Woooohooo I finally got time to write about my movie of the year so far.. (I hope the new Batman film will give it some competition). We all knew The Avengers was coming with the cameos from Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) in some of the other Marvels such as Iron Man and Captain America.
Gee whizz they did come correct and I will try my hardest not to give away too many spoilers.
The opening scene gets straight into the plot where at S.H.I.E.L.D. they are housing the Tesseract, a cosmic cube of immense power that previously appeared in Captain America: The First Avenger. The cube opens a portal in space, allowing Thor’s menacing brother Loki to appear on Earth where he steals the cube, causes some damage and goes on the run. It is revealed that he has an agreement with an alien who promises him an army to help enslave the humans in exchange for the Tesseract. Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D is left with no choice but to ignite the Avengers Initiative, bringing together all of S.H.I.E.L.D.S badass heroes in order to combat their most formidable foe to date…though I still say Thor invited himself -_-
The Avengers are Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Bruce Banner (now played by Mark Ruffalo) and introduces Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). When these six characters becoming paranoid and start to clash that is where the beauty of the film begins to evolve.
I love how Whedon is able to create a dynamic that reflects the flaws of these characters. They aren’t heroes because they wear armour, were injected with a super soldier serum, are Godlike, or were exposed to extreme gamma radiation. The are superheroes because they have to get past their fears, insecurities, and phobia of one another to unite.
Stark has some fantastic scenes where his wicked wit and dangerous impulsiveness, act as a catalyst for the actions of the rest. Captain America is the most rational of the clan and our favourite Shakesperian-like character Thor is just beautiful to look at. Black Widow flies the flag for women, and damn her skills are as deadly as her curves! My favourite hero in the film is easily Bruce Banner/Hulk. I threw a disgusting sulk when I first heard Ruffalo was taking over from Edward Norton, but my goodness did he silence his critics. I thought our green giant was on point, from the way he arrived into the city with his sqeaky bike in over sized trousers, to that hilarious punch he randomly inflicted onto Thor. (I now call it The Hulk Punch). He has definitely surpassed Ed Norton and Eric Banner! His bromance with Stark at the end…ahh lovage.
The only character that doesn’t seem to break out completely is Hawkeye, but in fairness he also didn’t have his own movie to establish himself.
Whedons’ work on the camera needs to be applauded too. The magnitude of the on-screen destruction of Manhattan during the climax is eye-popping, and there is actually some doubt if the team can actually pull it off. There are a few great moments where I thought the film might end leave us desperate..as a few of The Avengers look defeated. It’s at that point where the film ascends to a level not seen before in a comic book movie.
He also proves himself a master of big-budget CGI action, and, most importantly maintaining focus on his many characters’ famous idiosyncrasies throughout. The Avengers is a for Joss Whedon, who wrote the script and directed the movie and is now firmly installed in the constellation of the Hollywood blockbuster greats.
Normally too many superhero’s spoils what might have been a good film and admittedly their isn’t much of a good plot but with a cast this sweet, Whedon and company definitely made up for it!
Dear Michael Bay…please take notes..
Director: Josh Whedon
Stars: Robert Downey Jnr, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson, Stellan Skarsgard
Runtime: 143 mins
Cert: 12A
Enjoy the trailer
Love and Light x
I agree with everything! I actually didnt think there was much of a storyline, but the interactions between all of the characters is what makes the film brilliant! I was hoping to see more of Hawkeye also as I think Jeremy Renner is a great actor, but like you said, probably because he doesnt have his own movie…yet! Reading this has made me want to watch it again! I still reckon Batman may just be a bit better thou
(heres hoping considering that fool Hathaway is in it!) lol x
Ahhh Imz…you know it’s a great film when we are STILL talking about it! I think Batman might pip it to the post also…
We must get over our dislike of Hathaway and her wooden self. Roll on July x
I also blogged it, I thought it was fab. Really enjoyed although I felt that the 3-D aspect of the film didn’t add much to it.
Emma
http://www.whatemmadidnext.wordpress.com
I didn’t see the 3D version babe..I’m not a fan of 3D films…but it was amazing in 2D. Mwah xxx
So if finally got here: “The Aveng”… er, sorry, “Marvel’s Avengers Assemble”. I still can’t get used to that title, although more on that below. It was what felt like a very long wait. Was it worth it? Damn straight it was!
Abi, you hit the nail on the head with most of your comments, so I won’t repeat the same here. For those people reading this who have not seen it yet, well, even if superhero flicks are not your thing, this is one you need to see. The Avengers (for that is what I’m going to refer to it as) is top notch. The build up has been long and the danger of it possibly falling into being a completely illogical, plotless, CGI messed up car-crash involving too many vehicles (i.e. characters) going too fast was a distinct possibility. Expectations were high. The wait for Samuel L. Jackson to be Nick Fury in a whole movie felt like a lifetime. Yet Joss Wheadon pulls the cat out of the bag – again, damn him – and gives us something far better than we’d hoped. It’s deserving of it’s massive opening week’s worth of takings. It has to be said though that Wheadon owes a massive debt to “The Ultimates”, Marvel’s own alternative comics take on The Avengers which redefined the charactarisation of the team. In fact, Wheadon basically made The Ultimates, not The Avengers – which, in all honesty, is a great thing.
Yes, there are of course some flaws, but none warrant worrying about – they’re tiny and immediatly forgetful as the plot bounds along. Purists will complain about the Cosmic Cube still having it’s daft name change, and why neither Ant-Man or Wasp were in the line up. Yes, Jeremy Renner, despite having a pivotal plot role, seemed underused. Yes, Captain America’s uniform looks even more ridiculous in this film than in his own (sorry, I can’t take him seriously when in it). Yes, budding screenwriters and movie buffs will spot the obvious “this is where they shoe-horned in x, y and z”. And yes, Black Widow’s gratuitous arse shot in the ‘cell’ room was not long enough (by several hours). But hey, the ride was amazing. Um, I mean the movie, not Black Widow’s arse.
And it’s probably not a spoiler to say that, yes, the Hulk steals the show, although you have to wait a long time for it, and there needed to be more of him – and of Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner as well. Special nod goes to to Tom Hiddleston as Loki – genuinely creepy-but-somewhat-misguided-little-brother at the same time.
I saw it in 3D. Not really my idea, my previous only 3D outing having made be violently sick for 24 hours afterwards. But The Avengers was a blast in 3D, looking amazing, and I had no post-movie issues either. I’m sure it looked great in 2D though, but am now glad I risked the latter – this sort of movie does suit it greatly when done well.
Oh, and about that title: “Avengers Assemble” (their catchphrase, for those that don’t know) would have been a *perfect* title for a first Avengers movie. Except that of course the comic isn’t called that, and, aside from a last-minute marketing change in the UK, neither is the actual movie. So, for me, it’s always going to be “Revenge of the Jed…” um, sorry, “The Avengers”.
Will the Bat’s third outing top this? Technically, quite possibly. In fun and box-office-blockbuster terms? He’s going to have to go some…
This is without doubt one of my best comments EVER!! Thank you! I’m so grateful that you took time out to write such an in-depth mini-review of the movie.
They have just announced that Thor 2 has been given the green light..are you excited?
Yep, quite looking forward to the idea of Thor 2. The first movie caught me – and, I guess, a lot of people – a bit by surprise and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would come the end. Hopefully it won’t be too much of a re-run of the earlier film (or The Avengers) with just Loki up to more mischief; they need to push the plot out a bit more I think next time. Meanwhile, there’s to be both Iron Man 3 and Captain America 2 as well, I believe. Not so sure about that latter one…