“The Avengers” is a mega movie.
It shattered the opening-weekend record, pulling in $207.4 million (and beat previous record-holder “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” which had set the bar with $169.2 million).@@http://www.mymotherlode.com/news/national/879104/Avengers-ups-dollar-power-with-362074M-opening.html@@
The film has also been in the planning books since 2005, when Marvel Studios decided to ride the comics and superhero movie craze to the limit — release separate main character films and then create a whopping cross-over flick. First came “Iron Man” and “The Incredible Hulk” in 2008, “Iron Man 2” in 2010, and “Thor” and “Captain America: The First Avenger” last summer. (Plus more are in the works.)@@names are all correct.@@
If you saw any of these Marvel Cinematic Universe@@http://marvel-movies.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Marvel_Cinematic_Universe@@ films and stuck around after the credits, you might have caught Samuel L. Jackson’s cameos and heard him mention “the Avengers initiative” — that would be this movie.
Directed and written by Joss Whedon@@uhg@@, creator of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “The Avengers” is all about bringing a group of superheroes together to save the world. Namely Tony Stark’s Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Bruce Banner’s The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America aka Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), and Thor (Chris Hemsworth), a Norse god from Asgard.@@http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0848228/ http://hayesatthemovies.com/2012/04/21/dvd-review-thor/@@
The movie opens with Loki, a delusional would-be tyrant and Thor’s adoptive brother, successfully stealing an object called a Tesseract from the U.S. government. The Tesseract@@http://www.beyondhollywood.com/the-avengers-2012-movie-preview-images-and-videos/the-tesseract-in-the-avengers-2012-movie-image/@@ is a powerful cube of energy from Asgard that has the ability to open portals between galaxies (which is convenient for Loki, since he’s planning an alien invasion). S.H.I.E.L.D., a secret military law-enforcement agency led by its eye-patch-wearing chief Nick Fury (Jackson)@@http://screenrant.com/avengers-interviews-sam-jackson-nick-fury-rothc-169167/@@, is pretty pissed that Loki stole it. “As of right now, we’re at war!” Fury announces, to which an agent responds, “What do we do?”
Cue “The Avengers” title appearing on screen.
Fury and Russian double agent Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson)@@correct@@ gather the different superheroes together. And they’ve got to figure out how to work together to stop Loki.
The combination of the heroes might seem odd to some. The Avengers are not a family like the Fantastic Four, and they’re not a group of outlaw mutants like the X-Men. The Avengers are a government-sponsored mishmash of strong, individual characters with their own origins. Iron Man, for instance, is a tech-based hero, while Thor has supernatural aspects.
“How you mix the two of those works very well in the comic books,” “Iron Man” director and “The Avengers” producer Jon Favreau said in 2009, “but it’s going to take a lot of thoughtfulness to make that all work and not blow the reality that we’ve created.” @@ http://splashpage.mtv.com/2009/10/14/exclusive-jon-favreau-wont-direct-avengers-explains-iron-man-2-tie-in-process@@
But in the end the combo worked.
Whedon’s@@uhg@@ script captured the clash and moments of understanding between the larger-than-life characters. The superheroes have previously been in their own isolated worlds, and putting them all in one room doesn’t automatically mean they’ll be friends. Egos clash, and they point out each other’s weaknesses. In Captain America’s eyes early in the movie, Stark is just a “big man in a suit of armor” — lose that and he’s powerless. To which Stark replies, “You’re a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle.” Ouch.
But there are good moments between the characters, too. Stark and Banner connect in the lab. Both are crazy-smart scientists (which Stark’s rambling dialogue and playboy attitude can sometimes make you forget), and both feel the terrible privilege that comes with their superhuman powers. Ruffalo, the third actor to play The Hulk@@correct@@ in less than a decade, makes a good addition to the cast (replacing Edward Norton after negotiations with Marvel fell through).
And even though these guys have tense arguments, battle Loki and fight off an alien invasion, there are also tons of light moments sprinkled around. The humor is packed with a lot of one-liners and brief moments of comedy, and it doesn’t feel forced or fabricated. We all know Tony Stark’s brand of charming douchebaggery, which is one of the reasons the two Iron Man movies were so successful, so humor isn’t new in the way Marvel has handled its superhero movies in the past. The film’s midnight premiere had the entire audience bursting out laughing at the jokes.
The bottom line: You don’t have to see all the other movies before this one, though it would help. While there are most likely back stories and details that were over my head, the stellar script and acting made “The Avengers” an enjoyable movie event.
Grade: A-