Taglines: Avengers Assemble!
Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), director of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division), arrives at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico, during an evacuation. The Tesseract, an energy source of unknown potential, has activated. It opens a portal through space and the exiled Norse god Loki (Tom Hiddleston) steps through, carrying a strange spear with a blue glowing tip.
Loki takes the Tesseract and uses the spear to take control of the minds of several SHIELD personnel, including Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) , and Agent Clint “Hawkeye” Barton (Jeremy Renner), to aid him in his getaway. SHIELD personnel pull out of their base when an energy surge from the Tesseract causes the ground beneath the base to collapse and destroying it. A short pursuit of Loki fails to capture him.
In response to the attack, Nick Fury issues a state of emergency, telling his top agents Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), that they are completely out of options. Fury pulls Romanoff and Coulson out of their respective assignments and sends them to find the heroes he needs to oppose Loki.
Romanoff is found in Eastern Europe interrogating suspects, and Coulson pulls her off the assignment and sends her to find “the big guy”: Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), aka The Incredible Hulk. Banner has been living in exile in India working for a hospital in Calcutta helping sick people, and has found inner peace doing so. Romanoff tells Banner about the Tesseract and its’ destructive capabilities. As the world’s expert on gamma rays, Banner is their best chance to find the cube’s location.
During a video chat with the World Security Council, the superiors who run S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury is grilled about his plan to bring about the Avengers Initiative. The WSC are furious, saying that it’s the wrong thing to do and these people will never work together as a group. Fury says they have no other option and this is their only hope of defeating Loki. The superiors reluctantly agree.
Steve Rogers, (Chris Evans) on the other hand, is relatively easy to find. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been keeping tabs on him since he was found in the ice and still alive. Fury goes to greet Rogers at his gymnasium where he finds he doesn’t sleep. Fury tells Rogers that he will find a briefing packet about what’s going on back at his apartment.
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is seen in a new Iron Man armor that has underwater capabilities. He is installing a new electrical connection that will take his office building completely off the electrical grid allowing it to become self sustaining. He’s greeted at his office by Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) who tells him that it’s date night.
Tony wants Pepper to know how it feels to be a genius and after an argument about how much credit she should get for coming up with the Stark Tower idea, date night is off. Coulson arrives, and Tony quickly and repeatedly tries to cut him off. Coulson hands Tony a laptop with all the data on it about everything that’s going on. Pepper decides instead to go to Washington DC to get the zoning permits for the next two buildings for Stark Tower as it seems Tony has homework to do, and a lot of it.
On the airplane to the secured location – an aircraft carrier that can convert to a flying aircraft carrier, Coulson is telling Rogers about how it’s such an honor that they found him and tells him about his Captain America trading card collection. They then head to the helicarrier and Rogers is introduced to Dr. Bruce Banner. The two then wonder what kind of ride they’re in for. Rogers thinks it’s a submarine but the last thing Dr. Banner should be riding in is a submerged, pressurized metal container. The carrier takes off. On board, they are briefed that Dr. Selvig and Loki have been traced to Stuttgart, Germany.
Rogers’ first assignment is to go to Stuttgart to arrest Loki and bring him on board the helicarrier. Loki is at a formal black tie gala at an art museum where he is kidnapping a doctor who harbors the element they need to make the Tesseract work. While Dr. Selvig creates a distraction and Hawkeye kills the men guarding the building, Loki carries out his plan.
Outside, he is instructing the civilians present that they need to kneel before him – or else, and that freedom is life’s great lie. However, one old man stands up in defiance, and Loki prepares to strike him down. However, the killing shot is neatly blocked by the shield of Rogers as Captain America before moving to confront the god. As Rogers battles Loki, Tony makes his entrance to the tune of AC/DC’s “Shoot To Kill” with full Iron Man weapons drawn to knock down the god and daring Loki to make a move.
The Avengers (2012)
Directed by: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgård, Samuel L. Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow
Screenplay by: Joss Whedon
Production Design by: James Chinlund
Cinematography by: Seamus McGarvey
Film Editing by: Jeffrey Ford, Lisa Lassek
Costume Design by: Alexandra Byrne
Set Decoration by: Victor J. Zolfo
Music by: Alan Silvestri
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: May 4, 2012
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