Movie Review: The Avengers

Last Sunday, the whole family went out to see The Avengers in the theaters.  As usual, and especially since we had our 4-year-old son along, we saw it in 2D.  I'm sick of the 3D gimmick, and glad the studios seem to finally be moving away from it a bit.  But you're not clicking on this to read me grumbling about that.  You want to know about the movie.

Since it's still a day or two before it opens in North America, I'll keep this spoiler free.

And for those of you arriving here using a Google search about curse words in the movie, there was a bit, but no F-bombs and one or two "shits" uttered under characters' breath.  Plenty of damns and hells, and a few assholes.  If you don't want your kids hearing that, don't let them watch network TV and skip The Avengers.

I had high expectations for this movie.  I've been pleased with all of the lead in movies, and actually impressed with both Iron Man movies and Captain America (I thought the Hulk and Thor were both good, but could have been a bit better).  The Avengers really was the icing on the cake.  The four year wait since Iron Man 1 was released (coinciding with my advent in Korea) was worth it.

We've got a fast moving story that nonetheless seems to have enough time to tell the characters' stories.  The acting was top notch, and despite all the silliness that comes with a comic book superhero universe, the actors were able to make it all convincing.  I think Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/the Hulk (Lou Ferigno of course providing the Hulk's voice) did a great job.  He had this sorry, knowing, world-weariness that someone who transforms into a raging unstoppable engine of destruction would have.  So props to the actors. 

Huge props to Joss Whedon.  The script held together well, the dialogue was snappy and incredibly funny.  Everyone got in a zinger or two during the course of the movie.  The action scenes were well done, and the dramatic scenes were good, too. 

The action scenes were a bit more intense than in the lead-in movies, though, and in retrospect, I shouldn't have brought my son to it.  He definitely enjoyed it, but it was a bit too much for him.  He was so wound up after that he couldn't stay still, and about an hour and a half after we got home (we saw a 1pm matinee, so we got home around 4), he was asleep and out for the night, pretty much.  He woke up briefly, at a bit of cucumber, we brushed his teeth, then he was back asleep until morning.  Don't worry, though, folks, no permanent scarring.  We won't be taking him to see the new Spider-Man movie, though.

OK, I promised spoiler free, but I'll just say to watch the credits.  Likely you all know that already.  They are planning on making an Avengers 2, and we get a glimpse of that.  Scuttlebutt on the internet also is suggesting that we may actually get the Ant-Man and Wasp movie, and the planned Dr. Strange movie may also tie into Avengers 2, along with Iron Man 3 and Thor 2.  So it looks like we've got a few more years of well-done superhero movies from Marvel coming. 

And as an aside, with Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy coming to a close later this summer, maybe DC will get on the ball and get a series of similar movies leading up to a Justice League movie in the works.  That would be sweet.