I’m not a
comic book girl, but I have to admit I have been hooked on The Avengers
Series ever since Iron Man in 2008. Anyone who stayed through credits
got a sneak peak of Samuel L. Jackson playing Nick Furry, and knew that
there was so much more to come! What I find neat about The Avengers
Series is the buildup of movies leading up to this one:
• Iron Man 2008
• The Incredible Hulk 2008
• Iron Man 2 2010
• Thor 2011
• Captain America 2011
All
of these movies can stand alone, but what I fully appreciated was the
chance to get to know each of the principal characters in The Avengers
years before the movie was even produced. This was genius, allowing
interest to build, and exposing more and more fans to the series along
the way. Again, I have never read the comics, but have grown to know who
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), Black Widow, (Scarlett Johansson), Thor
(Chris Hemsworth), and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) are.
Josh
Whedon, director, is famous for creating and writing several notable
Sci-Fi T.V. shows and movies, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and my
personal favorite is the Firefly series which was briefly on T.V for a
season in 2002-2003, and spun the cult classic movie Serenity, released
in 2005. Recently, Whedon also lent his writing talents to the just
released The Cabin in the Woods in April, receiving praise for being
much smarter than the typical horror flick.
The
Avengers starts with a bang! The movie begins at S.H.E.I.L.D.
headquarters (a secret security organization led by agent Nick Furry)
where the Tesseract (a unique energy source) is being held and examined.
Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston, comes into our world with the purpose
of stealing the Tesseract, taking over our world, and eventually taking
over his old home plant Asgard, which he was disowned from. To gain
control, Loki takes over several members of S.H.I.E.L.D ‘s minds
including Agent Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Nick Furry now has no choice
but to convince the other members of the Avengers to join him and help
get the Tesseract back. This is not an easy task since all members have
past or present issues they are currently working through. Robert Downey
Jr. reprises his role as Iron Man, Tony Stark. Tony has been working on
new building that is energy self-sufficient. Tony begrudgingly agrees
to join, and has girlfriend Pepper Pots continue working on the project
without him. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) has the job of convincing
Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) to join the team. Bruce is reluctant to take
part due to his uncertainty if he can control “The Other Guy” Hulk.
Nick Furry approaches Captain America (Chris Evans) to join, but Captain
America is still sore that he has been brought back to life and is
having a hard time adjusting to the 2000’s.
One
aspect I of the movie I did not expect was how much I enjoyed seeing
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/ Hulk. The hulk has previously been
featured in two separate movies played by two separate actors. I felt
that Ruffalo did the best job showing the two very different faces of
the Hulk. I hope to see more of Ruffalo’s Hulk in the future.
The
Avengers is fast paced right from the start and has some of the best
special effects I have seen in an action movie. The 3D is worth the
extra money, and is a great use of the technology. The costumes were
also incredible. I have no idea how Cobie Smulders and Scarlett
Johansson put on their cat suites, but both actresses looked amazing!
The Avengers went beyond what I had expected and is a great way to kick
off the 2012 Summer Movies.
