Film Review: Marvel Avengers Assemble (The Avengers)

What a clunky title right? Happily, apart from that and another example of pointless 3D (joining the ranks of, well every film that's come out in 3D) there isn't much else to complain about with 'MAA', the film that finally ends the years long build up and throws Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), as well as second tier heroes Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) together in one huge melting pot.

Continuing primarily from where Thor (the film) left off, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is forced to call these heroes together when Loki (Tom Hiddleston) threatens to destroy the Earth using an energy source called the Tesseract.

Weighing in at a lengthy 142 minutes, Avengers Assemble (it's called The Avengers everywhere else, presumably us Brits would get it confused with the 1960's TV show of the same name?) is perfectly paced. Setting the scene with an explosive beginning that makes most action films finales look inferior, it slowly builds to collecting the heroes together, which results in some terrific face-offs between them all - there's some fan-boy wet dreams as we see the Hulk battle Thor, and Iron Man and Captain America have a bit of a scuffle.

No one was prepared to admit this was not the venue for the costume party

The action continues to build, with nary a dull moment to be seen leading to a colossal smackdown on Manhattan island, and of course, the inevitable post-credits scene (which some people still left before, will they ever learn?)

As it's Joss Whedon writing and directing you're pretty much guaranteed a brilliant combination of action and humour, and it has to be said, improves a lot on the solo films. Not knocking those films, for the most part they've been good fun, but this seemed like the culmination of them. It's nothing original seeing NYC the arena for a massive battle, but Whedon adds so much to it that the 45 minutes (this is a guess, it was a long old battle) fly by and it seems totally fresh, as well as gleefully mental as we cut from one superhero to another battling evil.

Whedon always has a knack for cracking dialogue, and since I was never a huge fan of the Buffy universe and I never really got into Firefly, I'm glad that there's now something I can enjoy of his that appeals to me (this and the excellent Cabin in the Woods of course.)

With a great screenplay comes great performances, with Robert Downey Jr. (as usual) standing out, and I also found Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner to be really quite something. Playing a slightly more unhinged version than Eric Bana and Edward Norton before him really added something for me, as well as the Banner's face being visible when you saw the Hulk.

A bit of a worry going into the film was Loki as the central villain, and while he does appear weak at times, it's clear he's under orders from someone else (again, hang around post-credits) so it works for me and Hiddleston does a great job expanding the role he started in Thor.

Whilst not affecting the quality of the actual film, it would be remiss of me not to mention the shoddy retro-fitted 3D job that was done on this. Slightly blurry at times, and totally flat, the dreaded 3D added absolutely nothing to this. But I wanted to see it in IMAX, and sadly 3D is the price you have to pay.

Avengers Assemble is the natural culmination of the story started in the original Iron Man in 2008, and the start of a new chapter that will continue (I assume) in Iron Man 3 and Thor 2. The bar has been raised considerably with Whedon's involvement (although if anyone can match it from an action/humour standpoint it's Shane Black, who is writing and directing the former), and I sincerely hope the next time the Avengers assemble, Whedon is the guy helming it all.

****
Whilst it's nothing original, the action and humour take it a mark above the solo outings before it. Brilliantly written and performed, and with some outstanding set pieces, this truly is the start of the Summer blockbuster season.

Film Review: Midnight In Paris

When 'Midnight In Paris' was recommended to me, I was told to avoid any plot points, any synopsis of the story, and especially any trailers, and if I did that I'd get more out of the film. And I really think I did. So, with those instructions in mind I am going to review the film without touching on the plot. Well, as much as possible anyway. So, this may end up being a shorter review than usual.

What I can tell you is this: Owen Wilson plays Gil, who has traveled to Paris with his fiance Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her parents John (Kurt Fuller) and Helen (Mimi Kennedy) on a business trip. Gil is a screenwriter who is suffering from writers block while working on his first novel, so is hoping that Paris inspires him with his work.

Not long into the trip they bump into friends of Inez in Carol (Nina Arianda), and insufferable know-it-all Paul (Michael Sheen.) Before long, Inez wants to start hanging around with them, whilst Gil wants to walk the streets of Paris to find his muse. But when midnight strikes, he finds it in a way he could never have imagined.

Wilson's Gil is a very Woody Allen character, you can easily see the man himself play the role. There's no secret that Allen loves Paris, and this is his love letter to the city. It's shot wonderfully, taking in all the sights of Paris, obvious and not, and even how it looks in the rain which is a theme that is returned to at later points in the film.

Even if it seems 'Woody-lite', Wilson is on fine form. He appears in so many below average comedies these days, you tend to forget how much of a likable presence he is on film, and this is a timely reminder. There's alsoa fantastic ensemble cast, with great appearances from Tom Hiddleston, Kathy Bates, Corey Stoll, Marion Cotillard and an amusing cameo from Adrien Brody.

But I really can't tell you any more about their appearances without going into the plot some more, which I'm not prepared to do. But I can tell you that French President Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni has a small role as tour guide, also. She's probably the most famous woman in France, so that casting must have been quite the coup!

If the film had a downside though, is that it is incredibly predictable. There were several characters in the film where you just know where their story is going to go as soon as you see them. And in turn you know what Gil is going to do as well. It's a shame it's so in your face, but it doesn't detract too much from a wonderfully original, heartwarming and amusing film.

****
I told you it wasn't going to be a long review, but I really don't want to give the game away. The best possible way to see 'Midnight In Paris' is to not know much about it. Just take it from me that it is classic Woody Allen, and you won't regret it.