At my screening of Marvel's The Avengers, the audience could not wait until the end of the film before erupting in applause. In the midst of a massive action sequence in the third act of the story, the entire Avengers team, including Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow, mounted on the screen and seeing them together was too good to ignore. It was a tribute to how entertaining the movie really was a response to a wonderful time payment made by well-crafted characters, witty dialogue, exciting and a good script. And I will not be surprised if it happens again and again once the film is released worldwide.A direct sequel to the events of the previous Marvel Universe films follows the film begins when Loki (Tom Hiddleston) finds its way back to earth and steals the Tesseract - a strange source of pure energy - and threatens to enslave the human race with the help of his alien army (the Chitauri). Seeing no other option, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), the leader of the secret government outfit known as SHIELD, gathers the team of superheroes known as The Avengers (Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson Jeremy Renner) to Loki's plans to stop.
Instead of creating an uneven mix or try to focus more strongly on a specific character, is writer / director Joss Whedon Avengers constructed as a balanced ensemble. In addition to everyone getting at least a great action scenes, all the characters fully developed and given a stone to work with, whether it's Captain America the struggle to fit into the modern world, Thor's guilt about his brother, Iron Man's ego and single-mindedness, Hulk or the fear of his own strength. Also Black Widow and Hawkeye, who were largely minimized in their previous appearances, completed and equipped with back stories that give us a better understanding of their characters.
As fun as the other Marvel movies have been to this point are used on a small scale action scenes, and The Avengers is more than compensate. Seemingly taking a philosophy of "go big or go home," the action is not just pure spectacle, but perfect pace and shot by Whedon, who makes frequent cutting, so we can see what's happening with the different heroes. The final battle sequence between the superhero team and Loki's army is better than all the action in the other Marvel movies combined and multiplied by ten. It is the structure of all the previous films of the most epic title we've seen, but with these characters.
During his career, Whedon has become known for his clever characters, quick wit and emotional gut punches, and this movie will only serve to enhance that reputation. Although never even comes close to spoof territory, the film is actually very funny, both in dialogue (as Captain America actually recognizing a pop culture reference from The Wizard of Oz) and physical humor (especially a confrontation between the Hulk and Loki) . Although a little off to the start, the pace of the film comes together quickly and the writer / director is able to both tell the story he wants to tell and several power struggles and action sequences can mix.
As a lifelong comic book fan, I ran the Avengers with the highest hopes and deepest fears. Slightly more than two hours later, when the credits started rolling, I turned to the friend sitting next to me, smiled and exclaimed: "They actually did it!" What Whedon and Marvel have made here is not only exceptional, but one of the most entertaining and satisfying comic book movies yet.
