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| Still from The Avengers |
Marvel's The Avengers carries the weight of the World - both literally and figuratively - but does it meet the demands of Moviegoers and Comic Fans alike? You bet. Director/Writer Joss Whedon (Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) knows exactly what Fans of the Genre want and delivers item-by-item like a Grocery Checklist. It's funny, it's intense, it's thrilling and every bit a masterfully-interwoven Spectacle.
The $220-million Blockbuster via Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) brings together Superheroes Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans) and The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). These Superheroes are united by one great Cause to save the Earth from Thor's Brother, the ruthless Supervillain Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and his catastrophic Army, in his quest for endless Power and Domination.
The problem with Films boasting All-Star Casts is that Story Lines and Character Development often are skimpy, but impressively Whedon manages to tell each Superhero's Story clearly and concisely, with our attentions focused always on the Mission at-hand. Anyone walking into Marvel's The Avengers without a clue would be able to enjoy the Film sans confusion amidst all the Sci-Fi jargon. The beauty is that you don't need to see it in 3-D necessarily to enjoy it - it stands on its own in 2-D glory. My only concern though is that v. integral The Hulk's Story Line is given the least detail here and perhaps more could have been done to build-up the excitement for his awaited massive transformation.
Johansson and Downey steal the show unquestionably here and what makes it all this the more respectable is that Johansson hardly has to go the "selling-the-sex" route which far too often is done in the Genre. She wows particularly in an Interrogation scene earlier on as Natasha Romanoff, displaying some impressive prowess in her Choreography. Downey as always charms, lighting-up the screen with his perfectly-timed wit, yet still embodying every bit what it means to be Superhero.