Directed By: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr.; Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference
Synopsis: When Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the evil brother of demigod Thor (Hemsworth), arrives on Earth and steals a highly valuable and dangerous source of energy that threatens to destroy the world, Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. assembles a team of superheroes - Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye and The Hulk - to fight back.
REVIEW
Andrew: Hello readers! Tonight's review is a
particularly special review for Two Tickets For... One of the perks of working
for The Walt Disney Company is that every now and then we get to see a sneak
preview of some movies. Tonight was one of those nights, as Sarah and I were
lucky enough to see Marvel's The Avengers. One of the most
anticipated films of not only this year but of that past few years, I think
it's safe to say we were NOT disappointed were we, Sarah?
Sarah: Not at all! It was one of the best action
films that I have seen in a long time! It was as if they took all the
excitement of all the separate films (Iron Man 1&2, Thor, Captain
America, and The Hulk) and smushed them all together for one epic
movie.
A: I think that's a pretty good description of what this
movie was. But let's talk about what those awesome parts are!
S: Well let’s start with the basic look. The special
effects in this movie are some of the best that I have ever seen. The motion
capture technology has really done a lot for movies since it allows the actors
playing computer generated characters to still be on set interacting with the
other actors.
This really helped with The Hulk. This was the first time that
we saw Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk, and he really did an amazing job. The
transformation from Bruce Banner into The Hulk was seamless and worked really
well against the other characters.
A: I love that point about the motion capture and how it
worked with Ruffalo. Much like the motion capture they used on Avatar to make the
Na'vi characters look like Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington, you could SEE Mark
Ruffalo's face in The Hulk's face. It was great, as were the bad guys that
start blowing up Manhattan, as were the effects to create the flying aircraft
carrier that served as home base for The Avengers, as were the effects that
have been perfected for Iron Man flying around.
S: The alien army was actually one of my favorite parts of
the movie. They just seemed to fit so well into the universe. Sometimes when a
director throws in more bad guys toward the end of a movie it can seem a little
garbled, but in this case it was great. It really set up the perfect transition
into a potential second Avengers movie.
Another favorite part of this movie was the humor! The audience
was laughing many times, and it wasn't just comic relief! We got the usual Tony
Stark humor, but no one warned us about how funny all the other Avengers and
even some of the villains were going to be!
A: I don't think we needed to be warned, because I found
not only Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark to be funny in all the films he's been
in, but I also found Thor to be funny and Captain America had a sense of humor
at the right times. But yes, director Joss Whedon (who also co-wrote the
screenplay) infused his trademark sense of humor perfectly into the characters.
Stark was hilarious per usual, and other characters had their
lines as well, but my personal favorite was the humor Whedon found with The
Hulk. It could have easily been cheesy to do the things they did with Ruffalo's
character, but in the context of everything going on in the film it was
perfect.
(Btw, this truly is a standout piece of work by Whedon and all
involved. Whedon's teetering on the verge of genius in my opinion, having seen
this and The Cabin in the Woods the other week.)
S: Yes, it really was a great movie. There really isn't
much that we could find to complain about. This movie really brought to light a
lot of other characters and a lot of their backstory. They even did a great job
at bringing the audience up to speed on what all the characters have been doing
in the past few years since their single movies came out. We even got to find
out a little more about Black Widow and get to meet Hawkeye who becomes a
stronger character than the previews alluded to. This movie could have been
pretty bad; there are A LOT of famous people in this movie. History has shown
that egos can really start to get in the way, and there was no lack of egos in
this film, but they all played off each other brilliantly.
A: You just mentioned Black Widow and that reminded me of maybe my two favorite scenes of the film, and they just happen to have her in them. (SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT SOME PARTICULAR SCENES AND WHAT HAPPENS IN THEM, SKIP DOWN TO THE NEXT PARENTHESES)
The first one is after The Avengers are able to capture Loki and they're trying to figure out what his grand plan is. Black Widow goes to the holding cell and tries interrogating him to no avail, but it's Tom Hiddleston's performance as Loki that I loved in the scene. Hiddleston absolutely BRINGS it to this role - he's fiery, he's angry and the way Joss Whedon sets up his shot is perfect.
The second one is the first time Ruffalo's Banner Hulks out for the first time and chases Black Widow. Whedon shoots it like a horror movie and it's the perfect way to introduce The Hulk. It's primal, it's scary, it's exciting and Johannson and Whedon make it work. It fits in perfectly with the tone of the film when it really could have been out of place. Just talking about these two scenes makes me want to see it again.
S: Actually, I really agree with those two scenes because they're two of the strongest scenes in the whole film. They also help bring to light more of what Black Widow is other than just being an assassin. But just how she and Loki play off of each other in the scene you mentioned is incredibly revealing on both their characters.
So even though the two characters are playing each other in the scene, they're actually able to hit some of the characters' underlying issues and it brings to light how insecure Loki is and how much pain he's in, like why he's doing what he's doing.
(END OF SPOILERISH SECTION)
Now, we did have one little complaint. If you were hoping to
have the same amount of screen time for every character, you will
"Thor"-ly disappointed. Yes, the demigod has his screentime, but for
his brother being the bad-guy and all, we thought that he would have a little
more of the main story.
A: Yeah, compared to all the other characters in the film
that you'd truly care about and want to see in action, Chris Hemsworth's Thor
definitely gets the short end of the stick. He comes in last, he has his fair
share of fighting, but other than that all the other big players get more
screentime. Even Hawkeye got more time, I feel. (Not that that's a bad thing,
until this film all we got of Hawkeye was his cameo in Thor.)
I enjoyed how they went into more detail about what Johansson's
Black Widow does and why, her relationship with Hawkeye, and that we got more
of Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury! Sam's been popping up here and there in all
the other movies but it was well worth it for him when this film finally came
around.
Now here's something that I was wondering as we were leaving the
theatre, and you kind of touched on it just now with Thor getting short shrift,
but what were your thoughts on the amount of story that was given to Iron Man
and to Captain America?
S: That's interesting that you mention that. I definitely
liked that they held a majority of the story, but I also really liked how each
of the characters had their own little stories with each other. Separately,
they all seemed to bond really well together. What did you think about that?
A: I don't think anyone else could have done a better job
of tying together all the different characters, their personalities and the
threads of their stories than Joss Whedon. At no point in this film did I feel
bored, at no point was there a slow moment, and I think Whedon did a PHENOMENAL
job of interweaving between the different characters especially during the
climatic battle.
You will NOT be bored with this film, and if you loved or even
just enjoyed all the Marvel films that have led up to it, you will enjoy The
Avengers. I think this is the movie fanboys were all hoping for. I know
it exceeded my expectations.
S: It exceeded my expectations as well. Alright readers,
you absolutely MUST see this one of the big screen! I for one cannot wait until
this one comes out on DVD/BluRay. We will be owning this one.
A: And as one last suggestion, if you haven't seen all the
other Marvel movies, you don't absolutely NEED to, but it would be VERY helpful
if you have seen Iron Man, Thor and Captain
America. So go see The Avengers and as always,
thanks for reading!
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| (Out of Five Clapboards) |
Director: Jon Watts 
