Review of The Avengers (2012) by Henry P — 28 Mar 2015

3/28/15.

Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo as both Hulk and Bruce Banner). Thor (Chris Hemsworth). Captain America (Chris Evans). We've seen Iron Man get two of his own films, one that awesomely started the Marvel Cinematic Universe, another that killed time until the final set-up of 2011. Each of the others got their own. Now, Marvel needs to blend them into one, make their stories connect. And Joss Whedon fuses them together and makes the best film of the 2010s. It all begins with the cube seen after the credits of Thor and throughout Captain America: The First Avenger (The previous year's MCU films) being experimented on in a SHIELD-NASA joint workforce, and the base it's on being evacuated. Soon, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) director of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistic Division (SHIELD) arrive on the base to assess it, guided by Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), and when we reconnect with the cube, known also as the tesseract, a door opens from the other side, and we meet the film's antagonist, Loki (Tom Hiddleston). After taking control of some SHIELD personnel, Coulson, Fury, and Agent Natasha Romanov (Scarlett Johansson from 2010's Iron Man 2) go to recruit Iron Man, Captain America, and the Hulk, for science, muscle, and science. After capturing Loki, part of his not-so-great plan, we meet his brother, Thor, and what follows is one of the most compelling team-ups of good guys you'll ever see. It takes a while for things to set up, but the last hour of the two-and-a-half is worth the wait (There's plenty of character development in there too). If you're joining the party for the first time, it's quick to give each Avenger a fair amount of screen time on their own before putting them together. (Warning: Spoilers for previous MCU films begin here) We get to see mostly glimpses of how Dr. Banner used his time after tearing apart Harlem fighting Blonsky/Abomination in 2008, a vague explanation on how Thor returned to Earth after destroying the Bifrost, part of Tony Stark's new publicity campaign, and Captain America getting to know the 21st Century. (End first five MCU films spoilers). Unlike the first five films' "widescreen" ratios (Black bars on the top-and-bottom of your TV) we get a taller picture, which works, because they need to really show how big the Hulk is, and maybe even remind us how big a deal this film is. The lighting also works, because when Thor confronts Loki in one scene, it is at night, and very dark out. It is also well lit in outer space scenes between Loki and, um... I have no idea who that was (Watch through the first portion of credits and you will find out). This film does not have any of the show-offey CGI, or Iron Man 2's mess of subplots, but it does have Hulk's massive CGI battle, and even Captain America's soundtrack composer. That's right, Alan Silvestri's back to the Marvel gig with the soundtrack. As he composed the warcry music for Captain America: The First Avenger, so he composed the warcry music for everyone else. It works everywhere, especially in the 360 degree pan around of the actual Avengers, assembled. It is also withheld from moments where we need direct focus on what just happened, or is happening. With Joss Whedon's pop culture references, the hype of the first five films, Iron Man's armor, Thor's hammer, Captain America's shield, and Hulk's smash, this film comes together to entertain the audiences they alone could not. Avengers, assembled! (Bonus scene for fans of Agents of SHIELD: After nearly three years, you can go back with the knowledge from the show, and get even more out of it. Nuff said.).

3/15/14.

The super-hero team up of a life time proves almost two years later that it can still be awesome! As characters go, I'd reccomend you see the first five Phase 1 movies before continuing to this one, but still, you get a fair amount of development and screen time per character when you really think about it. The Avengers (Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, andCaptain America, the "core members" joined by SHIELD agents Hawkeye and Black Widow) must team up when their world is threatened by Thor's step-brother Loki, who steals the infinite power source known as the Tesseract, AKA the Cosmic Cube, and reigns an army of aliens on New York City. It should be noted that there are holes in this plot to the less observant. It is notable that this is what Marvel spent several years building up, going back to Iron Man (2008). Like a team, on its own, there's some weakness, but when you couple it with knowledge from the first five Marvel Studios Films, it really gets comprehensive. The first half will seem tedious to the impatient, but patience will be rewarded for Avengers. The effects are amazing, and it's nice they used a taller format, which is really to capture the heights of all the characters compared to each other (And occupy more space on your TV). Alan Silvistri provides a score that while watching will really blow life into your feelings. Only the best scores were used in the best scenes. The references and Whedon banter are not that obtrusive, added to the story, and had no unnecessary (Or really any) major profanity, so parents, feel comfertable letting your younger kids in on this. If you haven't seen this movie by now, you need a reality check.

4/27/13.

Totally Wizard. It's basically the ultimate super hero cross over (that Marvel still has film rights too), filled with massive battles from the extra terrestrial, and the reason Marvel made the last 5 movies with the avengers in them, starting with Iron Man. It was also as if Marvel took The Incredibles, put in THEIR heroes, and made it live action, as well as make the heroes non-biologically-related-to-each-other. The movie flows smoothly (unlike The Dark Knight Rises, which drags on through the middle part), and puts 20th Century Fox and Sony to shame with the way THEY handle Marvel characters. More than ever, I want to see Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four brought back to Marvel's film rights library. But enough of that. Ultimatly, in the end, they go all out with the final, explosivly awesome, over the edge, dynamic fight. I cannot wait to see the future of the avengers group, and when they release The Avengers 2, I want Joss Whedon to write, and direct it, as well as introduce new members like AntMan and Wasp (Black Widow could use with a friend for girltalk) and after seeing Ultimate Spider-Man, I want Dr. Strange and Daredevil introduced. Best Superhero movie ever, go see it!