The Avengers - A Review

So, after a few years of patient waiting – I saw the Avengers last night.  First off, let me say ‘light spoiler alert.’  I will hold back on many details but don’t let me ruin the film for you.  If you want the high-level review – the word I’m going to use is ‘Awesome!’ 

Let’s face it, we all wondered if Josh Whedon was going to be able to pull this off.  I mean seriously, bringing Ironman, the Hulk, Thor and Captain America to the same screen and do it well?  We knew it wouldn’t be easy. He did so and it was surprisingly good. 

I’m not going to dive deep into the plot points.  Unless you’ve been dead or in a cave somewhere, you probably know that this story is about Thor’s brother Loki bringing chaos and mayhem to Earth.  Loki rocks as a villain, complete with monologuing moments that are priceless. He’s a complete bad-ass in every sense of the word and made a worthy opponent for such a cast of heroes. 

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury finally got some action in the series of Marvel films, which was great. 

I have a soft spot for Captain America and the film did a good job with the character. 

The character that shined, at least for me was Bruce Banner/The Hulk.  Let’s face it, the two attempts to jump-start the Hulk have been marginal.  The Norton Hulk was the best to date, but we didn’t really care about the character.  Mark Ruffalo's Hulk and Banner characterization was great.  The Hulk only gets two words in the film, when he tangles with Loki, and even my wife who hates these kinds of films laughed out loud at that part. 

Black Widow was neat on multiple levels.  When she ‘interrogates’ Loki, she was awesome. 

The Tony Stark/Ironman character stole the film.  I always get the impression that Robert Downey Jr. isn’t acting in the role of Stark- that that’s just how he is in real life.  His lines are great.  This is not Ironman 3, but it almost could be.   

We have the death of one of the minor characters but one of my absolute favorites.  I won’t ruin it for you but I wish we hadn’t seen him die.  At least he got one more shot in. 

There were a few scenes, as a writer, I would have liked to see. Captain America at the grave site of his beloved or at the marker for Bucky Barnes would have been nice.  He’s a man out of time.  There’s an assumption made that everyone he knows is dead, but we don’t know that for sure.

I would have had a scene with Pepper Potts and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman from Thor) going out to get drinks.  Pepper was in the movie, which I was pleased to see, Portman was not. 

We didn’t get much airtime with Hawkeye, but I will admit he is a badass in the scenes we do get to see him. 

The humor in the film is everywhere and cuts the right balance between funny and pushing the envelope.  I heard more people laugh in the theatre I was in than I’ve heard in most comedy films in the last three years.  Yes, it was a nerd-fest, but still, the geek have inherited the Earth. 

Of course the film is set up for a sequel.  Let’s be honest, hauling in $80 million on Friday alone in US, they are going to be hard pressed to not bring this cast back together again.  GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!