Does the first Avengers hold up after all these years?

Several years later, and several more films later, The Avengers has certainly been upstaged by newer MCU films. But does it still hold up today?

Three movies have been regarded as the holy trinity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Captain America: Winter Soldier, Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther.

Before those, The Avengers set a new precedent for the MCU. Never before had we seen superheroes come together in such a way — a way that had been built up strategically and years in the making. Domestically, the 2012 movie joined the ranks of Titanic and Avatar (this was before The Force Awakens and Jurassic World came out, of course) and was honestly one of best movies of all time. (Don’t @ me, just let the numbers do the talking.)

Years later, does the movie still hold up? That’s the question I asked myself as embarked on my second re-watch of Avengers in anticipation of Infinity War. And when I say second re-watch, I mean that’s the second re-watch this month. I’ve kind of lost track of how many times I actually watched the film.

That being said, it was charming to see the Avengers assemble for the first time again minus their Civil War squabble and minus the unnecessary Hulk/Natasha romance (ick.) It was refreshing, and it felt like a simpler time.

I first noticed the costumes seemed a lot more cartoonish. My brother reminded me “Duh, they are comic book characters after all.” But I couldn’t help notice how the costuming made them seem like less-refined versions of their current selves. Maybe it’s because they go through so much grit following that movie that it’s weird to see them in chipper, bright color schemes. So actually, maybe it’s a bit nice to see them in their comic book-like garb. Then we could just pretend that Infinity War will never happen.

Speaking of the impending war, it was nice to follow along with the plot knowing what’s to come in the future. Here, we see just how much trouble the Tesseract causes, knowing that there’s a Infinity Stone (the Space Stone) in there that Thanos so greatly wants. Plus, you now know that Loki’s scepter also has an Infinity Stone in there (the Mind Stone). There’s even a scene where Loki is forewarned about Thanos’ might if he’s to fail the mission (plotline for Infinity War, much?).

It’s moments like those that keep you coming back every time as you learn more and more about the MCU.

Then, there are those little great scenes and one-liners that I know are coming, but they still get me every time. That includes:

Black Widow: “He killed 80 people in two days.” Thor: “He’s adopted.”
Cap: “I get that reference!”
Coulson: “So that’s how that works.”
Loki: “I have an army.” Tony: “We have a Hulk.”
Banner: “That’s my secret, Cap. I’m always angry”
Hulk: “Puny god.”

That’s just a short list, and any movie that’s capable of producing so many memorable moments deserves the best praise.

In comparison to the sequel, Age of Ultron, the first movie holds up much better. It’s light and exciting at the same time, and it doesn’t make a mockery out of its characters.

However, the first movie still seems to be missing that certain “je ne sais quoi” that movies like Winter Soldier or Black Panther had. Those movies took the genre to the next level, but they owe it to the first Avengers for setting the curve.

Plus, The Avengers helped me to be fully immersed in a film franchise that I went from sort of caring about to being borderline obsessed with. So I certainly owe that film a lot, too.

With that in mind, Avengers: Infinity War has some big shoes to fill. The pre-sales are already through the roof, and fans are eagerly awaiting the next installment of the movie franchise. Whatever happens, I hope there will be some touching sendoffs for the original Avengers we’ve grown so attached to after all these years.

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