AVENGERS!!! A Verdict!!!!

There has been a lot of hype surrounding The Avengers movie, a lot of which came before the movie was ever even finalized for production. And after several end-of-movie cameos and teasers, after years and years of speculation and preparation, it all finally came together with a single question. Could the Movie live up to the Hype?


With the images, and sounds, of the movie still in my head (i have a headache by the way) I feel like now might be the best time to write a review on the movie. Many say its a good idea to digest the subject first, give a watch, a rewatch, consider its motives, do some research...I dont need to really, because I had a few advantages, mainly that came from watching it with my cousins.

I'll put it out there, they hated it....alright maybe not hated, but they didnt like it enough for them to utter that they liked it, and that got me thinking because...you see...i actually did like it. It was exactly that which puzzled me, to made me consider the movie, that helped me 'digest' the film so quickly, because my mind is so utterly focused on that question, why did i enjoy it?

While my three cousins are hardly of the same mindset, their main argument about the movie came out to be this; The movie was a needlessly long adventure that lacked any real intellectual or logical reasoning or rationale... although the climax was certainly worth it. Whats weird is that I cant really argue with this thought, and yet, i still liked the movie. Is there a reason?  As Sarah Palin would say..."You Betcha"

I kind of look to last years big summer blockbuster, Transformers 3, a movie that was largely in the same mold as the Avengers as a very hyped summer blockbuster movie that was incredibly long, loud, and filled with CGI effects galore, and how I loathed that movie, yet not The Avengers. Was there something really that drastically different? I think there was, and maybe it wasnt drastic, but it was certainly Fundamentally different.

The thing that Avengers had working for it was never the actual plot or story. An Alien army invading a world that is supposed to be 'normal' yet has inhabitants who could jump over small houses, had limitless dexterity, could make a suit that could do pretty much everything, a man who could turn into a monster capable of leveling an entire city, and the occasional demi gods couldn't make any LOGICAL sense if you allowed Christopher Nolan a decade to work on it (maybe if you gave him two decades...dudes a genius). So hoping for some beefy story was probably just wishful thinking. The story was completely terrible, for what its worth, but it was purposely vague when discussing the simple question of WHY. Why were aliens attacking? Why was Loke Joining them? Why was there a giant flying boat/battleship with mirror plating being used as a command center when it apparently ended up being a total disadvantage...ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU BRING A FREAKIN EVIL DEMI-GOD ON IT!

No, the avengers main plot had plenty of holes in it, but it wasnt what made the movie good, and it was never expected to be what made the movie good. What made the movie good, was the characters. Each of the heroes had their own summer movie, most of which were pretty great. Each major character had his or her own personality explained, and the Avengers Movie helped tie all these characters together without abandoning a single element of their unqueness and at the same time never letting one become less than the others.

The movie Exemplified its concept of hero, while showing that concept in its many forms through the eyes of the many different heroes. They each had a unique fundemental drive and philosophy, allowing viewers to embrace the one that fit their own virtues, and then showed why that philosophy and their drive towards it is what made them special. Thats where the heart of the Avengers was, not in its special effects or over the top story. It was in its appeal at what heroism was, what the Avengers were. They were heroes faced with impossible odds fighting not because they knew they could win, but because they had no choice. They had real flaws in both personality and abilities, and yet they pushed past those flaws because of some inane sense of justice or morality.

While the method of cinematography was the complete opposite of the Dark Knight, the execution and merit of the movies meaning was same. Essentially that is the goal of super hero movies, its not simply a story of good over evil, but its the story of heroes doing things that are just super. And Avengers did that well.

Thats not all that the movie did well. While the story threw out some very questionable means of igniting action scenes, those action scenes were all did well. I especially enjoyed the black widow vs hawkeye fight scene,  more or less because it was the only fight scene that didnt involve a heavy dose of CGI and was wonderfully choreographed, as were most action scenes.

So does the movie live up to its hype? It depends. Avengers was always hyped to be a great superhero movie that involved multiple superheroes joining forces to take down an epic delima filled with beautiful action scenes and enough special effects to make you feel like you were on a roller coaster while still filling emotional, philosophical, and nerdy desires with a healthy dose of laughter. In that regards, it certainly delivers and lives up to its hype, better than most would have hoped for. However, if you were looking for a deep movie with a juicy plot, a logical series of events and a realistic yet intellegent tone...you might be better off waiting for Nolan's Final Batman movie.

For those who have yet to see the movie and still plan on it, just keep a few things in mind
-Watch the previous marvel movies From the first Iron Man and forward
-Make sure you watch the end of movie teasers that happen in all of those movies to get background info on the Avengers Movie
-Dont expect the Dark Knight.
-Be the opposite of sleepy; the movie is long and at times loud (both sound and visuals at times)

If you do those things, you might find that The Avengers was a lot of fun, and was always meant for the child inside you to be left in awe at the awesomeness of superheroes.