This movie is made for the fans. It’s built around the concept that seeing these famous heroes on screen, fighting side by side, is the coolest thing ever. And I’m not gonna lie… it’s a serious contender. But someone with absolutely NO interest in the superhero genre of films may find this a simple and loud excursion into long action scenes and one liners galore. But enough about who’s not going to enjoy it. Time to let everyone know; as if they didn’t already… this movie is AWESOME. Pure awesome.
From Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner and the Hulk, who does a great job in making the character his own, to Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye (who actually had a brief cameo in Thor), these newcomers feel right at home in this big sprawling superhero adventure. At times you may find… a character slightly underused. But it’s not that big of a gripe. I’m still reeling over the fact they managed to get them all on the same set without the sheer awesome factor of it all imploding the entire production.
First things first. I was worried it may turn out to be more akin to an Iron Man 3 with Tony Stark hogging more spotlight than that ill conceived movie poster. Or that possibly, these people would have no chemistry with each other. (Though the numerous trailers and TV spots went a long way towards allaying that concern.) And finally, I was worried that Captain America may just steal the movie out from everyone and saving the damn day himself. To put it simply, this movie could have easily been shoved onto the shoulders of any one of these guys. And that would have been horrible. This is THE team effort. The one movie, years in the making, that brings them all together to showcase each of them, and then showcase them as a team. One team. The Avengers.
Joss Whedon, the director, pulls this off rather flawlessly. Not once does the movie become lopsided. Each hero, each star, gets a spectacular moment to shine. It’s wonderfully structured and pretty awesome to see each character handled so impeccably well. And when it comes time for them to meet, interact, and work together, my other worry was put to rest as well. Their chemistry is amazing. This is a team effort with everyone bringing their ‘A’ game. I had to pinch myself a ways through: “I’m actually seeing this.” It’s precisely the action packed, superhero spectacle I hoped it would be. It is quite arguably one of the best superhero movies. Ever. Not to mention a milestone of filmmaking period. Name one other genre where you can have heroes from five different standalone film series, meet and team up all under one film and have it be as big and stunning as this?
While you might actually be thinking about that for a second, don’t bother. It was rhetoric. The Avengers is a special movie in that field, none have endeavored to do something like this and pulled it off too. It’s also a very fun ride, because at the core it simply sets out to entertain. And that it does. No doubt I’ll be seeing it again. I’ll probably post another review of it. A fresh perspective sans hype and fanboy adoration. The movie is simple, but incredibly effective. Familiar scenes and lines leap off the screen at the fans, some subtle nods to source material… others not so much.
Anyways, in the end its ALL cool. Having trouble gathering my thoughts, but before I wrap this up, I’ll make special note of the fantastic climax. It has immense scope and scale and all the intricate action set pieces within it are choreographed wonderfully and shot meticulously. In the midst of chaos, we see the team come together and function as a unit. They fight back to back, follow the Captain’s orders and kick serious ass. The imagery alone is enough to make and self respecting fanboy geek the heck out right there. Not to mention the fantastic score by Alan Silvestri.
See it. You know you’re going to anyways.
