The Avengers
Written and Directed by Joss Whedon!!!
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Ruffalo, & Scarlett Johansson
My Review: I don’t know a whole lot about comic book heroes, all of what I do know I learned from watching movies and reading Wikipedia. However, anyone who knows anything about me can attest to how much I absolutely adore anything Joss Whedon, so there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to see this movie. I even watched all the other movies that sort of lead into this one, just so I could be prepared!
I went into this movie with all the back story movies fresh in my mind from watching them over the weekend, which in hindsight was a good idea. Although I don’t feel like you necessarily HAD to watch those movies, it helped quite a lot. Like the brief reference to Jane Foster only made sense because I watched Thor the day before. And the whole goal of the movie was really just one big reference to Captain America, possibly the dullest superhero I’ve seen in a very long time.
My adoration of Joss Whedon aside, I did quite enjoy this movie. RDJ as Tony Stark was as funny as it always is, and he alone can make me watch a movie I may not have been interested in otherwise. I was also a bit amused by the idea that Nick Fury half expected all these people to get along – you get a group of super humans together and there are bound to be some ego clashes, not to mention physical fights.
I would have liked this movie regardless of Joss’ involvement, but I think him being at the helm pushed it over the edge for me in terms of getting me to the theater and loving the movie. I’ve been wondering for a long time what Joss would do if given a full budget, and I can say it didn’t disappoint. He managed to get me to enjoy a superhero movie enough that I will likely see it in theaters a second time – I haven’t done that since The Dark Knight! I can definitely say that Joss Whedon made this movie for me, I probably wouldn’t have seen it in theaters had it not been for him.
There were a couple of things that I’m guessing Joss had direct involvement with that really made this movie for me. First, I went beyond tolerating The Hulk to actually liking him. Hulk is one of my least favorite characters because he’s just so dull and has somewhat pointless mayhem. I’ve got a theory that Joss had a big hand in humanizing the Hulk, and it was just what that character needed. Additionally, Mark Ruffalo was just fantastic and by far the best representation of Bruce Banner in the last decade. I was actually really surprised by how much I adored that character, and I kind of hope they do a Hulk movie with him…although we so do not need another Hulk reboot anytime soon.
Second, and I’m positive Joss was one hundred percent responsible for this, was the inclusion of both Alexis Denisof (Buffy, Angel, and Dollhouse) and Enver Gjokaj (Dollhouse), who are Whedon alumnists. It’s quite possible that the friend I went with was the only other person in the theater who recognized Enver as a Whedon man. This is one of my favorite things about Joss – he reuses actors he likes, who are people I can’t help but like because he creates such amazing characters. I appreciate that he made the effort to do this, especially in a movie where his main cast was already basically established, with the exception of Bruce Banner.
So, I’m looking forward to (hopefully) a sequel, since they did set the end of it up for something new. Assuming that’s the case, it’ll be a little while because each of these main characters (Ironman, Captain America, & Thor) all are rumored to have their own movies coming out in the next couple of years. If nothing else, I think this means very good things for Joss in the future, and of course I love that!
See this movie if: You either like comic books, summer blockbusters, or Joss Whedon. I think this movie would appeal to most people, honestly.
My Rating: 4/5 – Borderline amazing!
Six Degrees of Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
It’s so easy I’m not even going to run this one for you!
