Watched the Avengers again over the weekend, just sitting down now to watch my notes.
What can I say about the film that I didn't already say in my review when it hit theatres a few months ago? This is the kind of superhero movie we thought we'd never see. The supergroup of a comic book company...all of their heavy hitters coming together to fight the threats no one hero can face alone. But darn it, Marvel found a way.
Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk, the Black Widow, and Hawkeye all coming together under superspy Nick Fury to stave off an alien invasion led by Loki. That's it. Seeing all these heroes together on the screen is just magical.
I've blogged it before, and I'll blog it again. The past decade has seen cineplexes dominated with superhero films - specifically, those from the Marvel pantheon, and if there's one thing Marvel films have had over DC, it is they have a sense of fun. As much as I love Batman, he gets too dark some times. But over at Marvel, these are still people having fun on an adventure together and...yeah. As cliched as this is, the Avengers is the most fun I've had at the movies this year.
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk. The man steals the show. He's the best thing in the movie. In order to keep his emotions in check so he doesn't Hulk out, he's always got this eerie calm to him. It's the calm of a very angry person trying their best to show that they have things under control. It's amazing. And then, when he does Hulk out, the Hulk is almost the comic relief of the film. He's the brutal "green rage monster" that Tony Stark describes, but he has fun raging.
When I saw that in the theatre, the audience was laughing so hard, I missed Hulk's line.
I missed lots of stuff when I first saw the movie. Another great scene was when the SHIELD Helicarrier takes to the skies. After it transforms and takes flight, Captain America opens his wallet and hands Nick Fury a $10 bill. I thought it was funny, I laughed, but when I watched the film again, I realized it called back to this bit of dialogue that I missed earlier in the film, when Fury was recruiting Cap for the team.
Cap>> I don't think there's anything you can do that would surprise me.
Fury>> Betcha $10 I can.
Ah, Cap. I wish we got more of him in this film. I've always had a soft spot for him. There's some good stuff in the deleted scenes, where he kind of wanders around modern day New York in a daze, marveling at the modern wonders and lamenting that he may no longer have a place. Stan Lee is in this scene, and it's a much better cameo than what they used in the film, I might add. Apparently some of this stuff is going to be recycled into Captain America 2, so I look forward to that.
There are few complaints, though. The mid-section does drag a bit, as everyone's cooped up in the Helicarrier trying to uncover Loki's plan. I'm still not sure of his motivations as to why he allowed himself to be captured or what he's attempting to do. And as much as I loved the Iron Man movies, in this film, Iron Man seems a little...too aloof. A little too wisecracking. Just a little too much.
Not sure what more I can say. All your favourite superheroes. Together. In one movie. So much fun.
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