I have seen a great many messy action movies. Any Michael Bay stuff would fall into this category, and Iron Man 2 comes to mind as a movie that would’ve been great if it wasn’t so messily plotted and executed.
The Avengers was indeed messy, hopping from explosions to fight scenes to more explosions, it was overstuffed with action. But Joss Whedon, our overlord, is special. He managed to organize this chaos (especially with a large ensemble cast) into something really slick, cool-looking, and entertaining.
It’s a given that the CGI and sound are good, so it’s the story and the characterization that make or break a superhero movie. Whedon nailed it. I was especially surprised with Black Widow actually having a legitimate story arc. In the aforementioned Iron Man 2, Black Widow was there just to be the tight leather and boobs of the story. In the Avengers, she wasn’t Smurfetted at all and was an integral part of the story, with real ass-kicking skills, real feelings (Aww, Hawkeye), and an especially great acting scene where Black Widow tricks Loki. Mark Ruffalo is also notable for fleshing out the Hulk even more than Edward Norton did in The Incredible Hulk. Thumbs up to RDJ, Hemsworth, Evans, SLJ, Hiddleston, and whoever played Maria Hill and Coulson too.
It didn’t really plumb too deeply into the heroes’ psyches a la Nolan Batman or Spider-Man 2, but I didn’t expect it to and that’s okay. Also, there were a hell of a lot of convenient plot devices, such as the relatively easy creation of the space portal, but these are comics after all.
Did I mention this movie is really funny? I’d like some shawarma now.
Rating: Damn good summer movie kick-off.
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