5/3/12

The Avengers directed by Joss Whedon


Rated PG-13

Based on the 1963 comic book series, Marvel Studios and director Joss Whedon (Thor) bring to the big screen the assemblage of the ultimate team of super heroes, “The Avengers”.  Fans can rejoice, “The Avengers” is everything they hoped it would be and a bag of chips. It’s that good!

When mankind is threatened by Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) adoptive brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who steals and harnesses the powerful energy derived from an ominous cube called the Tesseract, he calls upon other alien life forces to help destroy and ultimately dominate the Earth. Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson) who heads SHIELD, the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, must gather together the only team that can put a stop to such forces. Nicknamed after an earlier project, The Avengers consists of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Rufallo), the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner).  Oh, but this is not your run of the mill strategic operative team, this is a convergence of awesomeness that reeks of snarky banter and self indulgence, but ultimately, a will to do what is right and protect the balance of the universe by kicking some major alien… You get the picture!

Ultimately, Loki unleashes his foreign friends through a portal that is created using the tesseract, sending beasts and alien soldiers upon the unsuspecting inhabitants of Manhattan. The Avengers and their skills are tested, as they must first learn to trust each other and work together, if they have any hope of saving the world… or at the very least most of New York.

When thinking of super hero films, one tends to find the plot very formulaic. Reluctant hero pitted against a villain with daddy issues who believes taking over the world will help ease the pain. Hero prevails, but not without getting really beat up. The End.


But, what makes “The Avengers” so much better than its predecessors; the ability to bring together many super heroes in the same universe and time, with plenty of destructive action from the beginning to the end accompanied with well written dialogue that seems to poke fun at each hero’s abilities. It is in a sense, capitalizing on its own past achievements and Whedon makes no qualms about it. If you got it, flaunt it! That is why the film works so well--the sum of all its parts making for one incredible ride, and you don’t have to be comic geek to enjoy it.  We might add that we were especially impressed with the visuals (including fit super heroes in tights) and thought the fight sequences were exceptionally exciting (not to mention some unreal fighting by Black Widow). In the end, I loved it and found a new adoration for The Hulk who had me laughing out loud at his antics. He is by far, my new favorite Avenger!

The Avengers hits theaters Friday May 4, 2012. Don’t miss it!

Cast and Credit:
Directed and Co-written by Joss Whedon
Robert Downey Jr. -Tony Stark / Iron Man
Chris Evans - Steve Rogers / Captain America
Mark Ruffalo - Bruce Banner / The Hulk
Chris Hemsworth - Thor
Scarlett Johansson - Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow
Jeremy Renner - Clint Barton / Hawkeye
Tom Hiddleston - Loki
Clark Gregg - Agent Phil Coulson


3 comments:

Scarlett said...

I am SO thoroughly excited for this! Already have my tickets purchased for tomorrow night (can't do the midnight cause of work). Even if it sucked I would still go and see it, but the fact that it lives up the hype is so much better! Great review!

Dangrdafne said...

I can't believe i have to wait until next weekend to see this. Arrrg

Pepca said...

I loved The Avengers - I'm not big on super hero or action movies, but this one is different, funny, and exciting. great review!

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