Avengers: action adventure at its best

Rating: Null/10 (4 May 2012)

Like everyone else who was anticipating this movie, I had heard the massive hype, and built up my expectations to the point where let down was all but inevitable. And so I went to the midnight first showing, hoping for something good, but half-ready for a bit of disappointment. Things didn't quite go like that. To put it simply, The Avengers is a triumph of a comic book/superhero film. Among fans, it will no doubt rank as one of the best Marvel based movies to date, if not the best. It's a downright great action film, right alongside any blockbuster, and a fairly solid adventure film.
Let's start with the characters, acting, direction. The team here is composed of seven heroes, many of which have their own proper films, and each of which is played by a very talented actor. While this might seem to bode well at first glance. It can't be understated how hard it is to balance such strong personalities, both the characters and the actors themselves. How do you make one movie, that basically wants to tell seven stories? And where each of those stories basically demands to be center stage? It's not easy at all, you have to fit a lot of pieces correctly. And Avengers is something which could easily have fallen flat if one of those pieces was off.
But Joss Whedon and cast did a commendable job of balancing all the characters' needs together, bringing each one fully to life, while still allowing the team story to take center stage. No one here gets left out, everyone has their time in the sun. And yet collectively it all fits together to make the movie more than just an ensemble of heroes, but the story of an actual team. In particular we see very good, believable dynamics portrayed, with how everyone is assembled, then has to adjust to working in a group setting, and ultimately become more effective within the Avengers then they would be on their own. In particular portrayals by Robert Downey, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo all shine in molding the team together. Iron Man is used to going solo; The Hulk has never been able to be a team player; and Captain America has a hard time dealing with people who don't really want to follow a group. That said, it really was all bright spots in the cast and characterization. Let alone, there is never once where the individual portrayal of the actual heroes comes into question, they are all spot on.
The visuals and effects are of course as good as one would expect. Top notch all around, as good as blockbusters get these days. One thing that I did not expect is how funny this movie was; there were so many good witty bits here and there, I think people were laughing throughout the whole film. Some moments were outright hilarious. Which is another thing about this movie, it was fun. Period. If you can leave the film critic at home for a moment, this movie is escapism at its best. It's a pure ride of action, adventure and fun, wrapped up in delicious effects. The last half of the movie flows so smoothly, it's all over before you even know it.
Some will want to compare this to the Dark Knight, and basically they will criticize it because it's not 'dramatic' enough. But not every film is a drama; not even necessarily every good film is a drama. The Avengers is not the Godfather or Dark Knight, and it was never meant to be. But if you can live with that, then it's a fantastic action-adventure movie, right alongside such greats as Indiana Jones, Aliens, and Die Hard. Among fans, it is sure to become a classic. And again, it's just wonderful escapism, which aside from Pixar animated films we don't usually get enough of these days. Everyone wants to be so serious :)) It's a family film too since there's not much objectionable here. Overall, very highly recommended.