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I'm afraid that after reading too much psychology and discovering the fact that I'm more partial to realistic based entertainment, I've kinda lost the liking for irrational, goofy, fantasy or superhero-themed (especially) movies. Not that I will stop watching them, oh no, it's just that I don't get that much entertainment from them like I used to. I'm more partial to dramas or compelling character study movies, like Casablanca, Tyrannosaur & 12 Angry Men. You may think of it differently, but then again who's asking you to think in the same vein as I do? I must say the discovering of this fact was quite unfortunate. Just as I had decided to watch less of the superhero stuff, they go and show The Avengers on TV. What's better, they showed it with subtitles. Aah, could you want anything better? I think that's enough back story, now for the review:
Joss Whedon's latest feature is almost everyone's wet dream. I would be little surprised if many viewers actually got an orgasm while watching it. What more could you want than a couple of good looking people running and jumping around in colourful costumes? The Avengers is basically 12 Angry Men for the less patient, more funny, less serious, more loud. Since it's the hottest thing going of recent times, and since it was subtitled, I decided to watch it anyway, not expecting to be blown away but expecting to find it a nice, likable feature. How correct I was.
Dialogues. Yes, that's what I ended up loving from the film, more than anything else. The connection of the dialogues with the environment was smooth. Very entertaining, some brilliant, some totally convincing, regardless of who was saying it. I may not be exposed much to the COW - Cult-of-Whedon - but it doesn't take more than a few minutes of this film to know that he ain't no ordinary story-teller.
The thing of comic book movies is that, although accessible, require a lot of pre-research and understanding of the comic universe. Since I'm no expert in either of that, the overall effect, like in many other superhero movies, felt fuzzy, disorientated, detached. I liked what I saw, the entertainment part of it anyway, but was lost in many references and scenes. To me it's a decent film, but I'm not a part of that world so it can be safe to say I didn't enjoy it as much. You may notice I've ranked quite a few superhero movies higher ratings but I'm guessing it has to do something with the execution style. Some managed to do it better than the others, that's all.
Performance-wise, it was good to see talents as mismatched and colourful as the heroes themselves. Robert Downey, jr. has always been the coolest actor to portray a superhero in recent times, even cooler than Wesley Snipes in Blade. Anyway, RDJ was back at what he's good at doing: being mr. obnoxiously cool while delivering lines with almost pitch perfect timing. Chris Evans is one of the relatively few actors from the 2000's who I actually like. If you see him in Sunshine and, to a lesser degree, in Push, you will realize why. Reprising his role from Captain America as the titular character, Evans this time played his character as a wounded personality who is struggling to find himself... right? Just like before, he gave a good performance that stood well with the others. Chris Hemsworth was a great surprise. I missed him in Thor, but I got to see him in here and finally understood why he was the perfect choice for the role. He shared a good chemistry with Tom Hiddleston - who portrays Loki: an equally impressive performance - and the two formed a sort of Asgardian Abbott & Costello. Even though I've seen less of his work, Jeremy Renner is easily one of the best actors of modern times. His pristine professionalism really does the trick. Scarlet Johansson was just fine, never was a big fan of her. The full spotlight I think should be given to Mark Ruffalo and his flawless - I mean it - take on Bruce Banner / the Hulk. Three actors down, Ruffalo uniquely added a nice touch, a deeper understanding, and for the first time we saw the shadow of the monster on the man. Despite the fact he had a relatively less screentime, it was impressive beyond anything. Clark Gregg once again turns up as the ubiquitous Agent Coulson, one of the nicest characters in cinema history. He also happens to be one of my favourite, due to his fanboy attitude, complete awe of the superhero life, and as being the true agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. His death has to be one of the saddest ever in cinema. Oh well, I'll get to see him in the one-shots.
In conclusion, The Avengers is strictly for the fans. I don't believe it will achieve the cult status of the level that, let's say, Scott Pilgrim and Kick-Ass achieved. It's a decent film, but it could've done more character development.
7.5/10
