The Avengers turns 10. Bonus Cinematic Throwback

How has it already been ten years?

I guarantee that there is no movie that I have watched more in the last decade than this first Avengers movie. It is just endlessly rewatchable. Every scene has either a great character moment, a good joke, good action, or a memorable visual. Often all 4 at once. 

Heading into the summer of 2012, there were two mammoth movies on the way: this and The Dark Knight Rises. I was certain that TDKR was going to be the superior film. It wasn't that I wasn't already a fan of the MCU (the 1st Iron Man and Thor movies in particular), but it felt kind of inevitable that this big team-up would prove to be less than the sum of its parts.

Little did I know that with the MCU, more is always more. The big ensemble movies are almost across the board my favorites in the franchise. 

And this franchise was made by this film. Yeah, if The Avengers hadn't really worked out, I don't think that would have meant the end of the MCU. Iron Man was already big. Thor and Captain America had successful films. Mediocre to bad team-ups didn't cause DC flicks like Wonder Woman or Aquaman to flop. But we definitely would not have seen the same slate of films in the 10 years since. And would Marvel have had the cachet to try something like Guardians of the Galaxy?

I know this might be radioactive to say now, but the best move Marvel made with this film was hiring Joss Whedon. Whedon was already a god to me due to Buffy, but as far as big screen filmmaking there was just the Firefly movie Serenity, which was great, but also was not a moneymaker. Even Whedon's most recent TV show, Dollhouse, had been kind of underwhelming. But Whedon's skill for handling a large ensemble and giving everyone a chance to shine was exactly what The Avengers needed.

So we get the big names returning for this, but with one change. As Bruce Banner, out went Edward Norton and in came Mark Ruffalo. I know at whatever time I heard this I was not a fan of the change. I only thought Norton's Hulk movie was okay (it remains probably my 2nd or 3rd least favorite MCU film) but Norton was excellent and I was really not a Ruffalo fan. But they nailed this decision too, and Ruffalo has been consistently stellar in these films.

I had one other thing that muted my expectations for the film going in: Loki. How would Loki be a formidable villain for a whole Avengers team? And, you know, my appreciation for Loki grew during the Infinity Saga but he was easily his least interesting early on when he was just a total villain. But, this too proved to not really be a concern. Loki makes for a good villain here, and Hiddleston gets some great comedy moments too ("puny god")

So basically the only few things that could have tripped this movie up became non-factors. What we have left is still a dazzlingly fun and entertaining show, that somehow still carries that exciting kick of seeing superheroes team up. Even after many other team-ups, I still get a thrill out of that first scene of Cap and Tony meeting. And the grand climax when they first truly team up and the theme kicks in....still incredible. Whedon nails all these big moments. 

I mean, it's not a completely perfect film. If one were to quibble, there's some dragging in that middle section aboard the helicarrier, where Loki wanting to cause havoc amongst the team is treated like a surprising reveal. 

Thor is a little too dopey a few times. 

I don't care about the waitress, sorry. 

Hawkeye being possessed for half the film is kind of a waste of the character. 

And there is some clunky dialogue here and there.

But these are quibbles, nothing more. The rest of the movie is just a nonstop ride of great, brilliantly cast characters bouncing off each other, of superb action sequences, of great humor, and grounded just enough to make it feel real. 

The Avengers is a grand achievement, which was such a homerun that it has truly changed the course of movies. I cannot imagine a world in which this film did not happen.