After a multi-year set up, and using a scene at the conclusion of the end titles to the Iron Man, Thor and Captain America films, The Avengers is finally here. They have added The Hulk, Hawkeye, and The Black Widow to their team of superheroes, and it’s quite a group. Samuel L. Jackson, as Nick Fury, is finally allowed to have more than 30 seconds of screen time as his appearances have been limited in the above mentioned end of credit set ups. And, I am going to tell you now, you should stay until the end of the credits. If you don’t, you will make The Hulk very, very mad. This you do not want to do.
In this movie, Loki, the otherworld bad guy in the Thor film, decides to come to Earth and take over like the bad guy trio in Superman II. First, he shows up alone with just his magic spear and creates some problems. For the big finale in NYC he adds an army of leftover monsters from Thor as well as Transformer-like creatures to his invading army. Unfortunately, for Loki, our five heroes are up to the task of taking him and his goon squad on.
For most of the film the Avengers seem bent on fighting amongst themselves. They also verbally duel with great lines and an occasional whack to the head. The violence in the film is brutal but it’s like the action in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. No matter what destruction and harm is done, the superhero absorbs it and shakes it off kind of like The Three Stooges on steroids.
The best character in TA is The Hulk. His rages are both spectacular and funny at the same time. He also has the best scene in the film when he decides he’s had enough and quickly and thoroughly mashes another character into the carpet.
Like the Transformers movies, TA has an abundance of time committed to extraordinary special effects. The tongue-in-cheek humor will not escape the adults in the audience.
Since TA chalked up the biggest box office opening weekend in history (over $200 million), many more Avengers films will certainly be on the way. In between, more Captain America and Thor films will be released. Hopefully, The Hulk will be allowed to vent his rage back on screen, much to the detriment of bad guys who get in his path.
TA was made mostly in Ohio, with a few scenes in New Mexico and NYC. Alan Silvestri reprises his Captain America score with a few new flourishes but his competition with the loud special effects more or less drown out his work.
In case you missed the opening of this review, I repeat, STAY TILL THE END OF THE CREDITS. You can thank me later for not walking out and missing the second best scene in the film.
I saw this film in IMAX 3-D. It was completely in focus. Finally.
Rated 3.6 out of 4.0 reasons not to upset the Hulk. Just don’t do it.
