Review of the Avengers .. Earths Mightiest Heroes Indeed!

Throughout the buildup to the Avengers, there was always a bit of fear and an uneasy feeling about how they could truly pull off bringing all these heroes together. It would be vital to give each character worthy moments in the film to help develop them even further that what had been established in the lead up movies. They also needed to find the correct balance in establishing more of Widow and Hawkeye for the audience to fully believe in them being part of the Avengers.

Looking back at the movie after my fourth viewing, I honestly feel like my fear should have been eased the moment that Joss Whedon was hired to direct. Joss is like all of us.. a fan.. a geek.. a true lover of comics. If Joss weren't writing and directing movies, or writing comics, he would be spending a ton of time on this site, contributing, sharing his thoughts. He is one of us, which is why above all other directors he understood what he needed to do to make the Avengers the best comic book ever brought to life on the big screen. He gave us iconic moments with our comic book heroes that allow all of us to completely geek out, but also moments that you hear your coworkers talking about in the office who have never picked up a comic book in their lives. This is part of the brilliance of what Whedon did with the Avengers, he gave all of us as fans something that truly resonates, yet he also opened up the world to those just being introduced. I have as many as 5 coworkers who had never seen any of the lead in movies, that are now wanting to see them all b/c of the avengers. This is a truly exciting development.

Now let me get into the movie a bit. This is five star cinema at its finest. Full throttle entertainment filled with laughter, shock, awe, and inspiration. One of the many things that I love about the movie is how strongly it holds value and its entertainment. Even on my fourth viewing I was on the edge of my seat and i kept noticing little bits of pure geek awesomery that you can't always catch after even 1 or 2 viewings. The Avengers is cinema at its finest and has set the bar extremely high for the second phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Each character delivered in this movie and each actor was fully invested in bringing that character to life with a depth even greater than in their solo films. They way the characters played off each other and allowed you to see the dynamic of trying to bring such characters together was extremely well played. I also think that each of the characters were better realized to their comic book form. The characters had their powers, they had their wit, and they had their humor. This may go down as being one of the funniest movies I see all year, and considering it an Action movie, is a pretty bold statement. When you combine that humor along with each character having epic moments and jaw dropping sequences, it is easy to see why this movie was so highly regarded.

Everyone has their opinions on the movie and I am very firm in my belief that this is the best comic book movie adaptation on film to date. This is an example of the comic book coming to life on screen. In wrapping, I wanted to run down my top 5 moments in the movie.. which to be honest was an extremely difficult list to narrow down to five.

5. Thor's uppercut. The Thor and Hulk fight was so much fun and a great example of the powers that both have. In my mind, it could have been even longer. But the scene of Thor.. hand out waiting for Mjolnir as Hulk is charging is so iconic as he delivers the uppercut that is truly .gif worthy. It also leads in to my next favorite moment..

4. Hulk and the Hammer.. What a fantastic little touch during the Thor and Hulk fight to have Hulk unable to pick up the hammer which only adds to his rage.

3. Shakespeare in the Park.. The entire scene after Thor snatches Loki from the Quinjet was brilliant. I thought Hemsworth and Hiddleston were great in the scene before the arrival of Iron Man and Cap, and the battle was so much fun. A great buildup to the scene as well as Loki states "I'm not to fond of what comes after" in regards to the lightning. Brilliant!

2. I'm always Angry... Hulk's defining moment and a completely badass way for the Hulk to Assemble himself into the avengers. This scene may have been my biggest geek out moment of the entire movie. Hell I even get chills thinking about how awesome it was. However to me, the most iconic and possibly important moment in the movie was....

1. Cap takes charge.. When all of the Avengers are finally assembled together.. and Tony gives Cap the reigns.. seeing Cap setting up the plans for each Avenger and then the execution of that plan was priceless and the final command to Hulk.. SMASH.. Geekgasm.. That scene was pure comic awesome, showing Cap at his best, his understanding of the situation, as well as the strengths of his team. A great way to launch the true assembly of the Avengers.

I know i'm a bit late in reviewing, but i wanted to fully digest it as many times as I could. Would love to hear any thoughts and comments you may have. I just hope that all of you enjoyed the ride as much as I have.