For the past few years, I have reveled in the geekiness of The Big Bang Theory,
which includes plentiful references to Marvel Comics. Aside from the
Spider-Man movies, however, my own familiarity with these superheroes
has been limited enough that uber-geek Sheldon would probably shake his
head sadly at me. At least I can now add another Marvel movie to my
list, since my parents, my brother Nathan and I went to see The Avengers last night - the first time, incidentally, that I had set foot in a movie theater since I saw Chipwrecked
in December. While I didn't always follow exactly what was happening, I
think it's safe to say that this was the superior offering.
Written and directed by Joss Whedon, whose geek cred knows no bounds,
this is an action-packed race against time as international peacekeeper
Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) scrambles to assemble a team of
superheroes to protect the world against Loki (Tom Hiddleston), a
newly-arrived being who intends to subjugate all of humanity. I didn't
see any of the movies building up to this, but the Iron Man, Thor and Captain America
films set up this one, generating ample buzz for the movie years in
advance. No wonder it's smashing box office records like the Hulk
smashes... well, everything.
The heart of the movie is Nick's
attempt to turn this ragtag group of superheroes into a cohesive unit,
which is no easy task. Some of them have never even met, and personality
clashes abound. Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, otherwise known as Iron
Man, is abrasive with his acerbic manner and quick-witted quips. I
found Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner, a meek scientist who has made a
valiant effort to get the rage that turns him into a green monster under
control, to be the most likable of the lot, though Chris Evans is very
charming as the slightly out-of-touch Steve Rogers, more commonly known
as Captain America.
I was least familiar with Natasha Romanoff
/ Black Widow, a sassy spy played by Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy
Renner's Clint Barton / Hawkeye, an archer and the only member of the
group I didn't really feel like I knew at the end of the movie. Also in
the mix is Thor, the muscle-bound Norse god of thunder who is Loki's
brother and therefore has a very personal stake in the success of this
mission. Chris Hemsworth gives an intense performance as someone torn
between affection and revulsion as he deals with what his adoptive
brother has become.
My favorite parts of the movie involve
these heroes getting to know each other, swapping barbs and gradually
working through their own issues to truly become a team. I love
Jackson's frank but passionate delivery throughout the film as someone
trying to ward off disaster, and Clark Gregg is endearing as his
idealistic assistant Phil. Downey drily utters most of the movie's
funniest lines, though Ruffalo gets my favorite, and Hiddleston is
unsettlingly mesmerizing as he silkily caresses each word.
We
watched the movie in 3-D, and I'm not sure how big a difference it made,
though I did feel I was pretty well immersed in the movie and probably
jumped a couple of times where I wouldn't have if we'd been watching
without the glasses. The special effects looked very realistic to me,
and they were used plentifully. I found some of the action sequences a
little confusing as they hopped from character to character and went on
for quite a while, and it wasn't until the team was assembled that I
felt fully invested in the movie, but once I really had those characters
to latch onto I found the film a very fun ride, right down to the
peculiar little scene that follows the credits.
While it's not my favorite of the superhero movies I have seen, The Avengers
does make me want to see the movies dealing with the group's individual
members, and I found this adrenaline-soaked action flick an ideal way
to kick off the summer movie season.
No comments:
Post a Comment