MOVIE OF THE WEEK (5/4/2012): THE AVENGERS
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Robert Downey, Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Hemsworth, Cobie Smulders, Mark Ruffalo, Clark Gregg and Tom Hiddleston
WRITER(S): Zak Penn & Joss Whedon (screenplay); Stan Lee (characters)
DIRECTOR: Joss Whedon
WEB SITE: http://www.marvel.com/avengers
THE PLOT: The film that Iron Man I and II, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor have all been leading up to, The Avengers stars Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Fury, the eye-patch wearing, trench coat loving man in charge of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (or S.H.I.E.L.D. for short), has been working on a project involving the Tesseract, an energy source of unknown potential.
There's just one little problem ... S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't the only one after it.
Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the half-brother of the demigod superhero Thor (Chris Hemsworth), is also after the glowing cube. (Don't call it an "AllSpark" ... That's ANOTHER comic book movie's name for it!) And not only is he after it, he's willing to kidnap/brainwash Thor's friend Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) and S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) to help him carry out his dastardly plan to use it to rule the earth.
Luckily for us, Fury has a plan ready for just this sort of incident – and the name of the plan is The Avengers.
In addition to Thor, the Avengers team also includes philanthropist/scientist/environmentalist/weapons maker and all around playboy Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), World War II frozen-in-time super soldier Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America (Chris Evans), Russian spy extraordinaire Natasha Romanoff a.k.a. the "Black Widow" (Scarlett Johansson) and Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) ... Who has a bit of an anger management problem due to gamma radiation poisoning that turns him into a green giant hulk that is anything but jolly.
But as Fury, Captain America, the Black Widow, Iron Man, Thor and the Incredible Hulk are about to find out, all of their individual battles have been nothing compared to the epic one they are all about to face ... If they can keep from going to war with each other first.
There's just one little problem ... S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't the only one after it.
Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the half-brother of the demigod superhero Thor (Chris Hemsworth), is also after the glowing cube. (Don't call it an "AllSpark" ... That's ANOTHER comic book movie's name for it!) And not only is he after it, he's willing to kidnap/brainwash Thor's friend Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) and S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) to help him carry out his dastardly plan to use it to rule the earth.
Luckily for us, Fury has a plan ready for just this sort of incident – and the name of the plan is The Avengers.
In addition to Thor, the Avengers team also includes philanthropist/scientist/environmentalist/weapons maker and all around playboy Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), World War II frozen-in-time super soldier Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America (Chris Evans), Russian spy extraordinaire Natasha Romanoff a.k.a. the "Black Widow" (Scarlett Johansson) and Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) ... Who has a bit of an anger management problem due to gamma radiation poisoning that turns him into a green giant hulk that is anything but jolly.
But as Fury, Captain America, the Black Widow, Iron Man, Thor and the Incredible Hulk are about to find out, all of their individual battles have been nothing compared to the epic one they are all about to face ... If they can keep from going to war with each other first.
THE TAKE: Having spent the better part of the last 24+ hours trying to figure out what to say about The Avengers, many thoughts have come to mind. Should I go into deep analysis of the storyline as it relates to war, our own inner fears and/or our desire to believe in/possible need for heroes? In order to truly understand the film, is it important to discuss the history of each character, how their respective personalities create conflicts with one another yet must utilize those conflicts if they are going to triumph ... Eh, screw all that – let's just get to the point. Is The Avengers, one of the most anticipated comic book movies of all time, any good?
In a word, yes. It's good. It's very, very, very good – and we all have the talents of the cast, co-writer Zak Penn and co-writer/director Joss Whedon to thank for it.
Following the wake of the films that preceded it, The Avengers lives up to its substantial expectations as a result of [1] A well-thought out yet easy to follow plot by Penn and Whedon; [2] Strong performances by its cast – be it Hiddleton giving Loki a depth where you understand why he is so committed to what he's doing (even if what he's trying to do is destroy life as we know it), Evans as a soldier trying to make sense of a new world or Downey as a narcissist learning he can't always do things his way and [3] Special effects that really enhance the movie as opposed to detracting from it. be it a 3D moment or an intense action sequence, rarely (if ever) is motion wasted on screen as each moment continues the build to the film's eventual (and satisfying climax).
