I’m not even entirely sure why I’m reviewing The Avengers. I mean, from the numbers, it looks like everyone in the world has already seen it, so that makes a review like this kind of redundant. But hey–I like to review things, and this is a movie that demands a review. Even if it’s only to say, “Everyone is right. This movie is awesome.”
Because it is, of course.
But the thing is, it could easily have been awful. Think about it for a moment. So many big name actors in one place? Huge stars and story lines forced to interact? It could have been a train wreck. It should have been a train wreck. How do you keep that many balls in the air for 2 and a half hours, and have them all come together at the climax in a believable, moving fashion?
I was blown away by how well Joss Whedon pulled it off. Each hero remained distinct. Each story had its own development and growth. Better yet, it all made sense! I had read a quote before about how they were using Transformers: Dark of the Moon as a pattern for Awesome. Um . . . no. Transformers has a lot of robots fighting, yes. But you don’t really care about any of them. (I didn’t, at least.) Seeing a bunch of special effects is worthless if you don’t actually care about the characters involved.
If this movie had been all about superheroes battling, it would have stunk. Instead, it’s about characters–and that’s what really sets it apart. I love that it took its audience seriously. It treated the characters as people, not pawns. Sometimes when awful comic or fantasy movies are made, I wonder if the creators ever even talked to a fan. Ever treated the audience like thinking people. That’s definitely not the case here.
Really, the only thing that caused me any concern through the whole film was, “When will we ever get the chance to see something like this happen again?” I’m just not sure if The Avengers 2 can be pulled off, with all the same characters. The stars had to align just right for this one. Then again, with all the money it’s taking in, maybe I don’t need to be concerned. They certainly set up a sequel well–while keeping the film contained to a single movie.
I also loved how they pulled off the Hulk in this film. He’s not broody and conflicted through the whole movie. He has some great action scenes, and is a lot of fun to watch. A+ for that.
In any case, if you haven’t seen the movie, go and watch now. It’s such a great fun comic book movie. The Dark Knight was a great dark comic book movie–and I love how we’re starting to see different types of these films. (Not sure if I really want another Spiderman, though. They had the preview for the next one in front of The Avengers . . . meh.)
What did you all think?
With over billions and billions of comic book fans and Marvel practically breathing down his neck, Joss Whedon was given one job and one job only and that was to not screw this up. Thankfully, he doesn’t even come close to screwing it up and makes this one of the funnest superhero movies in recent time. Nice write-up Bryce.
Thanks!
I completely agree. As a comic book nerd myself, I was genuinely scared that this movie was going to be completely and utterly destroyed in ways I can’t even begin to express. Your analyses was spot on! I urge everyone to see it as well. Even if you DON’T like comic books or superheroes, it is still an amazing movie.
And thanks again!