Avengers Assemble Movie Review 6 2964

The Avengers Assemble movie review

Marvel has been very clever with the way they’ve been building up to Avengers Assemble. Instead of rushing into things and doing the big movie right away they, with the exception the two lesser known members, dedicated a movie to each of the heroes (or two movies in the case of a certain billionaire hero), exploring their respective back stories thoroughly and giving them purpose and, most importantly, giving us purpose to invest ourselves in them.

So after five movies and more hype than just about any movie to be released this year short of The Dark Knight Rises, does Avengers Assemble live up to the hype? Absolutely.

Picking things up some time after the events of the last Marvel movie Thor, the God of Thunder’s evil brother Loki is following through on his plans to attack Earth using the Tesseract, a powerful object he has stolen which could be the source of unlimited energy but also has the potential to destroy the planet. Headed by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), S.H.I.E.L.D. assembles a team of superheroes including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) to fight back and save mankind.

It’s a pretty simple premise on the surface, but as I said Marvel has done such a great job of laying the groundwork for this, the mother of all superhero team-ups. And that allows for the film to not waste any time getting to the point – we don’t need a ton of back-story in this one as we’ve already had five movie’s worth. Having said that, it doesn’t feel like it’s rushed either. Director Joss Whedon – an excellent choice for the material – finds a brilliant pace and mixes the action and humour extremely well.

Speaking of which, in true trademark Whedon style he injects a lot of genuine humour amidst all the chaos (as he also did recently with The Cabin in the Woods). It’s not exactly a comedy as it indeed keeps its eyes on the action almost at all times but the comedy, whether that be Robert Downey Jr’s trademark quips (in the way only Downey can deliver) or Dr. Banner joking about his “condition,” comes as a welcome bonus.

There’s also a great chemistry between the team members, which was absolutely essential for making this movie work. Whedon finds breathing space for the characters to interact on a level beyond assisting each other fighting off the bad guys, and seeing them go from reluctance (snarky remarks and in-team fights are very much on the menu here) to the team we all know they’ll become is a joy.

There are mightily impressive action set-pieces peppers throughout the film that, while they are in essence teasers for what’s to come later, are still completely memorable and substantial on their own. One sequence in particular, which I won’t spoil, hints at the teamwork we’ll eventually behold and actually contains some moments that gives the impression not all of the heroes are going to survive the turmoil. Of course we know they will but it’s rare for a blockbuster to make you forget that, if only for a moment.

The Avengers Assemble review

Although impressive in their own right, the earlier action sequences don’t really compare to the big one at the end. Essentially one giant set-piece, it is truly spectacular stuff, delivering on all fronts imaginable for this type of movie and giving each of the Avengers their time to shine in their own fun and unique ways. Iron Man’s suit, Thor’s hammer, Captain America’s shield and, of course, the Hulk’s sheer brute force (etc.) are all on full display here, turned up to 11 if you will, and to see them work together to fight off an extremely formidable foe is an absolutely blast.

There’s a plus that, despite its resemblance to the Transformer’s franchise, the end set-piece features none of the annoying shaky cam and, you know, you actually care about the characters battling it out. Comic and blockbuster movie geeks in particular will be clapping and open-mouthed with aww and enjoyment at some of the action and money shots found in the last half hour.

What surprised me most about the movie was just how much the Hulk steals the show. His two films so far have been mixed (though I enjoyed them both in their own ways) but it’s ultimately when he’s part of a team that he really gets the chance to shine. Whedon finds inventive ways to utilize his power and in a city sitting he causes maximum carnage while helping to save the day. Mark Ruffalo, taking over where Edward Norton left off, does a fantastic job portraying the non-Hulk Dr. Banner, with just enough of the snarky humour that Downey brings to the table while still maintaining a more grounded, serious footing. And the fact that he also played “the other guy,” as Banner refers to him, via motion capture gives it strange believability (if such a phrase can be used for a film like this). At the end of the day the Hulk is the one that leaves the biggest impression (no pun intended).

