by Mr.Movie Dude | ARCHIVES

In the sixth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “The Avengers” request Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) of the S.H.E.I.L.D. to bring together a team of superheroes such as Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johannsson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). The opening scene reveals Loki (Tom Hiddleston) Thor’s adoptive brother and nemesis comes to Earth to rule the human race as their king. And like all the delusional autocrats of human history, he thinks this is a great idea because if everyone is busy worshipping him, there will be no wars so he will create some kind of world peace by ruling them as a tyrant. But he is also kind of deluded in the fact that he thinks unlimited power will give him self-respect. Loki is still motivated by this terrible jealousy of Thor and disillusioned by his spiritual order in the universe.

The director of S.H.I.E.L.D., who was revealed in previous films to be coordinating the “Avengers Initiative”. Jackson was brought to the project with a deal containing an option to play the character in up to nine Marvel films. Jackson said he does more in The Avengers than in any of the previous films: “You don’t have to wait until the end of the movie to see me.” About the role, Jackson said, “It’s always good to play somebody [who] is a positive in society as opposed to somebody who is a negative. . . I tried to make him as honest to the story and as honest to what real-life would seem.”

The movie delivers the bigger-than-life pleasures of an action movie on super steroids. Not surprisingly, Robert Downey Jr.’s flip, cynical Stark (Iron Man) gets a good measure of the movie’s best lines, bouncing off Steve Rogers’ (Captain America) boy scout idealism and Thor’s guileless sledgehammer style (sometimes literally). Whedon also crafts a couple of choice scenes beautifully tailored for Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, a far more interesting character here than she appeared to be in “Iron Man 2.”

But no question, the movie’s not-so-secret weapon is Hulk.

Mark Ruffalo is the third actor to play Bruce Banner/Hulk in the past decade, and even though the soft-spoken star would seem to have the longest fuse (when we first see him he’s tending to the sick in an Indian slum) he’s immediately both more dangerous and more fun than either Edward Norton or Eric Bana in the same role. Director Joss Whedon gives him a long build up. For the first hour of the movie we’re invited to speculate along with his new allies just how much havoc Banner’s rampaging id might cause. Then the leash comes off! Never underestimate the entertainment value of the Hulk Smash. That’s probably the most important lesson to be drawn here, and one that clearly hasn’t been lost on the filmmakers, who have reportedly signed Ruffalo to a six-picture deal.

Beyond that, the movie wants us to believe that these action figures have learned to play nice and work as a team — which is good news for humanity, but maybe not so promising for the inevitable sequels. A climax on the war-torn streets of Manhattan could almost be an extended outtake from the last “Transformers” flick — Whedon can only push the blockbuster form so far — but if it’s a Friday Night Smack Down you’re after, “Avengers” gets the job done. Of course they’ll be back, thanks to Hollywood’s obsession with sequels, especially those based on comic book heroes. Their return is guaranteed also because audiences have been eagerly anticipating this first all-hero extravaganza for years. The wait was worth it. They’ve all been around the blockbuster block, individually or in smaller combinations.

Now this group of a half-dozen heroic comic-book characters fights a dastardly villain on land, air and into outer space. But they also amusingly tussle among themselves. It’s that last squabbling that makes for the most fun. The Avengers premiered on April 11, 2012, at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California. The film received positive reviews from most film critics and set numerous box office records, including the biggest opening weekend in North America, tied the record for the fastest film to gross $1 billion worldwide and became the third highest-grossing film. Avengers earned an estimated $586,737,000 in North America, as of June 17, 2012, and $833,100,000 in other countries, as of June 17, 2012, for a worldwide total of $1,419,837,000.

THE AVENGERS GALLERY