The Avengers Review

I'm just coming back from the midnight showing of Avengers in IMAX 3D. I'm hoping to try and get this all down before the fresh memories become stale, but honestly as I write this I'm beginning to realize that this movie had so many standout moments that it's hard to forget any of them.

On a side note, midnight showings of films like this are quite possibly the best environment for an avid filmgoer.  That's usually where the true fans go, they cheer when you're meant to cheer, and laugh when you are meant to laugh.  Overall a very satisfying experience, so if your local theater offers a midnight premiere of a movie you are really looking forward to, get in on the action, you won't be disappointed.

Joss Whedon was the perfect choice to lead this film. His prior work with ensemble casts and his history in comic books made him the right man for the job.  This movie has been in the works technically before Iron Man even came out.

They knew that this was leading up to the grand moment, a moment seldom attempted in cinema history because the only thing that could eclipse the potential glory is the potential for monumental failure.  But this movie dealt out the glory in spades.

I've got to hand it to Marvel, the way that they set up the movie was fantastic. The small teasers at the end of each movie and they way that they have begun to create their own Marvel movie universe is something to behold.  If DC does attempt to do this in the future they have a great template to work off of.

Of course, we got to see all the titanic matchups between team members that we all wished for.  What I was glad to see was that it didn't follow the basic Marvel movie formula, in which you sat the entire movie waiting for the movie to start. Avengers had action from start to finish. Loki really stole the show as the quintessential evil villain. He was ready to get his hands dirty and dealt out some serious emotional and psychological trauma to our heroes.

His interactions with each of the heroes were what really stood out to me. His mental and emotional game of cat and mouse with Black Widow, his tit for tat argument with Tony Stark, even the tragic tale of jealousy and betrayal between himself and Thor. By the end of the film he had a bone to pick with each member of the Avengers, which made his campaign about more than just power, but about true acceptance regardless of how it is obtained.

The epic final battle was where everyone got to show off. Hulk ended up being the unanimous fan favorite smashing his way through epic and hilarious situations. Captain America ended up taking on the leadership role that he was always meant to have, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye laid the smackdown wherever and whenever they could.  I couldn't help but chuckle to myself seeing each of these titanic personalities interact with each other. Cap being such a straight shooter and soldier trying to work with a bunch of loners was great to see, and seeing him take charge was so iconic it gave me goosebumps.

My initial worry was that with a movie that had so much star power that some characters would get little to no screen time. That wasn't the case with The Avengers, you got to see each character display their strengths solo and with the team which made the movie that much more enjoyable for fanboys of specific characters. If there was any initial doubt as to Mark Ruffalo's portrayal of Bruce Banner let it be put to rest now. Don't get me wrong, I was as disappointed as many of you when I heard the reports the Edward Norton wasn't going to be reprising his role as The Hulk, but Mark really brought it home and effortlessly stepped into the role.

Obviously I will advise you to stay for the entire end credit sequence. Don't be fooled there are TWO credits scenes so stick around, they're both worth it. Overall, this was the best way to start the summer movie season. This will bring in big bucks for a while until the next anticipated comic book movie this year The Dark Knight Rises some Hulk sized shoes to fill.

I shouldn't have to say this ,but I will anyways GO SEE THIS FILM!