The Avengers Lives Up to the Hype

In life there are many things that do not live up to the hype built up about them. Sports teams and athletes often let us down after months or years of hype (I'm talking about you, Miami Heat and Heath Shuler). Products are constantly marketed to us with the hype that raises our expectations to stupid levels but once received are far less impressive (My ShamWow resembles more of a tortilla chip rather than a miracle towel and sea monkeys are traditionally dead on arrival, not magical creatures). Nowadays it seems that nothing is more hyped than movies and most result in the equivalent of tortilla chips and DOA sea monkeys. I am happy to report that The Avengers not only meets but exceeds
the hype preceding it.

In concept, The Avengers is a simple story of how Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Hawkeye and Black Widow join forces to defeat a villainous menace that none of them would be able to defeat alone. However, the reality is that with the fate of several Marvel franchises (each hero has their own movie series) hanging in the balance and the need to make sure that super fans were satisfied with how their favorite characters were handled, it was a task worthy of The Avengers themselves. Despite these pressures, writer and director Joss Whedon masterfully crafts a movie that provides fans a tight plot, fantastic action sequences, witty dialog and doesn't sacrifice the story of any individual hero for the sake of the others.

The Avengers provides an opportunity for each hero to play a significant role without feeling forced or causing the hero to lose the personality that makes him or her inherently unique. The movie recognizes that each hero is much more than just their super abilities. Fans love these heroes for who they are and how they are different from one another in personality as much as if not more than what each hero can do. The Avengers story lets fans see how these personalities meet, conflict and eventually intertwine to make The Avengers team much more than the sum of its parts. To be sure, The Avengers is filled with action, explosions and destruction that are essential to any super hero movie, however each scene is brilliantly written and directed to drive the plot and character development forward toward what is an exciting and very satisfying end.* If you liked any of the recent Marvel super hero movies in the past few years you will love The Avengers.

The Avengers is a thoroughly enjoyable adventure ride and perhaps is the best pure super hero movie I have ever seen (and I have seen them all), but it is important to recognize that it does not try to be anything more than the best super hero movie it can be. There will likely be no Oscar nods, but there are moments in The Avengers that are pure movie magic and rival some of the best writing, editing and cinematography work out there.  It is clear that Whedon was on a mission to deliver a stunning super hero movie while at the same time purposely avoiding the need for social commentary like other popular comic book hero movies of the recent past (i.e. The Dark Knight). Instead, The Avengers is meant for movie- goers who are looking to enjoy a fun and well-written story that stars larger than life characters and want to imagine themselves as the super heroes we all still want to be.

The Final Cut - The Avengers is an action packed adventure that finds a way to give each your favorite heroes a significant and exciting role in story that will make you cheer and laugh. The movie embodies the essence of The Avengers by demonstrating that if correctly used and led each hero can be a part of something that exceeds what any of them can do as an individual. In this case these heroes have joined forces to create the best super hero movie on film. *(P.S. Make sure to stay through all the credits. There are two extra scenes that are worth the 5 minute wait at the end.)

Grade: A+

Special Note: I actually saw The Avengers twice, once in Real 3D and once in 2D. The experience was great in both, but the 3D does add some nice depth and
additional moments of excitement in a few scenes.

Did you see The Avengers? Did you love it or hate it? Make sure to you leave your comments.