Marvel May - The Avengers (2012)

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, here we are, the final review of Marvel May: my review of The Avengers. Released in 2012, this wasn't a movie, this was an event. Now, I am aware that due to a similarly titled film from the year 2000 based on the British spy TV series from the 60's also called The Avengers, Marvel's The Avengers was released as Marvel's Avengers Assemble in the U.K. However, as someone who lives in the U.S, I'll be calling it as The Avengers. So, let's take a look at The Avengers. 

        We open with a S.H.I.E.L.D. base being evacuated, as the Tesseract, which had been dormant since World War II, has woken up. S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, arrives to investigate alongside Agent Maria Hill, played by Cobie Smulders. Dr. Erik Selvig, played by Stellan Skarsgard, has been studying the Tesseract for quite a while, while Agent Clint Barton, played by Jeremy Renner, has been keeping watch on things at the facility. Barton believes that whatever is happening with the Tesseract, it's happening from another side of space. True enough, a portal opens and Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston, arrives and kills a number of agents, taking over the minds of a few others with his scepter, including Barton and Selvig. Now loyal to Loki, Barton and Selvig take the Tesseract and leave Fury behind in the crumbling facility. Fury, Hill, and Agent Coulson, played by Clark Gregg, get out safely, and reactivate the "Avengers Initiative" to stop Loki and get the Tesseract back. 

        We then cut to Natasha Romanoff, played by Scarlett Johansson, tied to a chair in a two-way interrogation with Russian criminals, when Coulson calls, telling her that Barton has turned. After dispatching the Russians, Natasha is then sent to India to pick up Dr. Bruce Banner, played by Mark Ruffalo. Bruce, who hasn't has a flare-up with the Hulk in a while, has been doing medical work and helping others. After a discussion with Natasha, Bruce agrees to join her and S.H.I.E.L.D. in locating the Tesseract. After a briefing with the World Security Council, who discusses starting up something called "Phase 2," goes to meet Captain Steve Rogers, played by Chris Evans, in regards to locating Loki and the Tesseract. Meanwhile, Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr, is working on the Stark Tower in New York City, by cutting the building off from local electrical lines. The tower is said to be powered by an ARC Reactor, thus the entire building is a symbol of clean energy. While Tony enjoys the activation of Stark Tower along with Pepper Potts, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, Coulson arrives to get Tony's help in locating the Tesseract. In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Coulson, Steve, Natasha, and Bruce arrive at a S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft carrier, which turns out to actually be a Helicarrier with reflective panels on its underside. Bruce begins tracking the Tesseract using its energy signature to create an algorithm, which tracks Loki to Germany, as he's after iridium, which can stabilize the energy from the Tesseract. While Barton steals the iridium, Loki faces off against Steve, and Tony arrives shortly thereafter, upon which Loki surrenders. En route to the Helicarrier, the Quinjet with Steve, Tony, Natasha, and Loki on board is attacked by Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth, who is on Earth to bring both Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard, where Loki will face Asgardian justice. After a brawl between Thor, Tony, and Steve, Thor finally agrees to take Loki to the Helicarrier, where we learn that Loki has been in contact that he has been contacted by an enigmatic alien being known as the Other, played by Alexis Denisof, who is a go-between for Loki and the Other's master. On top of that, Loki has been given command of an alien army at the Other's master's disposal: the Chitauri. 

        The next day, Natasha uses her unique interrogation skills to question Loki, who reveals that his trump card is Bruce, or rather the Hulk. In the lab, where Tony and Bruce had been working together, Fury asks what the two of them are up to, and we learn that Tony has been looking into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computer system, and learns about "Phase 2," which involves S.H.I.E.L.D. using the Tesseract to power up weapons, much like HYDRA did in World War II. Fury reveals that because of Thor's grudge match with the Destroyer the previous year (which we saw in the movie Thor), S.H.I.EL.D. needed a deterrent against other-worldly threats. While all of this is going on, Barton launches an attack on the Helicarrier, and Loki breaks loose while the Hulk rampages through the Helicarrier. The Hulk ultimately falls through the air, crashing down into the city of New York before turning back into Bruce, and Thor is ejected in the prison cell meant to hold the Hulk if needed. Barton is freed from Loki's mind control, and Coulson is unfortunately killed while Loki escapes. Some time later, Tony realizes that Loki plans to use the energy from the ARC Reactor powering Stark Tower in New York to open a portal to bring the Chitauri to Earth. Tony heads to the tower to confront Loki before the rest of the Avengers arrive, and suits up into his latest suit: the Mark VII Armor. The Chitauri arrive, and Thor, Natasha, Barton, Steve, and Tony fend them off. Suddenly, Bruce arrives and reveals his secret to controlling the Hulk: he's always angry. Suddenly, the Hulk emerges and stops one of the Chitauri's Leviathans, and Loki summons the rest of the Chitauri. The Avengers work together to fight off the Chitauri, keep civilians out of harm's way, and close the portal. Meanwhile, against Fury's wishes, the World Security Council orders deployment of nuclear ordinance on the city of New York to stop the Chitauri invasion. Tony, getting word of this, takes the deployed nuke through the portal, stopping the Chitauri in their tracks, and returns through the portal just as Natasha closes it. After their victory, the Avengers go their separate ways, and Thor takes both the Tesseract and Loki back to Asgard, while Fury informs the Council that he's not monitoring the Avengers' whereabouts. Meanwhile, we see that the Other, reporting to his master, feels that humans of Earth are not the weaklings that Loki said they were, and that to challenge them is to "court death." We then see the face of the Other's mysterious master, and it's none other than Thanos. We also get an after-credits scene with the Avengers, shortly after the Battle of New York, eating shawarma at a shawarma restaurant.

        The Avengers, directed brilliantly by Joss Whedon, was absolutely fantastic. And with five years and five previous MCU movies building up to it, it didn't disappoint. Given that all of the major players had been introduced in those five movies, there wasn't much need to build their characters or backstories. The one real exception is with Bruce Banner, as this was Mark Ruffalo's first outing as the character, taking over the role from Edward Norton who played the character in 2008's The Incredible Hulk. However, the strongest point is the interaction between the main heroes. Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, and Mark Ruffalo all work well together, and all of them are fantastic in this movie. Even though Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton got the shaft at the start of this movie, he really got to shine in the movie's third act. The introduction of Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, who is Nick Fury's second in command, was also welcome, and she was terrific. The action and CGI were all great, and Joss did a great job bringing Earth's Mightiest Heroes together on the big screen for the first time. It is for that reason that I give The Avengers a rating of 5/5. This is Chuck signing off. I hope you all enjoyed Marvel May, and I hope to bring it back next year. Keep an eye out for upcoming reviews, including my review if Iron Man 3 this December as part of the 12 Reviews of Christmas.