Any sort of major issues to be had with the movie lies with the army that Loki has enlisted to destroy Earth. They don’t leave much of a mark, both in how they look or how they attack (a sort of B-grade Green Goblin), and scenes which attempt to explain who they are and why they’re helping Loki are a little weak. But when there’s so much else done right this ends up as a blip on an otherwise potently entertaining radar.

As it turns out all the fuss and anticipation has paid off. Avengers Assemble is an exhilarating blockbuster experience that pulls together some of the most iconic comic book characters ever and utilizes that team-up in a way that’s as satisfying as a whole as it is thoroughly entertaining in the moment.

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I'm a freelance film reviewer and blogger with over 10 years of experience writing for various different reputable online and print publications. In addition to my running, editing and writing for Thoughts On Film, I am also the film critic for The National, the newspaper that supports an independent Scotland, covering the weekly film releases, film festivals and film-related features. I have a passion for all types of cinema, and have a particular love for foreign language film, especially South Korean and Japanese cinema. Favourite films include The Big Lebowski, Pulp Fiction and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

6 Comments

  1. Awesome review man!!! I still have to wait a little over a week before it comes out here in the US. My interest in it has diminished a lot but your review has kind of picked me back up a little. You didn’t say much about Hawkeye(Jeremy Renner), who I am most excited about seeing as he is one of my favorite Marvel characters. Was he not as big of a player in the film? Was it not acted very well by Renner? Or was he just overshadowed by others, namely Hulk?

    1. Thanks a lot man! Really appreciate it. It’s weird it’s being released here first, that seems to have happened with a few of the Marvel movies though (Thor and Captain America did I believe).

      I knew someone would pick me up on the Hawkeye thing 😛 No it wasn’t at all that Renner wasn’t great (he was) and they did a great job of integrating him into the team considering we’ve only had one scene of him before (in Thor) but my review was already going beyond the 1000 word mark so I wanted to wind it up 😛 Plus yeah, the other’s overshadow him (that’s not necessarily a bad thing).

  2. Awesome review for an apparently awesome movie.

    Still don’t understand why we Americans have to wait til May 4…ah well, sure the wait will be worth it.

    1. Thanks Max. Yeah, not sure why it’s being released elsewhere a week in advance. Didn’t they do the same with Thor and Captain America?

  3. Great review Ross, completely agree with you across the board. Ruffalo’s Hulk was the best of what was a fantastic bunch, each holding their own and given their fair share of screen time (which I loved). The final set piece was superb and the film certainly sets the bar for other blockbusters.
    Great work!

    1. Thanks James! Glad you liked the review. I agree, it will be hard for any other blockbuster this year to beat it for pure popcorn fun.

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Tolkien Biopic to Be Released in May 0 5286

10th May, 2019 is when Tolkien will be released to the world, an autobiographical film that will revolve around the early days of legendary author J.R.R. Tolkien before he became the literary giant that he is today.

Here on Thoughts on Film we are big fans of his work and the recent films made by Peter Jackson. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (LOTR), are responsible for originating a universe that has gone on to inspire movies, animation, fiction, and modern media interpretations.



This is why Tolkien is regarded by many as the greatest fantasy author of all time. His creative stamp can be seen nearly everywhere in modern media. There’s the direct reinterpretation of his work in the recently released action roleplaying game Middle Earth: Shadow of War, where players are thrust into a major role in Tolkien’s literary canon. George R.R. Martin, who originated the now globally-popular Game of Thrones series on HBO, openly reveres LOTR as the inspiration for his work, citing the early death of Gandalf in Fellowship of the Ring as having a profound effect on his “own willingness to kill characters at the drop of a hat.” On the web, more Tolkien-inspired work can be found on leading slot portal Slingo and its many online titles dedicated to the fantasy genre, including Amazon Queen, Fae Legend Warrior, and Magic Castle, all of which feature elements that can be traced back to the author’s massive body of work. Technically speaking, the same can be said of nearly every major fantasy brand out there today, from Dungeons & Dragons to Magic: the Gathering. In short, almost every type of entertainment that features western fantasy can be traced back to the works of Tolkien.

