The Avengers Review

Iron Man and Captain America team up in The Avengers

 The Avengers

A+  

 A Review by Frederick Cholowski   

  

After prequel after prequel after prequel the long awaited Avengers movie has finally arrived. Expectations are super high for this massive mash up of Marvel superheroes. Fortunately, for the most part the Avengers is a fantastic film that delivers on being a big bombastic action film that is a blast to watch. 

For the most part all you need to know about the Avengers is that Thor’s grumpy, adopted, evil little brother Loki (Tom Hiddleson) is going to try and rule the world (I mean because what else is he going to try and do right) by opening a portal through a cube that is an infinite source of energy and raining an army of wired alien creatures to destroy Manhattan. Sound familiar? It’s up to good old Sam Jackson, I mean Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson who finally gets to appear in more than two scenes) to assemble a team of uncooperative super heroes that includes Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo replacing Edward Norton), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and the often forgotten about Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) to save the world. That’s pretty much all you need to know.

While the Avengers boasts a simple plot the amazing thing is that director Joss Whedon dose is manage to intertwine 6-7 separate storylines and motivations into a single simple two and a half hour film that allows all the characters to fill each of their respective roles. In other words he does what the X men films have failed to do for year. Whedon succeeds by not trying to give equal screen time to all the characters. The most interesting characters are given the most screen time and for the most part carry the movie (for example Robert Downey JR’s brilliant Iron Man eats up a ton of screen time while Black Widow plays around in the background). The Avengers also surprisingly manages to hit a number of interesting character moments that really help flesh out the superheroes and their individual intentions. The one problem I have with the film is that the some of the relationships feel out of place (while the Hawkeye and Black Widow thing gives Jeremy Renner something to do it’s really rushed, same with the whole Thor and Loki dysfunctional brotherly relationship) and that some things aren’t really explained properly and rushed over (nuclear energy weapons and Hulk can suddenly control himself say hi). Overall, these things can be forgiven due to the fantastic pace and character control that is kept up throughout the film.

Robert Downey Jr. rules this film, period. He is the actor who gets the most screen time by far and it’s definitely for a good reason, he absolutely is dazzling in every scene he is in. It’s also great to see Sam Jackson being awesome (complete with eye patch and handgun) in a role that manages to be more than an extended cameo. Here Nick Fury is the glue that binds the dysfunctional characters together and who believes in them all. The surprise of the film is Mark Ruffalo who is the best Hulk yet (even over the always great Edward Norton). Ruffalo manages to bring a human nature to Banner that has never been achieved in past Hulk outings. The rest of the cast all works with no one feeling lost or out of place which is a true achievement in this kind of film that could easily be an acting disaster.

When all is said and done the meat and potatoes of this film is the action, and man does it ever deliver. The best part of the film is that it ramps it up to 11 and never let’s go. Action scenes have a great pulse to them and are constantly fun and energetic. The great thing about each scene is that they are multi layered enough to hold interest but clear enough to follow everything that is going on throughout the scenes. The cinematography is big and wide open, always focusing at multiple things at a time. It really gives a sense of scale in the bigger fight scenes and gives a certain feel to the character moments that feel important and tense. The score is nothing special, but neither does it get in the way as it provides big noises when big noises are needed.

The Avengers Rocks, Period. While it’s not The Dark Knight, it’s certainly is a game changer for big comic bookie superhero films of the future. The expectation is now go big or go home while still keeping a solid character basis. The Avengers is big, bombastic and really, really fun as well as being a great start to the summer blockbuster season.