"The Avengers" is worth every penny of the $207 million it has grossed thus far

Rating: 10/10 (11 May 2012)

Some sad news and some happy news. Sad news: so far, it looks like we can expect an overall sour year for the movies just like 2011 was. Oh, well. Happy news: there will be at least one great film to remember at the end of the year. And next year. And the year after that. "The Avengers" is the movie that comic-book fans, as well as the entire world, have been awaiting for a long time. Take me, for example. I'm one of a handful of people from my generation who has never read a comic book. So I know nothing about how this movie, or the films that predated it, follow their source material. I saw this film with a crowd of folks, many of whom undoubtedly were familiar with the comics, and I think I cherished it just as much as they did. It is one tremendously smashing movie; one not to be missed! I need not report that the film brings together the heroes of recent Hollywood extravaganzas. What I do need to report is just how seamlessly and smoothly that transition is. The movie brings together the characters of the "Iron Man" movies, "Captain America: the First Avenger," "Thor," and the "Hulk" pictures while paying idiosyncratic respect to each of their characteristics and personalities. None overshadows or takes away from the other. Hard to imagine, since it features Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), one of the biggest egotists in recent movie history. Yet he does not steal the show from the mostly personality-free Captain 'America' Rogers (Chris Evans). The same applies to the "in-between characters" such as Nick Fury (an eye patch-toting Samuel L. Jackson) who seem to bind these sagas together.
That is the key to this movie's success: the way it brings these characters together and allows them to play off each other's personalities. The casting is also perfect! Robert Downey, Jr. is no stranger to praise from me and he shells in another solid performance without, I must reiterate, taking away attention from his co-stars, which is something he would have done if he were as egotistical as his character. Chris Evans, as Captain America, has more to do than he did in his source picture: a movie I was not too enthralled by. The same applies to Chris Hemsworth as the extra-terrestrial being Thor, who before I thought was just a Triple B: Big Blond Bore. Keeping his equally boring love interest out (except in a brief reference in the middle) was a smart choice on the filmmakers' part. And Scarlett Johansson proves James Agee's theory about casting in the movies: it's about finding the right people, not the biggest talents. Miss Johannson is not the biggest or more versatile talent in the movies today, but she is dead-right for the part of Black Widow.
A testament to the strength of the characters. I will not reveal who, but one beloved figure is bumped off. Now a supposedly important character died in "Captain America: The First Avenger" and my emotional response to that moment was zip, because I did not feel I understood that character as a human being. The death scene in "The Avengers" is so strong, and the director gives it just the right amount of time to play out, that it left the entire auditorium silent...after a big gasp of disbelief.
Watching "The Avengers," I was constantly given a sensation that I've always adored: the impulse to sit back, eyes wide, and say "Wow! That is really cool!" There are sequences in this picture, most of them action-moments, that are so jaw-droppingly strong and brilliantly executed that they really do make you wonder just how much effort the makers of the movie put into them. It was not all computers; I can tell you that much. Yet there are parts done exclusively with computers that truly are impressive and great to look at. The highlights are giant alien worms which fly over and through New York City in the final sequence. The movie was directed by a promising talent by the name of Joss Whedon and he demonstrates his discipline as a creative artist in the movie's thirty-minute final battle. As some folks in Hollywood (Michael Bay in particular) need to learn, it takes discipline and restraint to make a lengthy battle keep going without losing its edge. Mr. Whedon has both. At the same time, there are laughs in this movie so strong that I found myself still giggling by the time the next scene was up. I am really tempted to give a few examples, but I don't want to spoil them for anybody who has not seen the picture already.
Do I have anything negative to say about "The Avengers." Well, both of the epilogue scenes were utterly pointless; I'll admit that. And some of the one-liners placed in the middle of the climax seem out of place, and distracting from the carnage going on around them. Most of my gripes are nitpicks. Key example: the director uses mirrors in several scenes and there was one, regarding Black Widow and some interrogators, where I wished he had toggled in instead of out. I think you can tell I have to get desperate to shell out any complaints.
I know a young woman who has seen this picture a total of three times now. I am really tempted to go and see it a second time myself. "The Avengers," which clocks in at two and a half hours, is entertaining from beginning to end. It also features some truly memorable music by the underrated Alan Silvestri. This is the kind of music where you find yourself humming after the movie's over, not just ignoring during the show. "The Avengers" is worth every penny of the $207 million is has earned thus far. I hope it gets more. It is one of the best movie-going experiences I've had in a long while.