10) 3, 2, 1… Action!
A common criticism of the first Avengers movie is that the team took too long to assemble, despite Marvel building towards the team-up with previous solo films such as Iron Man and Thor. Phase two has worked so well precisely because audiences no longer have to endure all of the tiresome origin stories, allowing directors to finally throw us straight into the action.
Joss Whedon does an admirable job of this, opening with the Avengers attacking Baron von Strucker’s Hydra base in Sokovia. The entire fight sequence is designed to make fans wet from start to finish, showing off each individual hero’s skill sets and reminding us why we camped outside the cinema ticket booth for the past 6 months in the first place… Just me? Ok.
The highlight of this opening sequence is the moment when Whedon slows things down midway, literally bringing the comics to life as each Avengers leaps into combat against Hydra’s forces. For action fans, the scene lets us know right from the start what we should be expecting and for comic book geeks, a still of that moment would make a mighty fine bed sheet. Christmas is only seven months away guys…
