Reasons why ‘The Avengers’ is going to be brilliant, and some cautionary thoughts…

If you have been living under a rock for the last few months you will know little about what could be the greatest movie event of the year, ‘The Avengers’ (UK title ‘Avengers Assemble’).

It is released in the UK on 26^th April and I and many others are looking forward to the culmination of Marvel’s work in recent years in what has been a landmark project in providing a build-up of  platform movies to get all of Marvels greatest superheroes ‘assembled’ in one movie. It has been a masterstroke in building a franchise beyond normal proportions and could well set the blueprint for many other movie franchises in years to come.

And while all this excitement and anticipation is great, thoughts sometimes turn to “what if its rubbish”. So here are my thoughts on why ‘The Avengers’ is going to be brilliant, tempered by some concerns for what I hope will be a fantastic movie.

Never has a cast of characters been put together on such a huge scale for a superhero movie before which will surely mean there’s something for everyone…but wait; can everybody’s favourite heroes be given enough screen time? With so many characters it will be hard to make sure that each one gets a fair shift. I think this has been the thoughts of many fans for a long time.

Hulk Smash! – This latest CG interpretation of The Hulk looks so far to be the best, and he may finally be realised properly…but wait, neither the CG blob in Ang Lee’s ‘Hulk’ and  ‘The incredible Hulk’s’ over detailing as a more ripped, sinewy beast really managed to create a believable Hulk yet, why would now be any different.

The Avengers will surely be the best of Marvel’s current catalogue of Movies after years of build-up…but wait, where will Marvel go after this? With Iron Man 3, Thor 2 and Captain America 2 already confirmed how significant are those films now going to be? ‘The Avengers’ may create a level of expectation so high that Marvel’s next wave of movies may not be able to match it. There’s also every chance of ‘audience burnout’, will audiences see it as worthwhile entertainment or just Marvels ‘cash cow’? Fans will be asking “what are we going to be building up to next?” Most likely Avengers 2, probably no bad thing.

There is surely going to be some massive scale action (highlighted in the trailer) that could take action in movies to a new level, transformers x10! But wait; all this action will surely detract from the sentiment and leave gaps in characterisation that could leave an emotional detachment.

A rumoured runtime of 135 minutes which should cram everything in…But wait, will it? Director Joss Whedon has commented about the trimming of his original cut of three hours to two hours fifteen; surely if it needed three hours in the first place then what has been cut out? Just over two hours sounds right to me, for both pacing and to pull a bigger audience, but has a compromise already been made that could diminish any ‘Epic’ feeling? One thing is certain; it’s going to be a quick, tight two hours.

Having charismatic Tony Stark/Iron Man as seemingly the lead Avenger will be a great move… but wait, do we really need a team captain and will the ever dominant Stark and the always scene stealing Robert Downey Jnr. detract from all the other players.

Story being told from Captain America’s perspective will set a definite thread and an emotional connection…but wait, only my personal opinion, but I thought Captain America was the weakest of the Marvel foundation movies and I wasn’t convinced by Chris Evans in the lead. It may be difficult to to be too centric to one character while also balancing all of the other characters in the ensemble.

Great peril will be provided by the whole reason for the Avengers being ‘assembled’ in the first place, to save the world! and Nick Fury’s damning assessment “war has started and we are hopelessly outgunned”. Surely there is nothing more perilous than that!? But wait…as apocalyptic as this all is, will there be enough room to provide a wider world picture of the doom at hand and the human plight while the film will have to centre on The Avengers themselves.

All this said, my gut feeling is that ‘The Avengers’ is going to be huge and brilliant when considering how long in the making it has been and the overall quality of the foundation movies.

Marvel has invested a huge amount of time and money into this movie and the build-up to it, and I really can’t see them messing it up. It may just get close to’The Dark Knight’s’ box office gross as there is no doubt that many will flock to see it. I can’t wait and I am nowhere near as big a fan of Marvel’s heroes as I am of DC’s Batman and Superman.

I will most definitely be reviewing ‘The Avengers’ when it is released in the UK on 26^th April.

If you haven’t seen the trailer you can here and at apple.com/trailers

What are your thoughts on how ‘The Avengers’ will turn out? – Comment below