NEWS
EVENTS
Who is your favourite Avenger...?
Other | Friday 8th June 2012 | Osh
Iron Man. Hulk. Thor. Captain America. Hawkeye. And the Black Widow. All champions of justice, ready to shake their mighty fists at those ne’er-do-wells who threaten the blue planet we call Earth. But what caused all the upset? Well, it begins with the discovery of the Tesseract, an ocean blue cube with the potential to produce virtually unlimited energy. Now who wouldn’t want one of those? Then arrives everyone’s favourite Norse God…’s brother. Loki. Yep, the bloody God of Mischief. He comes along, possesses a few people here and there and manages to steal said energy source. Well, things just went belly-up, didn’t they? Upon seeing this, Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. decides to put together the “Avengers Initiative”, a group that can withstand the might of the enemies that beckon Earth.
Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark (Iron Man) is perfect, bringing sharp comedic value to the comic book extravaganza, whilst Chris Evans as Captain America, the fiercely patriotic American soldier, is reflective and righteous in his persona. The brawn appears in the shirt-bursting, trouser-expanding green machine we all know not to make angry, but Mark Ruffalo (Dr Bruce Banner) is quite compassionate as the Hulk, as shown in the last quarter of the film. Thor’s yield to co-operation is one of the best set-pieces in the film; it simply oozes similarities that would be expected in the comics. Joss Whedon captures this almost seamlessly; his direction to Hemsworth remains faithful y to the Marvel legacy. Hawkeye’s involuntary deferral to the dark side wrestles an idea of conscience, whilst the sexual magnitude of the Black Widow is more than enough to keep any nerd wanting more. The film is a strong example of how superhero films should be made, giving more reason to forget the monstrosity that was Ang Lee’s 2003 version of the Hulk.
Whedon has had a difficult task on his hands combining the personalities of four very different superheroes and he rises to the challenge magnificently, but the Avengers is not a game-changer. It doesn’t set the bar for superhero films like the Dark Knight did, but it helps give a new insight into the use of special effects. With the post-credits scene promising a sequel, it would seem that the Avengers will soon become everyone’s favourite super-group.
Charles Duntoye
