The Avengers

Last year was my self-proclaimed year of Ryan Gosling. This year it seems that it is the year of Joss Whedon. So far having two huge movies in the theater: Cabin in the Woods and The Avengers. Both are incredible and worth multiple viewings. The Avengers had an advantage having the full process of prequels before it so it didn't need to be riddled with backstory of the main characters, but could enjoy having the ability to create a memorable story filled with action, comedy, and energy.

Dating back to 2008, with Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk (with Edward Norton), the Avengers series of movies began with a bang. An argument could be made that it dates back to 2003 with the garbage that was Hulk with Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly, but it's really not even worth watching. Then came Iron Man 2 and then last year we got Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. Each of the four character's solo films are definitely worth watching, but not needed before seeing The Avengers. It does however add lots of depth to the characters allowing the movie to flow and focus on character development and an enthralling storyline.

It opens with the Tessarect, a mysterious cube of energy, being studied by S.H.I.E.L.D., a dark matter and intelligence division of the government and the re-introduction of our villain: Loki, Thor's brother. This leads into the action throughout, with bouts between Thor, Captain America, the Hulk, and Iron Man. The time these four spend fighting each other makes for some of the most entertaining parts of the film and when they begin to work together the combinations we get to see are outstanding!

Replete with mind-blowing action sequences ranging in span and scope, many times leaving me leaning forward in my seat, or sitting with my mouth agape. Every sequence was so well done even though I knew much of it was fake. I didn't care. My palms, which usually only sweat in movies dealing with climbing, were sweaty the whole time. Probably due to my excitement. Seeing it in a nearly full theater helped a lot too. People were cheering and yelling at the screen. It was exactly the way everyone should see it. AND it was in 3D, making it even that much better. I raised my hands in disbelief or excitement far too many times and was probably overly hyped up, but it is a fantastic movie.

Not only were there a lot of action scenes, but the script had many shining moments, from Hulk's one-liners, to Iron Man's clever retorts, and the always enjoyable Thor/Captain America not understanding references. That's one of my favorite things about this movie. The small details in the script make this movie for me. Keeping Thor speaking like he is straight out of a Shakespeare play and keeping Captain America speaking like he's from the 1940's, which he is.

One thing that plagued the Hulk part of the Avengers was the actor. He hasn't been played by the same actor in any of the films of the last 10 years, previously played by Eric Bana and Edward Norton. Now they finally found the right guy for the job: Mark Ruffalo. Things have changed now. He signed on for six movies, playing the role of Bruce Banner/the Hulk. This means that besides the 2013 sequels Thor 2 and Iron Man 3 and 2014's Captain America 2, we can probably count on seeing a(nother) reboot of the Hulk. This would be amazing because I think Ruffalo's Hulk was by far the best Hulk.

The acting by everyone is incredible. Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Nick Fury, Black Widow, Agent (Phil) Coulson, and Loki, among a few others all being reprised by the same actors. Loki was especially convincing as the villain and really upped his game this time around. The banter amongst Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), and Bruce Banner is hilarious. I was in stitches from many different lines. My absolute favorite line was given by Banner towards the end of the movie, when he finally reveals his secret for not turning into the Hulk.

Samuel L. Jackson is as great as ever playing Nick Fury, bringing honor and heart to this character. He puts his trust in the Avengers and keeps the audience on track when we may take a small dip in the action. And Scarlett Johansson is perfect as Black Widow, a spy with an interesting and entertaining interrogation technique. I can't not talk about Jeremy Renner as Hawk Eye was stellar as well. The acting on all accounts proves that even superhero movies can have some of the best acting even though much is left to special effects in these movies.

The Avengers was completely full of awesome special effects and camera angles. Oftentimes showing us a canted angle of the characters. Just a joy to watch. The special effects for each of the Avengers were perfect. Especially the Hulk. Thanks to motion-capture technology the Hulk seemed more real and lifelike than ever before. I can't go into much more detail without giving things away. And one final camera technique only used towards the end of the film were sporadic zooms similar to mockumentaries. It brought out details that otherwise may have gone unnoticed or forgotten.

I'm not sure if I did this movie justice in writing. Just see it. If you're looking for a standalone movie to see in the theaters see Cabin in the Woods, but if you're looking for the best superhero movie of all time, and maybe one of the coolest action movies of the past ten years go see The Avengers.