Review – The Avengers

Sunday, May 6, 2012

The Avengers movie is out finally. Was it worth the wait? Read on to find out!

The Avengers is about a group of superheroes brought together to combat the evil trickster “god” known as Loki. In the Marvel movie universe, superheroes are notorious loners, prone to distrust and infighting when in groups of more than one. This proves to be the case in The Avengers. Can the heroes solve their differences in time to take on a threat that could destroy New York, and perhaps even the entire world?

Directed by Joss Whedon, this movie, like the characters it portrays, packs a punch. It’s filled with humor, action, and adventure, bringing together the disparate elements from the five previous movies (Thor, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 1 and 2) into a cohesive whole.

Before watching The Avengers, I would suggest watching the movies listed above, ending with Thor, which ties directly into The Avengers by several plot elements, namely the villain, Loki.

I had seen rumors online that some of the directors of the above films found Marvel to be difficult to work with, demanding even. In watching The Avengers some of this makes sense: Marvel clearly had a plan in place and the plan worked.

The one slight negative is that The Avengers doesn’t really further the story of these heroes. It’s a great introduction to the team, but ultimately at the conclusion I was left with the impression that nothing was really accomplished other than blowing stuff up. Don’t get me wrong: this is an amazing film. In fact, it’s on par with the best superhero movies I’ve ever seen. It might even be better than the Dark Knight in several respects. It’s an awesome beginning to what could be a massive franchise.

Apparently there are two secret endings to the movie. I only saw the first secret ending, which I won’t reveal here. Stick through the credits (even if the lights come on like they did in my theater).

So, is the movie worth your money? Heck yes. I’d like to see it again, in the theater, even. I’ll skip the popcorn this time, however.

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