The Avengers Review

Rating: 10/10 (18 November 2012)

Hype was filled in the air as this star-filled, action packed, superhero movie was about to come to U.S. theaters. In my opinion, all of the hype was delightfully fulfilled after its release. The Avengers smashed the box office and grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide becoming the third highest-grossing film of all time.
Let's first take a look at this all-star cast. Robert Downey, Jr. plays a billionaire playboy philanthropist named Tony Stark (Iron Man). This is the second best performance in a superhero type movie that I have ever seen; next to Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. He brings a lot of wit and charisma to the film which is a big part why it became as successful as it was. Chris Hemsworth plays Thor, who is the crown prince of Asgard. His Spartan-like appearance and acting skills is the reason why I think Chris was the perfect choice to play Thor. My favorite part is when Thor fought with Captain America (due to Captain America being chosen as the leader) because it was so unexpected. Speaking of Captain America (Steve Rogers), he is played by Chris Evans whose physic is perfect for this role. His character is adequately developed throughout the movie. Mark Ruffalo's acting as the Hulk (Dr. Bruce Banner) I thought was very good. Joss Whedon got great use out of the hulk for the limited time he was in there. The epic battle with Loki at the end when the hulk smashes Loki was a highlight of the film. Whedon use of the hulk's strength is brilliant and even sometimes humorous. Scarlett Johansson plays Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff) in the film. Her charm and sexy looks bode well with the character. Being a woman in superhero movie seems like it would be a tough challenge, but she hit the nail on the coffin. My favorite scene with her is when she is being violently interrogated by a trio of gangsters. The gangsters reveal their master plan before Johansson breaks out of the chair and takes down all three men. This scene showed her amazing acrobatic ability.
Jeremy Renner plays Hawkeye, a very skillful marksman. He seemed to play this role very confidently and was almost flawless throughout the movie.
For every superhero movie, there's always a villain. The villain in The Avengers is named Loki and is played by Tom Hiddleston. In my opinion his acting is superb. He plays the character of a very menacing and mad man.
The minor characters (Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, and Stellan Skarsgard as Dr. Erik Selvig) are all decent at their respected roles. Although, I think Samuel L. Jackson should have had more airtime as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The plot unfolds very quickly in this action-packed movie. Without spoiling the movie, I will access the basic plot structure. Nick Furry, who is the leader of the peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D, and Black Widow have to assemble a special group to combat Thor's evil brother Loki after he takes the cosmic cube and uses his scepter to brainwash Dr. Selvig and multiple agents, including Hawkeye in order to help him in his getaway. The heroes have a hard time working together but eventually learn how to. Bruce Banner (Hulk) plays an important role because he helps track down the artifact's gamma signals. The plot is developed very nicely and is exactly what a superhero movie should be.
The graphics and for this film is superb to say the least, especially on blue ray. The fact that most of the filming for this movie was actually filmed in a big city (mostly New York and Cleveland), rather than a made up Hollywood set, gives it a feeling of realism and an illusion that the viewer is actually in the movie.
The special effects are second to none in The Avengers. The huge explosions, giant hole opening up in the air, Hawkeye falling out of the sky and shooting his arrow, and hulk smashing Loki are just a few of many excellent examples of amazing special effects.
Overall, I would give this film two thumbs up. The flawless acting, explosive plot, superb graphics, and excellent special effects all add up to a perfect superhero movie. I would recommend this movie to any person who loves action-packed, superhero films.