Movie Review - The Avengers

Marvel's The Avengers (2012) * * * * *
Director: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johnasson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Clark Gregg

From IMDB:

"Nick Fury is (the) director of S.H.I.E.L.D, an international peace keeping agency. The agency is a who's who of Marvel Super Heroes, with Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When global security is threatened by Loki and his cohorts, Nick Fury and his team will need all their powers to save the world from disaster."

My Thoughts:
The short version is that I honestly think that Hollywood should just roll up the sidewalks and stop making superhero movies, because this is the best they've ever done, and I can't imagine that they will ever do a better superhero movie!

 Joss Whedon does an amazing job as director (and writer!) with this film, and it's full of comments, references, and humor that Whedon fans will instantly recognize.  I don't want to spoil anything, (but really if you haven't seen it stop waiting and go already!), so I'll try not to mention the plot too much.

To me it felt like the first half of the movie spent a lot of time dealing with the age old questions of "if this hero was in a fight with that hero, who would win.?"  When the Avengers are assembled by director Fury, there's a lot of time spent bickering and posturing, and initially the team doesn't want to work together, because they are not used to the concept of being a team.  Through a series of events orchestrated by Loki, and then later manipulated by Fury, the group of heroes pull together to fight against the overwhelming threat to Earth.  The second half of the film follows the epic battle as they use their own strengths, and weaknesses, to fight the enemy as a unit, instead of battling each other.

The film is fast paced with very few slow moments, and I hardly noticed that the movie was over two hours long, as it all flies by so fast.  The special effects are amazing, and overall the movie is just plain Fun!!  Even someone who isn't a fan of the Marvel comics or familiar with the characters back-stories can still enjoy the movie and follow the plot.

Bottom line - The Avengers is an awesomely fun film that anyone, young or old, can enjoy.  I can't even think of a single thing that I didn't love about it.  I'm giving it five stars, and even Bob thought it was a pretty good movie!  So if you haven't seen it yet go now.  And make sure you stay all the way to the very very end of the credits, there are two scenes you won't want to miss!

Have you seen The Avengers yet?  What did you think?  Leave a comment and let me know!