As we know, movie studios love to take liberties with our comic book stories in order to make them palatable. We’ve seen the hack job they did with the X-Men, we’ve laughed at the Fantastic Four, and we have seen the worst of the worst in Daredevil and Elektra. To say that fans were fed up with the failures is an understatement and as gamers we know all too well what it means to see a story you love get changed into ruin on the big screen.
Not till Iron Man did we have trust in the theaters taking our heroes and making them real. With this new Avengers movie we see a script that is so close to the genuine article that it is a wonder that it ever was used. This is a movie that not only kicks ass, it sends a clear message to studios like FOX that audiences can take the actual stories without need for watering down characters or changing them completely.
The shining stars for the cast of The Avengers were The Incredible Hulk and Captain America. Who would’ve thought that of all the Avengers, The Incredible Hulk would be the one stealing the show? I am going to chalk it all up to the charismatic Mark Ruffalo who takes over the role that Edward Norton left behind in that of a very likable Dr. Bruce Banner… a likable, witty and quick Banner who can even volley barbs back at the egotistical Tony Stark(Robert Downey Jr.). Speaking of the creature, those special effects and CGI on The Hulk were top notch.
Chris Evans really showed some promise in the role of Captain America, I mean you HAD to like the Captain. This was the Captain America I grew up with; all balls, chest out, taking charge and throwing that shield like a wraith. It was such a different Captain America than the origins movie that I was very happy with Evans.
“We Have A Hulk!”
While it’s been established that Robert Downey Jr. IS Tony Stark, the best scenes for the Iron Man were those coupled with The Captain. From the 2 men arguing, to teaming up to destroy bad guys, Stark and Rogers was a match made in heaven. Sure the new Mach 7 suit was amazing to behold but even Tony Stark couldn’t go it alone in this movie and the humbling of the Invincible Iron Man was very real.
Thor is toned down a tad to allow the mortals to shine but Chris Hemsworth reprises the role wonderfully, making for the ladies in the audience to feel his thunder. Scarlett Johansson does the damn thing as super spy, femme fatale Black Widow and chemistry between she and Jeremy Renner was something powerful and creepily real. Can I have a Hawkeye/Black Widow movie please?
As you can tell The Avengers was firing on all cylinders. From beginning to end you are locked in to the struggle of earth to fight a supernatural power and how it takes a few “super humans” and one demi-god to defend humanity against it. For those of us who remember how terrible a job the 3rd X-men did of this, some huge appreciation was felt for this movie. As far as bad guys go you can do a lot worse than the charming Loki played by Tom Hiddleston… dare I say I was almost rooting for the horned god?
To think that keeping The Avengers as weird and nerdy as it was in the comics (with the exception of Ant-man and Wasp being in the team) would actually work as one of the highest grossing movies in American history. The Avengers is making money beyond our wildest beliefs and it is due to the brilliant writing, the wonderful lead-up movies and the excellent direction of Joss Whedon.
GOD KING GRADE: (A) ★★★★★
