Being a fan of Joss Whedons work in the past (I loved the first five seasons of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Angel was excellent for the first 4 and a half seasons. I LOVED Firefly and Serenity was a thrilling if not completely fulfilling closure), my expectations when entering the movie theater were in the upper regions of massive. Fortunately the movie delivers on every count.
The heroes of four different movies are brought together here. What is impressive is that some of the issues I had with the origin movies are gone here. Every character works and is convincing in their own way. Each character's personality has time to settle and evolve. The script is tight, the effects are convincing and everyone on board gives of the notion that they are actually having a lot of fun. Fun is really the keyword throughout the movie, with an underlying sense of mischieviousness from most characters. It's not like they aim to misbehave but there are several ego confrontations that are very entertaining to experience.
I could name numerous parts of the movie where something unexpected happened and the result was a roar of laughter from the sold out theater but I won't give anything away. Just that everyone in the theater seemed to have a great time.
The people behind this have nailed the superhero movie formula to near perfection. Joss Whedon, who directed the movie and wrote the script, clearly understands what we want to see these characters do and how they should behave. He also takes them serious enough to never stoop to an easy pun.
I hope Joss Whedon stays on board to fly this ship through the challenges ahead, especially after the sequence that appears during the credits and plays up to a possible sequel. There is so much potential in the future of The Avengers franchise.
This movie feels like a perfectly balanced act of tightrope walking. A must see movie, even recommended for those who scoff at the notion of a superhero movie.
Written By Steen
Online: Sunday, May 6, 2012