Movie Review – The Avengers

Director Joss Whedon pulls off an amazing feat in finding the right chemistry and balance in the ring of clamouring superheros, villains and will thrill the audience off theirs seats!

The Plot: Threatened with war and an impending alien invasion by the evil Loki (Tom Hiddleston) – the bad guy from Thor – Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), the director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D, brings together a collection of superheroes to save Earth from total annihilation, and its population from ultimate enslavement. Drawn somewhat reluctantly into the team are World War 2 super-soldier Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), demi-god Thor (Chris Hemsworth), genius billionaire Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), brilliant scientist Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and master assassins Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). Cue whip-smart banter, initial feuds, slowly building respect, uneasy friendships, forged allegiances, and lots of action.

in cinema’s 27th of April 2012

What we thought: The hype on the movie The Avengers has been building and building and now, it has finally reached its breaking point. After a slew of terrific action movies such as Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America, all these characters will now come together alongside several other friends and foes in “Marvel’s The Avengers.”

Director and co-writer Joss Whedon, managed to pull off a large juggling act where each persona, gets enough air-time, and everyone gets a chance to shine. This is no easy feat, as you would have probably guessed.. superheros have superegos. The script is cheeky and sarcastic, full of witty banter and moves with an infectious energy that makes you lose track of its two and a half hour running time. As the film gathers momentum, you will notice that these are still comic book heroes full of all the torment and introspection you’d expect.

The highlights of the movie for me , where the banter scenes between Robert Downey Jr.’s sarky, egotistical thinking Iron Man and Chris Evans’ old-school Captain America. Actually, Downey damn near steals the show – he is irresistibly charismatic especially when given the right kind of writing!

Then there is the deceptively reserved Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), serving as the only scientist who can track low levels of gamma rays, as his transformation into the uncontrollable Hulk would eventually threaten the safety of everyone onboard the ship. There is the token superhero chick, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), who more than holds her own amid all the chrome and testosterone, that finally gets to reveal the skeleton in her closet. She later wipes her slate clean by breaking a spell Loki has placed on her old ally, Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner, briefly glimpsed in “Thor”), a skilled archer with super deadly arrows. Cumi found Renner unfitting as a superhero character – the weakest link in the entire movie, but I found his form rather, er, pleasing to the eye:P

Eventually they will all have to come together for one epic battle against their shared enemy in Midtown Manhattan, home of Iron Man Tony Stark’s latest dazzling architectural creation, his eponymous high-rise, and a cool place in general to stage massive movie destruction. Production is technically immaculate, with Seamus McGarvey’s lensing as sharp and focused as Jeffrey Ford and Lisa Lassek’s editing. Even the 3D effects cannot detract from the greatness of this movie!

“The Avengers” is the first Marvel production to be released by Disney since it purchased the comicbook giant in 2009, and it won’t be the last: To conclude you know that there is a sequel lurking somewhere in the dark, but that likely won’t materialize until after another round of “Iron Man,” “Thor” and “Captain America” follow-ups that will keep the studio occupied through 2014!

Great movie.. go watch it!!

Here’s the Trailer:

 

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