Earth's Mightiest Heroes - Having Lotsa Fun

Film: The Avengers
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson
Director: Joss Whedon

Fun. A three-letter word that is overused and misinterpreted most of the time. Fun is a deeply personal experience. What is fun for one maybe quite unfunny for another. Many are the undertakings that endeavour to provide fun, but few succeed. Comic books began with just that one intention. So did movies. Comic book movies? I am not so sure. Having said that, I must confess that I saw The Avengers and I had a lot of fun.

Comic books have gone dark. They deal more with angst and despair than with super heroics. Comic book movies have also followed suit. Once in a while comes a comic book movie that wears its heart on its spandex sleeve; that takes pride, and not shame, in declaring it is out to provide fun. The Avengers is one.

The Avengers as a group is a bad idea. You pair a billionaire industrialist with a drinking problem, a steroid-enhanced WW 2 soldier who was frozen for 70 years, a brilliant scientist with a small Jekyll and Hyde problem, an incredible marksman with an akshayapatra for a quiver, a hot Russian spy and a god from another realm. It worked in comics because comics require great suspension of disbelief. The movie invites us to disbelieve in the concept. It feeds on the incompatibility and by making it a plot device slowly makes the idea seem a little less incredulous than it sounds. It makes the teaming up seem like real fun.

Within 15 minutes, Loki (Hiddleston), the Asgardian God of Mischief, enters the fortress of SHIELD, a secret government agency, through a portal created by the Tesseract, a cosmic cube possessing unlimited power. Loki enslaves Hawkeye (Renner), steals the Tesseract and leaves the scene. SHIELD boss Nick Fury (Jackson) calls in his emergency response team consisting of Iron Man (Downey Jr.), Captain America (Evans), Black Widow (Johansson) and Bruce Banner aka Hulk (Ruffalo). Loki's brother Thor (Hemsworth) joins in. The remainder of the first half is all about the sparks that fly when the motley crew gets together. After the break, all hell breaks loose. And how!

When Marvel handed over the reins of Avengers to Joss Whedon, nerds and geeks rejoiced. But sensible people scratched their heads. Whedon had directed only one film. The inexperience shows, I am sorry to say. The forgettable intros to the heroes look like they were outsourced to Brett Ratner. The handheld camera work, while thankfully minimal, is too shaky for us to register anything. But Whedon seems to have learnt on the job. He gets more assured as the movie goes on. What was brilliant about hiring Whedon the director was that the studio got Whedon the writer for free. Among his several writing credits include a much-lauded run on X-Men comics. He knows his comics and he is funny as hell. Humour is the thread that holds the movie together. The verbal banter serves as an excellent foreplay to a very satisfying climax.

In the comics, Captain America is the undisputed leader of the Avengers. But even Whedon cannot convince us that Chris Evans can do the job, so he doesn’t try. The Cap is the most underwritten of the major characters and Evans clearly looks lost. The other Chris, Hemsworth, carries on from where he left off in Thor. Contrary to many fears, The Avengers does not become Iron Man 3. Robert Downey Jr relishes the chance to play in a group and he is far better than in Iron Man 2. Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner have their moments, but only make up the numbers at other times. Samuel L Jackson finally has a meaty role and he tears up the scenery. Even the affable Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson has a pivotal performance.

The surprise packet is Mark Ruffalo. An oddball choice, he is as funny as Downey and relishes the break from rom-coms and indies. His Hulk is the best yet on the big screen. And the funniest. Yes, you read it right. A hilarious Hulk! He is helped by being the most lovingly developed character in the movie.

What makes The Avengers good fun, but not great fun is Loki. Thor's bro may be a big shot in the comics, but he didn’t convince me in Thor. Neither does he here. Tom Hiddleston tries his best but never comes across as a menacing villain who needed so many heroes to take him down.

But that alone should not take away from The Avengers. Despite its long run length, it never feels like it is trying too hard to keep our attention. It does not need to. A day afterwards, it does not leave any bitter aftertaste, nor does it recall any brilliant memories, except for some witty lines. But while it lasted, it was a rollicking good ride. It gave me fun in dollops. But I can't guarantee it will do the same for you. After all, fun is personal!