The Avengers Smashed!

                                                           Avengers Smashed!

Foreword

            I just got out of TheAvengers I’ll get to my review in just a minute. I’ve come up with a new format for my reviews. I hope it will make them more readable. My previous reviews made me feel like they were just congested with thoughts. They’ll be split of up into four categories. The four most important categories, in my opinion, that makes a story. They are: 1. Plot 2. Character 3. Dialogue 4. Entertainment Value. I’ll grade each of the four categories on a scale of 1-10, and then give my thoughts on each. The overall grade of the movie will be the four grades added together and divided by four.

            I’ll also say that I’m more of a DC guy than a Marvel guy. I’m also not one of those guys that hold DC above Marvel, and hopes that everything Marvel produces sucks. I want good comic books and good comic movies. As long as Hollywood produces quality comic movies that make money I’m happy. I want to continue to see characters I grew up loving on the big screen.

            Now, on to the review . . .

Plot

Grade: 7/10

            The plot of this movie is straightforward. The Avengers must assemble and save the world from Loki’s evil plan. If you didn’t catch that from the trailers I don’t know what you were watching. Joss Whendon aims this big ship full speed ahead, and hits the bull’s eye. The Avengers is not a game changer. This movie will not revolutionize comic movies in the same way The Dark Knight did. It doesn’t have to. That’s not the purpose to this movie. Marvel already dropped a game changer when they began making movies with the intent to assemble these characters in one big blowout of a movie. Guess what?

            It worked.

            That’s awesome.

            You will be jerked around with twists and turns and moments of emotion will overwhelm you. Joss Whedon is one of the best directors out there. He’s one of the best screenwriters out there. Marvel made the best decision when they brought this man on.  He’s a genre man. He’s written comics before. He understands the nature of the beast, and he serves that up in this movie, and for that Mr. Whedon I applaud you!

Character

Grade: 6.8/10

            I’ve rated the characters lower than what most folk would. Why? There are no true character arcs in this movie. There’s not a lot done to move these characters forward, make them grow, or cause us to understand them more deeply.

That’s okay, though.

I know. I know. It sounds like I’m making excuses, right? I’m not. These characters have already had their arcs. The purpose of the previous movies was to serve as a prequel. Sort of. They laid the foundation of this group of characters so that this movie could be served up already prepared. We don’t have to get to know them. We don’t have to have a foundation laid. We know how Tony Stark became Iron Man. We know why Thor is the guardian of Earth, and why he loves humans. We know the predicament of Bruce Banner. We know about each and everyone one of these guys.

However, that doesn’t mean that character should be set aside, and explosions be served up in its place. Do I feel like this movie did that? Ehh, yes and no. We already know that more movies are on the way, and for sure a second Avengers movie. That will provide the moviemakers with more opportunity to dig into these guys, and let us viewers get to know them better.

Dialogue

 Grade: 10/10

This is where I was prepared to skewer The Avengers. I’m overly critical of dialogue. That makes or breaks a movie in my opinion. If there’s bad dialogue my mind checks out. Movies are different than novels. Novels have prose and exposition. You can fill in the blanks where dialogue doesn’t.

Movies don’t have that luxury. The scenery plays as nothing more than a backdrop. A direction can step in and explain what he’s trying to get across to the viewer. He either has to show you what he means or tell you what he means. Dialogue is one of the primary ways that the movie leads its viewers along.

Thankfully. Thankfully! The Avengers is full of great witty dialogue. Beginning to end. I’ve always loved all that Joss Whedon writes. He is one of the few men in Hollywood (others include: Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, and Woody Allen) who have an ear for words and great conversation. I can always trust the aforementioned men to have conversation that true to life.

Entertainment

Grade: 10/10

Man, did Avengers smash! If Michael Bay were a great director this is the kind of movie he would make. Not only did this movie contain great dialogue, cool characters, and an engaging plot, but also I did not want it to end. I was bummed as I was walking out of the theater. I am ready for the next installment of these movies. I want to give these people my money so I can sit in the theater and enjoy a two hours of being entertained.

You could honestly make an ESPN highlight reel of all the great moments. From the fights between the heroes to the battles with the villains, the moments where I was bent over in my seat laughing, and where I was on the edge of my seat in suspense. The Avengers does not deny you of the entertainment. Fantastic, I say!

Overall Grade: 8.4/10

That is about as good as a grade as you’re going to get. This movie isn’t decent or good. It’s great but not excellent. It’s the best movie I’ve seen so far this summer. Heck, this year. Don’t skip out on this one. Go see it. See it twice! You won’t regret it. I guaran-damn-tee it.

Don’t leave yet! Here’s your song of the day: