Avengers ushers in new era for Mega-Blockbusters

Rating: 7/10 (6 May 2012)

The Avengers has been years in the making. The budget, cast, director, and storyline show just how much effort has been put into this movie. The graphics are unbeatable. The director was able to bring life to the characters while making the film as fast-passed as it needed to be. To top it off, the cast bill consisted of Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, and many more. The storyline was unlike anything I have seen in a superhero movie before (although it did remind me of Chronicle at times).
The only problem with The Avengers is the script that Joss Whedon wrote. He may be a great director, but that does not mean he should also be a screenwriter. With such talented actors, far too many lines were simplified or dropped completely. At times, the dialogue just feels like filler until the action starts again. However, there is one upside to having Joss Whedon do the screenplay: he's quite funny. From a remark about Legalas to plenty of Hulk jokes, he knows how to make a theatre roll with laughter.
One of the fears that comes with making a beloved book/comic book into a movie is that it will be difficult to follow if you are not a fan. I, for one, have never picked up a comic book in my life. Aside from minor aspects (the scene after the credits, the science behind superpowers, etc.), there is almost nothing in The Avengers that will trip you up. There is even enough backstory in the first hour of the movie that you don't need to have seen the five "prequels."
With a $200 million opening weekend, The Avengers will likely go down as one of the highest grossing movies of all time—next to Star Wars IV, Star Wars I, Titanic, The Dark Knight, and Avatar. Although The Avengers fits in well with these movies, it is rather unique. The studio behind this movie—Universal—was able to manufacture this monster of a film by carefully crafting teaser movies over the past several years. It is quite unlike anything the movie industry has ever seen. The Avengers may not be the best movie out there, but it will be known as a game-changer in the movie industry. Expect movie "teaser movies" and "manufactured blockbusters" in the years ahead.
To be perfectly honest, the only people who shouldn't see this movie are those who don't like action movies. The Avengers is nowhere close to being one of the best movies of the year. However, it will go down in history. Not only as a movie that smashed box office records, but as the movie that changed the meaning of blockbuster. Like "Jaws" and "Towering Inferno" of the 1970s, this movie will change the course of Hollywood and how studios vie for the top spot at the box office.
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