Avengers

Not going to do yet another unnecessary review of this movie. We've all had our minds made up for a couple of years as to whether we were going to see it or not, and we all knew it was likely going to be an awesome popcorn flick. It was every bit as fun as I expected it to be, and in some way even more so. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about yet another Bruce Banner/Hulk actor but apparently Whedon must be a bit of a Hulk fanboy as he ended up stealing the show. So many great Hulk moments in Avengers, I lost count. Of course there were other "hell yeah" moments as well. Just as with the two Iron Man films, Robert Downey Jr. is fantastic as Tony Stark, Scarlett Johansson is smoking hot as the Black Widow, and Tom Hiddleston once again does Loki justice.

Truth be told there were few things that I saw that I think even the nitpickiest Avengers fanboy would've had a problem with. About the only real gripe I had was with Captain America's costume. I hated it. It just looks hokey to me, which is a shame when everybody else looks great. Chris Evans plays Cap just fine, I loved the Captain America movie, including the costume used there, but this new one in Avengers which has been modernized by Shield looks awful. Other gripes were inconsequential, but basically I didn't like Chris Hemsworth as Thor in Thor and I don't like him in Avengers, Hawkeye was lame but hey, it's Hawkeye..he's lame anyway, and I would've liked to have seen a major Avengers villain instead of Loki again, even though as stated, he's fun to watch.

What I liked was pretty much everything else. It was fast paced, even at almost 2 and 1/2 hours. I could've watched it again as soon as it ended. The interaction between the Avengers themselves was spot-on, but I expected nothing less of Joss Whedon. I particularly enjoyed Tony Stark's interactions with Bruce Banner, and especially enjoyed the Thor/Hulk "relationship". Again, make no mistake about it, Hulk steals the show here. The special effects were amazing, jaw droppingly so. I was worried that with the amount of CG characters on the screen, there were going to be some corners cut here and there, but every aspect of Avengers is just as impressive as all the others. I had the biggest, stupidest grin on my face the first time the Shield Helicarrier took flight. It looked absolutely awesome.

All in all, I don't know if I'm ready to declare Avengers as the "best superhero movie ever" yet, my Batman bias still gives that title to The Dark Knight. It's going to take one hell of a special movie to top that one for me. Avengers comes damn close though. Maybe if there had been a little more story and a little less "summer action superhero beat 'em up" to it, I might be swayed. As it is though, it's another fine example that Marvel knows how to make and promote fun, over the top movies based on their characters. This one being hands down being their best effort so far. As usual, make sure you stay through the credits, at the halfway point you'll get a setup for a sequel, and at the end you'll get a bit of a laugh. Do not wait for the bluray, do yourself a favor and get out and experience Avengers the way it should be experienced, on the big screen with a big bag of popcorn. Assemble!!!