Leading up to this point in the Marvel timeline, there have been multiple movies surrounding many different superheroes including Captain America, Iron Man and the Hulk. In The Avengers, these heroes team up to fight an intergalactic enemy. All previous Marvel films had been leading up to this point and this was the finale of Marvel's experimental Phase One.

There are many traits that appear in most Marvel films. All of the unique-to-Marvel traits that I could think of appeared in The Avengers which in some ways was a good thing, however in many other ways is also a bad thing.

I have found that Marvel movies often start in a confusing way. The first ten to twenty minutes are full of action and don't take the time to explain what is happening until later on, or won't explain it at all and the events will only make sense if the movie is rewatched. This can occasionally be a good thing in films but was not the case in The Avengers. The opening sequences of The Avengers were super confusing. Many elements could only be understood if the viewer had watched all the earlier Marvel movies including all post-credits scenes which can be easily missed. I expected The Avengers to have a simple and basic story and not require viewing of any previous Marvel films. I have seen all the Marvel movies leading up to The Avengers (including post-credits scenes) and still found it confusing so could only sympathise with those who had not.

Even if it had been clear that a viewing of previous Marvel films was required, The Avengers still felt unexplained and felt that there needed to be more movies that came before it. All of the characters in the movie felt like they needed their own individual movie to have an already developed character, as there was not much character building in the film.

As I said, the film had everything standard for a Marvel movie. There was the typical Marvel humour although the humour in this film was not a highlight amongst other movies. There was an overreliance on big-budget CGI however, the CGI had certainly improved upon previous films and was not as unrealistic as others. Of course, there was a very unrealistic story, but this is something that is acceptable in Marvel movies; I never criticise Star Wars for being unrealistic because it isn't trying to be realistic.

If I hadn't seen any other Marvel movies, I don't think I would have liked The Avengers much at all. The characters in the film weren't as likeable as they had been in previous films but I personally liked the characters because I knew them from previous films. I may have been shocked at the use of CGI and special effects, and I would have been incredibly confused. But because I had seen previous films, these things didn't affect me as much and I gave the film a chance because I knew how good Marvel could be at its strongest point.

I believe that some Marvel movies are successful standalone films and don't require any previous knowledge of Marvel; Captain America: The First Avenger, Iron Man, Black Panther, and Guardians of the Galaxy all appear to be popular with those who know Marvel and those who do not. And it is interesting: these movies are often at the higher end of people's 'Ranking All Marvel Movies' list... including mine and I haven't even seen all Marvel movies.

Of the ten that I have seen so far, The Avengers is one of the poorer Marvel movies. It requires a viewing of all previous Marvel films and even at that, falls short of the other ones. Its characters aren't as likeable, the humour isn't memorable, and it is by far the most confusing; at least of the ones I've seen. I'd say it is forgettable if it didn't appear to be so prominent in the Marvel timeline.

Director: Joss Whedon

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner

Year released: 2012

My rating: 5.5/10

Review by Tristan Carr

Last edited: 10/10/2021