The Avengers (Review)

  

      Do you remember when you were younger, sitting in the middle of who knows where, enthralled only by your action figures? Or do you remember countless hours spent imagining and creating worlds that never were, just so that you could be there? Jump there, live there? That was back when your imagination was on full blast. Now I want you to sit back and enjoy The Avengers, because it has a lot of imagination. It is every one of those Action-Figure-Make-Pretend Days, packed into 2 hours. I got to see this film at an advanced screening, about two weeks ago, and let me tell you, you are going to have FUN with this movie. 

  What the Cast and Crew have created in The Avengers is a continuous barrage of breathtaking visuals, rip-roaring sounds, and to-exclude-any-fluff, and Boatload of Bad-Assery. Seriously, guys, this movie is so cool. The Cast and Crew have managed to take a handful of heroes, an army of villains, and never once rush the pacing. The film never films cramped. Unlike Transformers, where it felt like there were too many robots and too many humans and the film felt generally WAY too long, clocking in at nearly 3 hours. But The Avengers feels just right. There is no heavy handedness, as all characters get great amounts of screentime- and by the way the casting is pitch perfect in this, each line and facial expression is so much like the character that I don't even DOUBT these are Gods and Millionaires, and Giant Green Rage Monsters. The Crew, lead by the extraordinary director Joss Whedon, give us some of the coolest Superhero Images in a long time, along with a soundtrack that never once drags or interrupts the action on screen.

  The biggest thing about The Avengers, is that it isn't The Dark Knight Rises. It isn't deep, and it isn't moody. It's just FUN. Lots of it. So many characters, so many bad ass moments (one scene in particular that I can't wait to discuss with friends), and so few flaws, I can't help but love it. I also can't wait to see what this means for Superhero Films. Are people getting tired of them yet? Will this and "The Dark Knight" and "The Amazing Spider-Man" make them want even MORE? In order to play Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Mark Ruffalo signed a Six-Film contract with Marvel. SIX FILMS. That's a lot of years and a lot of effort. Will people still care? 

You won't come out of this film contemplating existence, but you will want to take out bad guys and save the world. And in the end, that's the whole point of Superhero Films, right?

Worth Your Time and Money?: Yes. If you've ever liked big action blockbusters, or Superhero Films, this movie is going to hit all the right notes.