DDOY Review: The Avengers

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Three word review: FUCK and YES

More spoilerish discussion after the jump.

The Avengers is the movie I’ve been waiting for since May 2008 when Tony Stark was approached by Nick Fury in the post-credits to talk about the “Avengers Initiative”.  In that time Marvel has strung together a series of successful big screen adaptations of their most iconic characters.   What I experienced in a packed theater for a 11:30PM showing on Friday night was damn near perfect.   When critics start to talk about the death of the superhero genre, Joss Whedon comes through with a perfectly balanced take on Marvel Comics’ mightiest super team (the X-Men can suck it).

Unfortunately for my wife, we got out of the theater at 2:30AM and I was just too excited to even comprehend and digest what I had just seen.  Even now, two days later I’m going to stick to bullet points from here on out.

  • The Hulk.  As much as I loved Edward Norton’s take on Bruce Banner, Mark Ruffalo fucking nailed it.  The shift from the angry, misunderstood Hulk from the previous two movies is gone.  The “puny god” line got uproarious laughs, and when he punched out Thor after taking down one of the space whales … priceless.
  • Robert Downey Jr. is a force to be reckoned with, he owns Tony Stark.  It was interesting to see the dynamics between Stark, Thor, and Captain America.
  • Black Widow totally made up for whatever exactly she did in Iron Man 2.
  • The “team-up montage” was not insulting or a rehash of the previous films.  It made perfect sense, like when Thor showed up …
  • The final hour is everything I could have possibly wanted in a feature film version of The Avengers.  Each one individually kicking ass, sometimes teaming up.  The Iron Man repulsor blast off of Cap’s shield gave me such a nerd boner.
  • Loki was a treat, I had no idea who Tom Hiddleston was when he was cast in Thor, and may not have been seen as marquee villain for the Avengers first outing, but he was absolutely phenomenal.
  • Here’s where I’m conflicted … Agent Coulson.  I have an unrequited man-crush on Coulson.  And his death was so Joss Whedonnish I couldn’t even believe what I saw.  Part of me wants to throat punch Whedon, while another part of me wants to give him a deep, long, passionate kiss.
  • Even though Gwenyth Paltrow may be vapid and soul sucking in real life, I can’t help but love her as Pepper Potts.
  • The end of credits scene with FUCKING THANOS! Infinity Gauntlet!!! Fargle Bargle … which means Marvel is committed to The Guardians of the Galaxy and to taking the Avengers off of planet Earth.
  • The post-post credits scene in the restaurant … loved it.

 

Entertainment Earth
  • Mike

    I’m genuinely excited for all Joss Whedon managed to accomplish with juggling 6 superheroes. I think he got a gift in not having to do an origin story for anyone and just set off to making the group dynamic.

    Cap was great because he was the anti-Stark, but you needed both in the team. It was awesome seeing Cap give orders in the end.

    I thought Thor was only good when he was facing off with Hulk. I don’t want to say he was bland but I’m glad Joss had the heroes fighting each other. It was the nod to our fandom.

    Ironman, and Downey Jr, seem to be tailored for Whedon’s comic quip style. The moment where he pokes Banner had me and the entire theater in stitches. Bravo to Downey Jr. for stealing every scene he was in.

    Hulk was just very fascinating to me because he seemed to be in control of the “other guy”. Does he control it all th time though? Hulk seemed to be out of control on the helicarrier but in control at NYC. Either way, the new actor to play Hulk for years has been found.

    Hawkeyes and Widow were a good change of pace when we needed a break from CGI. I preferred Widow since she bested Loki without superpowers. That scene was great and proved she wasnt eye candy.

    Anyways, bravo Joss on 200 million plus. We, being the nerds, knew the talent you had before Disney, Marvel and Fox