Review - The Avengers

Summer Assemble!

Assembling May 4, 2012

It’s been years in the making, and now, it is here. We’ve been teased with an Avengers film for years as Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) found his way into the end of Iron Man, Captain America and more throughout the years. Now it’s time for the Avengers to assemble as Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is here to create chaos here on Earth.

As the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury has brought together the best super heroes in the world. There is the cocky but confident Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) that takes the leadership role within the group. The confident and always American Steve Rogers aka Captain America (Chris Evans). They have to dig deep to find Bruce Banner aka The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) as Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) finds out. (sheesh…I’m saying AKA a lot) Don’t forget Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Clint “Hawkeye” Barton (Jeremy Renner) even though at least one of these spends most of this movie on the wrong side of the group.

The movie follows a quick look at the back story of our hereoes as they come together to fight Loki. Once they are together, it will take some additional cajoling from the likable Fury to give them the last push they need to get the job done. Now can the Avengers save us from Loki, or are we destined for failure?

This is a movie of two parts. I came into the film expecting that the back story of the characters was a little implied. Fury showing up in so many of the other individual films led me to believe that he would have done his “assembling” off screen coming between the other films and this effort. Instead, director Joss Whedon spends small periods of time with each character, showing that the “assemble” part is not as easy as you think.

This period of expository really tended to drag. I couldn’t wait for the action to start as these characters really needed to kick some butt.

Despite my reservations with the first half of the film…the second half kicked major butt (in more ways than one). Once the Avengers are assembled and they begin the assault to take back the Earth the movie is non-stop action and fun. The sequences are some of the best in the movies and the dialogue is witty and clever. Those two things alone make for an intensely fun experience at the movies.

Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark is still my fave in the film with his smart-alecky wit and all around element of cool. Ruffalo rocks as he takes over the David Banner role. I just loved the characters and quite frankly I can’t wait to see them assemble again. Now that the background is out there, I can only imagine where the next film goes.

The Avengers is one half brilliant and one half so-so. Thank goodness the brilliant part is the way we end the film and what you remember on your way home. Summer assemble; The Avengers are here to kick things off with a bang.

B+ / B

The Avengers

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Director: Joss Whedon

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson

Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference.

Runtime: 2 hours 22 minutes