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One of the great allures ofThe Avengersfranchise is the combination of A-grade performers working together in a number of action-driven and buoyantly colorful sequences. Don’t get me wrong: the costumes are great, the graphics are convincing and thrilling, and director-writerJoss Whedon’s ability to satisfyingly balance these storylines is impressive and admirable, to say the least. At the end of the day, however, it’s the distinct deliveries, physicality, and natural charms of these actors, working essentially on an even-keel, that helped make the firstAvengersfilm andAvengers: Age of Ultronso joyous and memorable.
The Avengersisn’t the first time these actors have added a particular, enlivening kick to films via supporting turns. So, I decided to take a look at the films that came before Whedon’s monolithic hit that benefitted from the actors that make up the titular team, as well as some of their colleagues and enemies. In 90% of these cases, I tried to pull from films that happened before the stars even suited up for their solo entries into the Marvel universe, with only one – cough Hemsworth cough - exception overall. These are the performances that made them worthy of putting on costumes that no reasonable, progressive society would allow outdoors.
Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man): Zodiac
Iron ManmadeRobert Downey Jr.the preeminent starring lead for big-banner Hollywood projects, but his most ambitious work has shown up in supporting roles. He proved crucial to the insidiously involving visual and narrative rhythms ofDavid Fincher’s monumental take on the decades-long hunt for the Zodiac killer. Downey Jr.’s magnetic, talkative charm makes for a distinct, fascinating portrait of Paul Avery, the San Francisco Chronicle reporter who wrote extensively on the serial killer, but he also melded perfectly withJake Gyllenhaal,Anthony Edwards, and futureAvengersco-starMark Ruffaloin Fincher’s glossy, moody aesthetic.
See Also:A Scanner Darkly,Wonder Boys,Short Cuts
Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury): Jackie Brown
Oversaturation is a problem when it comes to picking out the best ofSamuel L. Jackson’s career, but his work withQuentin Tarantinohas been equally comedic and galvanic, and the nuances of his performances have paid major dividends on repeat viewings. This is never truer than in Tarantino’s sublime action-melodrama, a riff on a smart, tawdryElmore Leonardpulp novel. Jackson’s nefarious Ordell Robbie rattled off more memorable one-liners than Jules ever did and yet the character is consistently, potently menacing and capable of violent, brutal action when his comfort and freedom are on the line, or if you kill his longtime girlfriend for incredibly petty reasons. Jackson is the film’s integral mean streak, the wild, erratic pulse propelling this surprisingly intricate tale of bail bondsmen, arms dealing, soul music, and sad romances.
See Also:Hard Eight,Unbreakable,Eve’s Bayou
Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow): Ghost World
At this point,Scarlett Johanssonis the go-to lady lead for all your feminist ass-kicking needs, as proven byLucyand her casting in the upcomingGhost in the Shellremake. What originally drew viewers to Johansson, however, was her voice, both figuratively and literally. InTerry Zwigoff’s masterful adaptation ofDaniel Clowes’ classic graphic novel, she proved a galvanic, levelheaded foil toThora Birch’s anti-establishment artist-as-punk. Even her smoky voice suggested a dubious maturity contrasted against Birch’s furious, snarky tone when they come into contact withSteve Buscemi’s bitter, prickly pop-culture collector.
See Also:Lost in Translation,The Man Who Wasn’t There,Match Point
Chris Hemsworth (Thor): Star Trek
This one’s tough. Hemsworth has only really started to branch out following his success as Thor and inThe Avengers, as inMichael Mann’s quietly furiousblackhat. His comedic talents shine inThe Cabin in the Woods, but he’s purposefully cast as a symbolic, slightly augmented archtype. There is something to be said, however, about the mark he makes onJ.J. Abram’s wonderfulStar Trekreboot as George Kirk, the father ofChris Pine’s James Tiberius Kirk. In a sequence that could have been totally and utterly forgettable, Hemsworth makes a character with scant screen time into a commanding, resonant presence, and a memorable touchstone for the heroics Captain Kirk shows throughout the rest of the film.
Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton/Hawkeye): The Hurt Locker
Okay, maybe this is a bit obvious.Jeremy Rennerhas kept busy since his mid-1990s debut in, of all things,National Lampoon’s Senior Trip, alongsideMatt Frewer,Tommy Chong, andThe Kids in the Hall’sKevin McDonald. Whenever he took dramatic roles, the characters tended to be more on the brooding yet intermittently gentle side than anything else, but he broke out underKathryn Bigelow’s lean, forceful wartime filmmaking. As a daredevil explosives expert, Renner nailed the character’s self-destructive romanticism but also evoked a potent, haunting numbness and a lethal competitive streak. There’s no underselling Bigelow’s hand in the film’s impact and success but Renner’s portrayal of a solider disconnected from peace and domestic life cannot be separated fromThe Hurt Locker’s reputation as a new classic, and one of the least disputed Best Film Oscar wins in the history of the ceremony.
See Also:12 & Holding,The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,Dahmer
Chris Evans (Steve Rogers/Captain America): Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Anyone who has seenEdgar Wright’s wildly imaginative and wise action-comedy knows just how big a loss the firebrand filmmaker was forAnt-Man, though, to be fair,Peyton Reedis as good a replacement as I can imagine. Still, Wright perfected the tone thatAnt-Manis clearly going for right here, and Chris Evans provided a profoundly funny parody of the action star as pompous asshole type with Lucas Lee, a skateboardingBrad Pittsort who fightsMichael Cera’s titular Canadian alt-schlub for the love of Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Lined up alongside similarly inspired comedic turns byBrandon Routh,Jason Schwartzman,Mae Whitman, andSatya Bhabha, Evans at once undermines and flexes his now ever-apparent sense of humor and incredibly undiluted on-screen appeal.
See Also:Sunshine,Not Another Teen Movie
Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/The Hulk): Margaret
The arrival ofKenneth Lonergan’s mythical, brilliant sophomore feature, a grand, operatic New York melodrama, came with a cacophony of critical rabble-rousing. The film’s New York City run became legendary, kept alive by loudly outspoken supporters of the film in the critical establishment and good old-fashioned word-of-mouth.Mark Ruffalo, who teamed with Lonergan on the writer-director’s excellent debut,You Can Count On Me, plays a significant part in the emotionally visceral proceedings as a New York City bus driver who accidentally hits a woman (Allison Janney) when he motors through a Manhattan crosswalk. No fair spoiling the rest of this odd, unhinged coming-of-age tale, but the angry regret that Ruffalo summons in his supporting turn is integral to the sweeping, conflicting emotional landscape of this unique film.
See Also:Shutter Island,Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,The Brothers Bloom
Paul Bettany (Jarvis/The Vision) – Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Paul Bettanymade an impression withA Knight’s Talebut that movie remains, on a good day, an entertaining trifle. Not until Bettany came under the wing ofPeter Weir, the venerable Australian helmer behindThe Truman Show,Dead Poets Society, andPicnic at Hanging Rock, with this harrowing seafaring adventure did Bettany’s flair for empathetic intellectualism became apparent. Contrasted againstRussell Crowe’s ever-ambitious Captain Jack Aubry, Bettany provided a wisp of scientific curiosity to underline the dangerous voyaging that was Aubrey’s talent and means of employment. The best scenes of the film involve Bettany and Crowe exploring a quiet island filled with a cornucopia of specimens, an all the more impressive fact considering the awesome ship battles that are sprinkled throughout the rest of the film.
See Also:Dogville,Gangster No. 1,A Knight’s Tale
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