What's Happen'in Folks?

It's that time again. Another Movie Review and this film obviously needs no introduction. So lets jump right on into it. Here's The D91 Movie Review of THE AVENGERS

*(DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this review are mine and mine alone. There may be minor SPOILERS in the review to aid any critical arguments in the review, so read at your own risk. All images/screenshots belong to it's respective owners.)




© MARVEL STUDIOS/PARAMOUNT PICTURES

PLOT
Well its finally here, the movie that's more than 50 years in the making. In 2008, we were introduced to the "Marvel Cinematic Universe" with the films "Iron Man" and "The Incredible Hulk", both with obvious hints of being part of a bigger universe and leading to future tie-ins with other movies. Soon, Thor and Captain America followed with their own feature films (after an Iron Man sequel) and each had significant build ups towards the inevitable AVENGERS movie which features the heroes teaming up to combat a greater evil under the command of S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury. With every movie, the hype for this film grew bigger and bigger with a large amount of comic book fans hoping that the film will live up to the legacy of one of the more iconic super hero teams in comic book history. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is arguably the greates super hero movie/comic book movie to have ever been produced. PERIOD!

In terms of continuity, The Avengers picks up a little after the end of Captain America and Thor. Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) overlooks the research of an anicnet artifact known as the Tesseract which is the source of unlimited power. However, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is transported to Earth through the use of the Tesseract and threatens the world with war. After his defeat in the original Thor movie, he has made an agreement with a mysterious higher power to lead a powerful alien army known as the Chitauri. After losing one of his best soldiers Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) to Loki under mind control along with the Tesseract, Nick Fury is forced to commence "the Avengers Initiative" despite the disinterest his superiors have on the project. Agents Phil Colson and  Natasha Romanoff  (Clark Gregg and Scarlett Johansson respectively) are assigned to round up the main candidates of the initiative which is Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), and Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo). Thor (Chris Hemsworth) soon runs into the group and S.H.I.E.L.D. after learning that his brother Loki has been transported to Earth and tries to bring him back to Asgard. As all of these gifted individuals Assemble (no pun intended), they must try to put aside their differences and work as a powerful team to fight a force that the Earth was never prepared for.

That's pretty much the plot in a nut-shell. It pretty much borrows elements from earlier story-lines/sagas from the Avengers comics. However, this is definitely not your typical super hero team movie. First off, I would like to compliment the overall flow of the film. The first act of the film does a good job with not filling in a large amount of back story since there is a good chance that people have at least seen some of the previous films leading up to this one. In all honesty, if you have seen at least Captain America, Thor, of even Iron Man 2, you really should not be lost here. The movie really cuts to the chase and puts you right in the middle of the central conflict and sense of urgency that is present once Loki appears. The progression in which you are introduced to each member of the team does not really drag at all either.

This leads to my next topic of the film's plot, and thats character development. In my opinion, this film captures the personalities and traits of each of characters better than similar films such as Xmen or Fantastic Four. It's no surprise that there's indeed variety amongst the cast based on the origins, sense of justice, and the abilities that make them unique. I love how that every member of the team is not at first comfortable with the idea of teaming up solely based on those differences alone. Sure they are obligated to team up under the orders of Nick Fury, but that does'nt necessarily mean its the best idea. You can definitely see this when Iron Man and Captain America have their moments of disagreeing with one another and when Thor tries to reason with S.H.I.E.L.D. about what his brother is capable of. Even the pressence of Bruce Banner is questioned overall with the potential danger he can put the entire team (if not the world) in by transforming into the Hulk. The second act is literally the best sense of character development as we see the team struggle with how they are going to prepare for the worse. It all leads up to the greatest sense of team work I have ever seen in a movie in the climactic battle see in New York City (calling the last 30 minutes of the film "epic" is such an understatement). Such grwth as a team makes you feel satisfied at the end becuase you are truly hoping that this group of people can pull through despite their differences, the same way Nick Fury believed in them.

What I also like about the plot is how it does not stray away from the focus of either the Avengers or Loki. The film is very compact and really has no dull scenes that stray away from the plot (somewhat like the Transformers movies do at times) Each member of the team gets an equal amount of focus and character development throughout the film and the writers seem to have done a good job in not "playing favorites". If you are a fan of any of the individual members of the Avengers, then you best believe that he or she gets her time to shine on more than one scene (the same can be said for the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as well). Personally, I like what they did with Captain America in displaying his excellent leadership skills despite being out of his element in terms of the time period. The Hulk has never looked better on the big screen as well (both him and Bruce Banner). With this equal amount of focus on the character development, people are going to leave the film loving THE AVENGERS as a whole.


PRODUCTION QUALITY
I already covered the amazing writing of the film and it is well complimented by the execution of the screenplay. The special effects are very top notch even for a super hero film. They truly shine in the final act of the film with a choatic battle taking place in the heart of New York City. I also liked what they have done with the Helicarrier throughout the film. The CGI is also well done to create the Hulk and the variety of alien creatures/technology. The Hulk seems to be more organic compared to his previous incarnations, probably due to the fact he has more interaction with human characters such as Thor (you'll know what scenes I'm talking about). The Iron Man suit is also more dynamic in the film with Tony displaying the full potential of his suit compared to the last two movies.

The casting is very well done. Of course, many of the characters were reprised by their original actors, except for Bruce Banner. Mark Ruffalo does however do an amazing job portraying Banner as a very timid scientis dealing with "the other guy" that he is cursed to turn into. Even after Edward Norton's well played Banner, Ruffalo seems to surpass that especially when it came to interacting with his fellow Avengers. Tony Stark realy displays a more "heroic" side to him compared to his previous films. We find him at a crossroads when he realizes that he has to fight less forhis ego and more for the greater good of mankind. Tom Hiddleston really does a significantly better job at portraying Loki in this film. He comes off as a more sinister villain with very manipulative tactics towards the Avengers. He arguably has some of the best dialouge in the film next to Robert and Samuel. And Finally, Jeremy plays a badass Hawkeye (whether he is good or evil...).

As you know, the film is shown in both 2D and 3D. Fortunately, I had the luxury in seeing the movie in both forms. Though the 3D effects don't really show until the second or third act, its very engaging and entertaining. It's not as down played as it was in Captain America (the shiled was the only recognizable 3D effect), it fits the dynamic display of action similar to how 3D was executed in "Dark of the Moon". Either way, the lack of 3D does not hurt the movie's visual experience one bit.


FINAL THOUGHTS
Simply put, THE AVENGERS is literally a must see movie. Whether or not you are a cmoic book fan or fully followed up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the culmination of such iconic figures in comic book history makes thies film epic on so many levels and will leave you wanting more (even if you miss the post credit scenes, there will no doubt be more sequels). The formation of the Avengers and overall character development of the film accomplishes what other super hero movies could not in the past and the writers clearly learned from certain mistakes made by similar team-up movies. I highly reccomend that you go to your local theater and watch the movie that exceeds fan expectations. Hell, I would even recommend seeing it twice, its that good.


Rating
I give it 95 out of 100



That's my review. Be sure to stay tuned for more D91 Reviews this summer. I only have one more week of college and will have more time to give my thoughts on movies and video games.

Until Next Time Folks.

PEACE

[link] [YOUTUBE]
[link] [TWITTER]
[link] [FACEBOOK PAGE]


PEACE OUT



Good Friends and Critics------->

Fanart/Art Trade credits-------->


Clubs