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Director: Joss Whedon
Year: 2012
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 2 hours, 23 minutes
Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has returned to Earth and has stolen the Tesseract, a source off unimaginable energy. He plans to open a portal that will allow an alien race known as the Chitauri to attack Earth after which he will take over as ruler of the planet. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) reactivates the Avengers initiative and brings together Tony Stark, aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Steve Rogers, aka Captain America (Chris Evans), and Bruce Banner, aka The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), to try and Stop Loki. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is sent by his people to stop Loki and to return him Asgard for punishment as well. All the Avengers initially butt heads as attitudes clash, but they all must find a way to work together in order to save the planet.
The accumulation of the previous five Marvel films finally comes to head in "The Avengers." There are no more origin stories to be told, leaving plenty of room to develop this particular story, as well as the characters a little bit more within the context of the group of superheroes. When Nick Fury initially assembles the Avengers, they don't exactly get along, particularly Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. Rogers is a patriot and a soldier, through and through. His primary concern is about following orders and fighting for America at any cost. Conversely, Tony Stark is all about individuality and regularly defies authority, which doesn't sit well with Rogers. The seed has been set early on between Cap and Iron Man, which will also come to a head in "Captain America: Civil War" in 2016. Bruce Banner, on the other hand, is just doing his best to stay calm and keep The Hulk under control, which is quite an undertaking on its own. When Thor first hits the scene, it is to take Loki back to Asgard to face justice there. Instead, this causes a conflict with Iron Man and Captain America, who need Loki to locate the Tesseract. Their conflict seems to be all part of Loki's plan as he can use it to drive a wedge between them and keep the only people who can possibly stop him from working together. The less powerful Avengers both get larger parts in this film as well. This movie is the first time we really see Jeremy Renner's far-sighted Hawkeye in action, and though she got to show off a bit in "Iron Man 2," Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow has a more pivotal part and gets to show all of her capabilities, including her interrogation techniques and methods. She is also responsible for bringing the principle Avengers together to start their quest in locating the Tesseract.
"The Avengers," like the previous Marvel films, does an excellent job of combining comedy and action. It also throws in some emotional moments that can move the audience to tears, if you're suckers like us. The final battle is impressive as all of the Avengers finally come together to battle Loki and the Chitauri in New York City, the perfect battleground for any superhero flick. Each of their abilities is on full display here. Captain America's leadership abilities take center stage, Stark's ingenuity is shown frequently and heavily, Thor's strength and battle experience aids them all in their moments of need, and of course, Hulk's ability to Smash is a big part of winning the battle. BigJ and I just gets so happy when Captain America tells Hulk to smash, it's like being a little kid again. Between all of the sci-fi action, the perilous adventure and the ass kicking, "The Avengers" never forgets its humility, and it never forgets that these brave heroes are doing their part for America and the world, even if the public at large might be skeptical of them at first. It is a smart, fun, funny, explosive, dynamic film, and a great time and an enjoyable experience to sit through. We love it! It is highly re-watchable and we don't mind viewing it over and over again, sometimes even finding things we missed before. This is the definition of a blockbuster film, but it is so much more than that. It has heart, character, development and an engaging story to keep audiences both interested, enthralled and rooting for the Avengers, both now and forever.
My Rating: 10/10
BigJ's Rating: 10/10
IMDB's Rating: 8.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 73%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!
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For our "Iron Man" review, click here.
For our "The Incredible Hulk" review, click here.
For our "Iron Man 2" review, click here.
For our "Thor" review, click here.
For our "Captain America: The First Avenger" review, click here.
For our "Iron Man 3" review, click here.
For our "Thor: The Dark World" review, click here.
For our "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" review, click here.
For our "Guardians of the Galaxy" review, click here.
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