10 Years Later: The Avengers

Director: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth
Running time: 143 minutes

Back in 2018, Avengers: Infinity War was tipped as “the most ambitious crossover event in history”, but surely, even a decade later, that mantle still belongs to 2012’s The Avengers. Never before had a single film brought together so many dangling threads and tied them together into such a neat bow, providing the outstanding outcome of four years of solo ventures for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s leading heroes. It was seen as a major swing, an outright risk, at the time - but to say it hit the mark is an understatement. It was a monumental success, bringing in $1.5bn at the box office and propelling Marvel into the financial and cultural stratosphere. And, even more impressively than that? It’s still one hell of a film in its own right. 

Presented with a supernatural threat in the form of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki and his army of aliens, super-spy Nick Fury assembles a team of superheroes to save the world - bringing together Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye as the planet’s last line of defence. After initial tensions bubble away within the ranks, this rag-tag group slowly becomes a proper team, fighting side-by-side in a destructive battle in New York… But you knew that already. 

For all the spectacular action scenes and groundbreaking visual effects, it is the intragroup dynamics of the Avengers, the tension and the squabbles, the clashing of egos and ideologies, that makes this film truly engaging. As exciting as it is to see Thor summon lightning from the sky or Iron Man drop a nuke into outer space, it is even more fascinating to watch Steve Rogers and Tony Stark go head-to-head in a meeting room, slinging insults and dropping iconic one-liners like “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” with such poise. Seeing this giant world condensed into such an intimate, character-focused drama is a treat, and credit to a properly sharp script.

That said, the cool moments are exactly that, very cool, leaving comic book fans teary-eyed with childlike wonder. That team-up scene, in which the camera circles the newly-formed group as they prepare for a Chitauri onslaught, is still one of the greatest shots in modern history. Having Iron Man fly to the rescue with AC/DC blaring in the background encapsulates the spirit of that character with an elegant simplicity. And Hulk throwing ‘puny god’ Loki around with playful abandon summarises the light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek vibe of the MCU to a tee. This film was, still is, the stuff of dreams for the nerds among us. 

While it remains virtually flawless, though, there is still one glaring weakness - Joss Whedon’s handling of Captain America. Where the Russo Brothers just get Steve Rogers, creating a righteous yet ruthless hero in both of their Captain America movies, Whedon sucks all the fun out of the character, turning him into a purely straight-laced, slightly annoying dinosaur who offers very little in terms of action or story. This is a guy who’s brave enough to take on Thanos and his entire army single-handedly in Endgame, but in the final battle here, he largely picks off pawns and guides civilians to safety. What a beans. 

Despite this, The Avengers is an undoubtable triumph, a cinematic moment that - much to the chagrin of Martin Scorsese - launched an empire that is still going strong to this day. Without the success of this film, there would be no Infinity War, no multiverse, no Disney+ spin-offs. Some might say good riddance, but I say thank goodness. It’s been one hell of a ride - and long may it continue. 

Did you know? According to writer and director Joss Whedon, the "That man is playing Galaga!" line was ad-libbed by Robert Downey Jr, and worked so well that Whedon decided to add in an image of Galaga on "that man's" console as the scene's punchline.