In the upcoming Tolkien movie, the man will be played by Nicholas Hoult, whom is best known for Mad Max: Fury Road and Hank McCoy in the most recent X-Men movies. And now, the actor’s versatility will be tested as he steps into the shoes of the most iconic fantasy writer of all time. Starring alongside Hoult will be the actress Lily Collins as Edith Bratt – the woman whom Tolkien loved above all and is reportedly the inspiration for all “elven princess characters” in the LOTR series.

Helming the film is director Dome Karukoski whose CV includes 2017’s Tom of Finland, a critically acclaimed chronicle of the life and works of the controversial artist of the same name. And while media outlets haven’t yet heard from either the cast, director, or crew of the film, an official synopsis of the movie has been released via Collider. “Tolkien explores the formative years of the orphaned author as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts at school. This takes him into the outbreak of World War I, which threatens to tear the “Fellowship” apart. All of these experiences would inspire Tolkien to write his famous Middle-earth novels.” It sounds like a real treat for film, literature, and Middle Earth fans.

Feature: 2019 Oscar Predictions 0 4030

I think it’s fair to say that the run up to this year’s Oscars has been a little messier than usual, from unexpected and bizarre wins at other awards shows (Vice winning Best Editing at the BAFTAs, anyone?) to ridiculous decisions by the Academy to change the show around.

The latter has proved a particular point of contention with both those in the industry to onlookers on social media, with choices such as not letting all the songs be performed to introducing a Best Popular Film category (whatever that means) to not airing four categories live; Editing and Cinematography proved a particular issue, sending the folks of Film Twitter into a Hulk-like rage.

Thankfully all of these decisions except for the one to not have a main host have taken the walk-back of shame; I look forward to Clint Eastwood talking to an empty chair again. Of course there’s still the issue of plenty of thoroughly deserving films, filmmakers and performances not being up for any Oscars at all (*cough* Toni Collette! *cough*) but of course that’s not an issue unique to this year.

The show must go on, as they say, and I thought a week out from this year’s ceremony I’d throw my hat into the ring as far as predictions goes. Below I’ve listed what I think will win in each category, as well as what I personally would like to see pick up that little gold man come next Sunday evening.

Best Picture

Want to win: A Star is Born
Will win: Green Book

Lead Actor

Want to win: Bradley Cooper (A Star is Born)
Will win: Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody)

Lead Actress

Want to win: Olivia Colman (The Favourite)
Will win: Olivia Colman (The Favourite)

Supporting Actor

Want to win: Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)
Will win: Mahershala Ali (Green Book)

Supporting Actress

Want to win: Emma Stone (The Favourite)
Will win: Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)

Director

Want to win: Alfonso Cuarón (Roma)
Will win: Alfonso Cuarón (Roma)

Animated Feature

Want to win: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Will win: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Adapted Screenplay

Want to win: BlacKkKlansman
Will win: BlacKkKlansman

Original Screenplay

Want to win: First Reformed
Will win: The Favourite

Cinematography

Want to win: Roma
Will win: Roma

Documentary Feature

Want to win: Free Solo
Will win: Minding the Gap

Foreign Language Film

Want to win: Roma
Will win: Roma

Film Editing

Want to win: BlacKkKlansman
Will win: Bohemian Rhapsody

Sound Editing

Want to win: A Quiet Place
Will win: Bohemian Rhapsody

Sound Mixing

Want to win: A Star is Born
Will win: Bohemian Rhapsody

Production Design

Want to win: Roma
Will win: The Favourite

Original Score

Want to win: If Beale Street Could Talk
Will win: Black Panther

Original Song

Want to win: Shallow (A Star is Born)
Will win: Shallow (A Star is Born)

Makeup and Hair

Want to win: Mary Queen of Scots
Will win: Vice

Costume Design

Want to win: Black Panther
Will win: The Favourite

Visual Effects

Want to win: Avengers: Infinity War
Will win: Ready Player One

Animated Short

Want to win: Bao
Will win: Bao

Live Action Short

Want to win: Marguerite
Will win: Marguerite

Documentary Short Subject

Want to win: Black Sheep
Will win: Lifeboat

Do you agree? Disagree? Feel free to leave your predictions/wishes for the winners below or tweet @TOF_UK or @rosstmiller.

Roll on Sunday!