While it might be overstating the fact to praise how well all of the characters are used to create such a satisfying experience, one really has to give Whedon credit. For not only did he create a movie that shows a great reverence to its source material, it remains accessible to a wider audience without pandering to either extreme. While fanboys (and fangirls, for that matter) will love the clever use of catchphrases and homages to various elements of the Marvel Universe, others will love the action (you'll love what happens when the Incredible Hulk enters the fray as this is the best he's been used in any of his cinematic appearances), the comedy and the clever script that leads to moments that, even when you know they're coming, are still thoroughly enjoyable.
Don't get it confused, however – whereas Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is a deep, dark drama that explores the concept of what a "hero" is, The Avengers is an old school, call to action tale about extraordinary people doing extraordinary things when placed in extraordinary circumstances. Luckily, the film's cast and crew gives it just a little extra push given their commitment to the project so that "good" becomes "great."
Ruffalo portrays Banner as the emotional wreck he is so well that when he the Hulk is unleashed, he's really unleashed. Likewise, Evans gives Captain America a sentiment where you truly do feel for him, not unlike soldiers who have returned home from active duty and then had trouble adjusting following their service. Thor's relationship with both Earth and Aasgard (his home planet for those who missed his self-titled cinematic debut last summer) is also well-detailed and Iron Man ... C'mon, you should be able to figure that one out!
It's really hard to not give away too much without saying too much more, so let's just end their ... I don't want to have to have anyone avenge my death at the hands of a fan who thought I said too much!
In a word, yes. It's good. It's very, very, very good – and we all have the talents of the cast, co-writer Zak Penn and co-writer/director Joss Whedon to thank for it.
Following the wake of the films that preceded it, The Avengers lives up to its substantial expectations as a result of [1] A well-thought out yet easy to follow plot by Penn and Whedon; [2] Strong performances by its cast – be it Hiddleton giving Loki a depth where you understand why he is so committed to what he's doing (even if what he's trying to do is destroy life as we know it), Evans as a soldier trying to make sense of a new world or Downey as a narcissist learning he can't always do things his way and [3] Special effects that really enhance the movie as opposed to detracting from it. be it a 3D moment or an intense action sequence, rarely (if ever) is motion wasted on screen as each moment continues the build to the film's eventual (and satisfying climax).
While it might be overstating the fact to praise how well all of the characters are used to create such a satisfying experience, one really has to give Whedon credit. For not only did he create a movie that shows a great reverence to its source material, it remains accessible to a wider audience without pandering to either extreme. While fanboys (and fangirls, for that matter) will love the clever use of catchphrases and homages to various elements of the Marvel Universe, others will love the action (you'll love what happens when the Incredible Hulk enters the fray as this is the best he's been used in any of his cinematic appearances), the comedy and the clever script that leads to moments that, even when you know they're coming, are still thoroughly enjoyable.
Don't get it confused, however – whereas Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is a deep, dark drama that explores the concept of what a "hero" is, The Avengers is an old school, call to action tale about extraordinary people doing extraordinary things when placed in extraordinary circumstances. Luckily, the film's cast and crew gives it just a little extra push given their commitment to the project so that "good" becomes "great."
Ruffalo portrays Banner as the emotional wreck he is so well that when he the Hulk is unleashed, he's really unleashed. Likewise, Evans gives Captain America a sentiment where you truly do feel for him, not unlike soldiers who have returned home from active duty and then had trouble adjusting following their service. Thor's relationship with both Earth and Aasgard (his home planet for those who missed his self-titled cinematic debut last summer) is also well-detailed and Iron Man ... C'mon, you should be able to figure that one out!
It's really hard to not give away too much without saying too much more, so let's just end their ... I don't want to have to have anyone avenge my death at the hands of a fan who thought I said too much!
PARTING SHOT: A perfect exercise in how to satisfy diehard comic book fans as well as those who without any knowledge of the source material, The Avengers is as big a smash as those caused by the Incredible Hulk. (And trust me, as anyone who's seen the movie can tell you, that's a REALLY big statement!)
RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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