Film: The Avengers

GENRE: Action/Sci-Fi
RATING: PG-13 for intense action violence
RUNTIME: 2 hour and 22 minutes
STARRING: Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man, Shelock Holmes)
Chris Evans (Captain America), Tom Hiddleston (Thor)
DIRECTOR: Joss Whedon (Serenity, Dr. Horrible)
WRITERS: Joss Whedon (Cabin in the Woods, Toy Story, Buffy)
Zak Penn (X-Men 2 & 3, The Incredible Hulk)
PLOT: The Avengers assemble to take on Loki and his army who are threatening the Earth but end up fighting each other as well.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 That was fun! That’s what a super hero movie should look like. Even with a large cast of egos, everyone gets an equal share of camera time. That’s pretty impressive. Joss Whedon is simply amazing. My wish is that with the success of this film, Whedon will get enough money and Hollywood clout to do whatever the hell he wants to do from now on. I’m sure those studio heads that passed on Whedon’s Wonder Woman are kicking themselves right now.
2 The climactic battle scene was truly a sight to behold: a perfect blend of explosions, dramatic moments and hilarious one-liners. Even though there was a sense of chaos all around, I was able to follow everything that was going on. Michael Bay should be forced to watch this scene and take notes.
3 I would have never thought that The Hulk would turn out to be the funniest character in this film. His actions in the climactic fight scenes had me laughing so hard I literally had tears coming out of my eyes. Now that’s a Hulk I can get behind.
4 Tom Hiddleston plays a perfect bad guy. 90% of it is in his grin.
5 I was looking for an actor from the Whedonverse to make an appearance somewhere in the background. Maybe Xander as a Bridge Tech or something but they got by me. I missed Enver Gjorkaj (Victor on Dollhouse) as a young cop. And I didn’t even recognize the very made-up Alexis Denisof (Wesley on Angel) as Thanos – the next big baddie shown after the initial (very cool) ending credits. (If you stay to the very end you are treated with a very fun tag to the story). Maybe it was Denisof who suggested his How I Met Your Mother co-anchor Cobie Smulders (Robin) as Agent Maria who was welcome sight amongst these superstar actors. I think I may need to watch this film again to fully appreciate these Whedonverse thespians . . . like I need a reason to watch this movie again.

RECOMMENDATION: Watch it in theatres now!
UPCOMING REVIEWS: Dark Shadows