With the arrival of The Avengers a few weekends ago,
many people probably wonder how the film can take 6 different comic book
characters, 4 of whom have their own movie (or two, in the case of Iron Man),
and actually blend them together. With the Iron Man series, Thor,
Captain America, and The Incredible Hulk building the backdrop for The
Avengers, there's definitely no shortage of material. There is, however, a
danger that The Avengers could feel more like an assembly line of
characters with predictable reactions and dialogue.
Each of the previously released films has a completely different style, from
storytelling to cinematography to music. For example, Iron Man has a lot
of driving rock music and cinematography that complements that. Captain
America's film style fits with the 1940s, the setting of the film, by using
more sepia tones and orchestration in the soundtrack. Thor is the most
outside-the-box since parts of the film are based on another planet, and the
costuming is much more fanciful, and The Incredible Hulk plays up the
green tones (for obvious reasons). Despite all these style differences, The
Avengers forges ahead and makes its own style, keeping some of the overall
elements of each film in a way that doesn't overpower or seem random. For
example, the colors are vibrant but understated. Each character, obviously,
keeps their original costume, but some have received some modifications to
modernize them, which, in turn, makes them a little more cohesive as a group.
Each of the main characters is used to fighting their own battles. When you try
to force a team dynamic, things can get a little volatile. In a way you'd
expect given their personalities, Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man all clash
spectacularly before forging a type of friendship built on some mutual disdain,
before eventually arriving at something like an actual team. The one seeming
idiosyncrasy in the cast is Hawkeye's character. Despite his very brief
appearance in Thor, little is known about him, and I don't really feel
like he gets used to his full potential in a way that makes logical sense (instead
of just comic-book sense).
Even with some near misses, The Avengers avoids becoming an assembly
line comic book film, which is amazing considering the enormous job of getting
such an excellent cast (both actors and characters) to feel natural and not
forced. Each superhero holds his or her own beautifully, even Hawkeye. With
their powers combined, they've become the Avengers, a group that was in danger
of predictability and disappointment, but instead, triumphs to the joy of fans
everywhere.
