REVIEW: The Avengers

9/10 - Quality movie, if you like watching stuff get blown up. 

What do you say about The Avengers?

The Marvel universe has become something you are either in or out. People tend to either be fans, or not care. This is problematic when a monument like The Avengers comes along, and you want to share what a great movie it is, but there are 5 movies that lead up to it, which explain the whole story. People who haven’t seen The Incredible Hulk might get by just fine, but will they understand without having seen Thor? Probably not. (Which sucks, because Thor was a 5/10 at best.)

As a writer myself, I am constantly amazed by the mastery that is Joss Whedon’s writing. He is formulaic and indulgent, but also tight and concise. He gives the audience all the moments they want, the hero shots, tension breaking laughs, one liners to take home. He takes  seven main characters and successfully builds them up, tears them down, then builds them back up again.

So. The Avengers is a movie about a bunch of people who save the world. It’s hard to say this is predictable movie when there are so many moving pieces. It has a great rewatch factor because every shot and ever line brings things forward together a little bit more, and you want to catch up on those references.

I think The Avengers is significant because audiences seem to have a desire for more complicated stories in their "typical action movie cereal bowl." Combined with other recent releases like The Dark Knight Rises, Skyfall, and Looper, I don’t think the mindless action movie is fitting the bill anymore. I'm not impressed by boring bad-guys and car chase scenes that go on for too long. These movies are making sure that even during the action, they are writing in beats to movie the characters forward and take them on an unpredictable journey. Isn’t that what an action movie is supposed to be? A fast-paced journey that leaves you smiling.

IMDB - The Avengers
Wikipedia - The Avengers
Rotten Tomatoes - The Avengers (92%)
Amazon.ca - The Avengers