the Avengers is Pure Awesome

The Avengers hit theaters today, and if you haven't already seen it what are you waiting for? Seriously. Why have you not seen it yet?

Ever since Nick Fury made an appearance at the end of the credits in Iron Man fans have been practically frothing at the mouth for an Avengers flick. But the madness didn’t end there, oh no, the evil geniuses at Marvel continued to feed us these tiny teases whipping us further into a frenzy as they laid their crumbs at the end of The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Iron Man 2, and Captain America.

And the only thing better than these little hints, these tiny clues that connected all of the movies together was the announcement that Joss Whedon was helming the Avengers flick. He is the perfect man for the job, known for creating smart plots, full of action, twists and developed characters, if anyone could tackle such large characters and do them justice he could.

Nerds around the world shook with excitement. It wasn’t going to just be another superhero movie, it was going to be the superhero movie. Hollywood’s A-List was coming together to make a movie like no other.

So we’ve all heard of the Avengers project, Nick Fury may have mentioned it a time or two before, but that’s all it’s been so far, big talk. 

A powerful energy source (the Tesseract) is stolen, by the diabolical and awesome Loki (Tom Hiddleston) who promises an ironfisted enslavement of the human race, with the aid of his Chitauri army which will come through a portal created by the Tesseract. Nick Fury and his S.H.E.I.L.D. organization finally do more than talk and start massing together the troops, calling everyone to arms. Part of the glory of this is that Whedon introduces us to our heroes reacquainting old fans with what’s already happening, and for those living under a rock for the last few years with the back stories. And for someone who didn’t sit through the marathon of all separate movies in the series it’s a perfect refresher, without feeling dull.

First up is Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), yeah I know, she’s technically part of the S.H.E.I.L.D. organization, but she’s the first of the heroes we get to see in action. And some great action it is. We've seen her before in Iron Man 2, she's one of the few that doesn't have her own flick, but it's almost easy to overlook her. At her core she's just a nimble spy, but she's very good at her job. she's not just a pretty face, she holds her own against the big boys. Once she’s on board, she’s sent after Bruce Banner AKA The Hulk.

I’ll be the first to admit, I was a little scared of the Hulk. Not because he’s big and green, but because let’s face it, compared to the rest of the Marvel movies on the Avengers roster, this one has been the weakest. Eric Bana’s Hulk was downright awful, and although Ed Norton’s was a little better, it was still subpar.

But Mark Ruffalo was able to bring more than just smashing to his Hulk, not that he doesn’t get to annihilate a few things. Banner/Hulk has personality, and that makes a world of difference, even when he’s doing something as simple as decking Thor after battling some Chitauri soldiers, its more than just mindless smashing. And the CGI is pretty amazing as well. The green guy is far more expressive than ever before. Staring to his CGI eye, you believe Ruffalo is the Hulk, and its downright scary.

Iron Man is well Iron man, at this point Robert Downey Jr. does the cocky and brilliant Stark perfectly. He’s playful, he banters, and he delivers some great lines.  The dialogue is very vintage Whedon.  He has a gift for taking very serious intense moments and slipping in a joke to lighten the mood without taking anything away. The in-fight banter is some of the best stuff. My favorite is when Iron Man calls Hawkeye “Legolas.”  It’s one of those moments that if you weren’t paying attention, you would’ve missed it, but if you catch it, you’re rewarded.

Captain America (Chris Evans)  is the good old boy in a difficult time. He's still having a hard time, the guy was a cap-sicle for quite a while, and is still trying to cope with the drastically changed world.

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is the last to make an appearance, but he does know how to make an entrance, as only the God of Thunder could. He's certainly grown in character since his movie, and as a great bit of continuity, though Natalie Portman does not reprise her role from Thor as Jane Foster, they explain her lack of presence.

With all the Heroes amassed there are a lot of egos to tackle, these guys have never really played with others, and well, no one likes to be second banana they’re all too alpha for that. The biggest strength of the script may be the fact that they weren’t just called together by Fury and then went and wrecked shop on Loki. No, they needed something to unite them, something more than just a love of impressive clothing, of superhero powers. They needed a push to come together, and they more than got it.

The Avengers is a quality movie, which knows how to deliver not only larger than life characters, but a citywide battle full of explosions. This is no Michael Bay flick, that is all about the adrenaline, Whedon gives good reason for the chaos, and by delivering such a smart script, just as he did for horror with the Cabin in the Woods, he’s set the bar high for future action flicks.

And future flicks there will be. The movie wouldn’t be complete without it’s teaser at the end of the credits, and the first one is quite the doozy. That’s right I said first, there are two, but the first is the impressive one. 

The Avengers is now in theaters, see it you won't regret it.