The Avengers (2012)
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A group of unique individuals must unite to defend Earth from an extraterrestrial threat and a rogue deity.
The story
When the Asgardian Loki makes a deal with an extraterrestrial race to obtain the Tesseract, he gains an army to conquer Earth. In response, Nick Fury of the agency S.H.I.E.L.D. activates the 'Avengers Initiative,' assembling a team of unique individuals: Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Thor, Natasha Romanoff, and Clint Barton. The team must overcome their internal differences and work together to stop Loki's plan. The conflict escalates as Loki's forces begin to threaten the planet, forcing the disparate heroes to unite as a single front to protect humanity from a looming invasion.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Loki acquires the Tesseract from an extraterrestrial race and uses it to open a portal for a Chitauri invasion. Nick Fury assembles the Avengers—Stark, Rogers, Banner, Thor, Romanoff, and Barton—to stop him. After initial tensions and a skirmish in Stuttgart, the team is united by the death of Agent Coulson. When Loki opens a portal over New York City, the Avengers fight the Chitauri invasion. While the team defends the city, Stark flies a nuclear missile into the wormhole to destroy the Chitauri mothership. The film ends with the Avengers successfully repelling the invasion and Thor taking Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard. A post-credits scene shows the 'Other' reporting the failed attack to his master.
- First release year
- 2012
- Runtime (minutes)
- 143
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Joss Whedon
- Writers
- Joss Whedon · screenplay; Zak Penn · story; Joss Whedon · story
- Cast and characters
- Robert Downey Jr. · Tony Stark / Iron Man; Chris Evans · Steve Rogers / Captain America; Mark Ruffalo · Bruce Banner / Hulk; Chris Hemsworth · Thor; Scarlett Johansson · Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow; Jeremy Renner · Clint Barton / Hawkeye; Tom Hiddleston · Loki; Stellan Skarsgård · Erik Selvig; Samuel L. Jackson · Nick Fury
- Genres
- superhero
- Themes
- teamwork; sacrifice; responsibility
- Tone and mood
- action-packed; heroic
- Setting
- Earth (including New York City) and Asgard during the modern era.
- Premise and plot tags
- superhero; ensemble cast; sci-fi
- Source material / true-story basis
- Marvel Comics
- Franchise connections
- Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
- Reception
- The film received praise for its direction, screenplay, visual effects, action sequences, acting, and musical score. It was a massive commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2012 and the first Marvel production to reach $1 billion in ticket sales.
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Awards · Best Visual Effects · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was featured as one of the 100 greatest films of all time in an Empire magazine poll.; The film features more than 2,200 visual effects shots.; The character of the Hulk's voice was a combination of Ruffalo's voice and those of Lou Ferrigno and others.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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