting action mixed with great character moments that are bolstered both by Whedon’s signature banter and the chemistry amongst all the leads. I don’t think a single lead role is miscast and somehow they all fit together even though they were cast separately. You just want to sit and hang around with these guys for an afternoon. The bromance between Tony and Banner was a particular highlight as they both geek out and Tony has a child-like delight and curiosity about the Hulk. It’s a shame that studio interference will overload Avengers: Age of Ultron and ultimately lead to Whedon’s exit from the franchise. This could have been a hot mess in the wrong director’s hands and he hit it out of the park. He also had (at the time) the third highest-grossing film of all time (not adjusted for inflation). Not too shabby for your second feature film.

Current Rankings:
1) Iron Man
2) The Avengers
3) The Incredible Hulk
4) Captain America: The First Avenger
5) Thor
6) Iron Man 2

Can’t believe we’re done Phase One! Thanks to everyone for their participation and reviews. Been a blast so far!

I like this review as most the time all I could think of is how we scored the movie the same while you gave it 7/10 citing Whedon's style as a good thing, I gave it 7/10 in spite of it.

So it works whether you’re fan of his style or not. A good bridge! Probably helps to explain its appeal to the masses