Ever since Samuel L Jackson first appeared as Nick Fury, director of SHIELD, and spoke those words after the credits of Iron Man, Marvel fans had been buzzing for the arrival of The Avengers. No longer was the film just a fantastical rumour on the internet - it was official, it was happening and it had been announced through the absolutely perfect casting of Samuel L Jackson as his comic book doppelganger, Nick Fury.
The wait was a long one - for the next four years the film was merely hinted at in the endings to The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Iron Man 2. Then came Captain America: The First Avenger, which ended with a trailer for the upcoming Avengers movie. Even from this early glimpse, the signs were promising.
Then 2012 arrived and in April, The Avengers (released as Avengers Assemble in the UK) finally hit cinema screens. Fans were not disappointed.
The big shots at Marvel and Disney went all out on this one. Anyone who thought Disney's purchase of Marvel Studios would spell disaster for the superhero films was instantly silenced in the opening sequence. We open in deep space on an impressive floating complex of asteroids, which house a sleek space-age throne room, lit by an ominous electric blue glow. On top of this, the voice-over of an alien foretelling the destruction that is about to befall Earth. From this, we cut to an establishing shot of SHIELD's vast base set into a mountainous landscape, a helicopter flying overhead. Jackson's Nick Fury is quick to come marching onto the scene and into the towering chamber that houses the Tesseract - an alien cube used to open a gateway to the other end of the universe. It is in this chamber that Loki - god of mischief and villain of the piece, first seen in 2011's Thor - makes his first dramatic appearance, stealing the cube and taking over the minds of several SHIELD members, including expert archer and Avenger-to-be Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye. The opening sequence ends with a dramatic explosion, destroying the entire SHIELD base. The film is off to a high-octane start of epic proportions. And it just keeps getting better.
Following the titles we start to meet our Avengers - Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson, making an action-packed escape from an interrogation; Bruce Banner (AKA the Hulk), now played by Mark Ruffalo, the third man to take on the role since 2003's Hulk and by far the best; the first Avenger himself, Steve Rogers/Captain America, played once again by Chris Evans; and the genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist, Tony Stark (AKA Iron Man), played by the legendary Robert Downey Jr. These first Avengers are gathered, all but Stark making it to SHIELD's impressive floating Helicarrier base. We later meet Thor, god of thunder and brother of Loki, in an intense forest battle against Iron Man. Here we see sci-fi pitted against fantasy in a fight that sets the boundary-breaking all-out superheroic tone of the film.
All of the Avengers are finally united, though a little uneasily, back on SHIELD's Helicarrier. The heroes distrust of SHIELD eventually turns to distrust of each other and it is in a heated argument between them that Loki's brainwashed soldiers attack the flying SHIELD base. We are treated to the first truly epic battle of the film as Thor takes on the Hulk - who is far more powerful and destructive here than we have ever seen the jolly jade giant before - Black Widow takes on the possessed Hawkeye, and Iron Man and Captain America work together to save the damaged Helicarrier and fight off Loki's forces. Here we see the less-than-assembled Avengers in action, as we intercut between each of the individual battles making up the larger conflict. The result of this fight (other than leaving the audience utterly blown away) is a fractured team, separated and hurt by the loss of a friend at SHIELD...
But the heroes' A-game is still to come. As Loki uses the Tesseract to unleash his alien army, the Chitauri, upon Earth, the Avengers assemble in New York. The unveiling of Iron Man's new armour - the 'Mark Seven' - is an impressive opening to the film's battle royale, but even more impressive is Banner's entrance. The good doctor has just arrived and is walking towards one of the Chitauri's giant flying metal monsters, as he reveals his secret to the rest of the team - he's "always angry". With this revelation, he turns back into his muscle-bound green alter-ego and, with a single punch, brings down the 50ft metal beast. After this, we have the hero shot of the Avengers, all together at last, the camera tracking around the gathered superheroes. This defining shot is typical of Joss Whedon's amazing directing throughout - the camera is rarely kept still, dynamic shots often in use to emphasise the constant movement and action within them as well as to make the audience feel as though they are present in the world of the film.
The Avengers then is the definitive superhero movie. The genre has been increasingly popular over the last few years and in this epic, bringing together four of Earth's mightiest heroes (and two not-so-mighty ones!), the superhero film has found its peak. So does this mean superhero movies from now on will forever be living in The Avengers' shadow? Will another film of this scale ever grace our cinema screens? I certainly believe the only way would be for Marvel's best and bravest to unite once again. And if you're wondering about the chances of that happening, just stick around after the credits start to roll...
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