MCU Retrospective: The Avengers
Time for the genre-defining movie. The feat that had never been done, or at least done so well, before. One of the few movies to rocket past $1 billion at the worldwide box office. It’s time for The Avengers.
After that hype-up I gotta say I was sorely disappointed in rewatching this movie. This movie was not quite how I remembered it.
I don’t know what it was but the entire first half, maybe even two-thirds, of the movie felt old. And yes, I’m aware the movie came out 8 years ago at this point so yeah it is a little old, but I mean it felt OLD old. Like it felt and even looked like it came out in the early 2000s. The acting was very flat and boring from all the actors. Even Robert Downey Jr’s quippy remarks as Tony felt uninspired. And a lot of early movie visuals looked not awful but not great either.
The fight choreography left a lot to be desired as well. Obviously the actors don’t do their own stunts and so directors have to use some clever cuts and shots to make it seem like the actor is actually in the mix. But the cuts in the middle of the action in this movie were so poorly and haphazardly done that it really takes you out of the action.
But then the weird thing is that as the movie progresses, all of that changes. The acting dramatically improved from all actors. The action became more fluid. The movie somehow began to feel less old. I can’t explain what happened, but something happened and the movie was much better for it.
One of the best shots in the movie was definitely the scene during the Battle of New York as the scene pans from one Avenger to the next while they’re taking down Chitauri soldiers left and right. That scene is still one of the best scenes in the MCU. Not THE best, but up there.
Overall I was surprised by how much I was let down by rewatching this movie. It’s not a bad movie; there’s a reason why it made over $1 billion. But it definitely shows it’s age and even somehow appears older than it actually is at times.