Apr 30, 2012

Avengers Assemble [2012]


Since Avengers is one of those movies everyone goes to see in cinemas, I decided to dedicate my lunchtime on Saturday to it and see it in my local cinema....alone. Yes, alone, I am not ashamed of it, sometimes I prefer it that way.

Let's start with the movie experience itself: I thought that going to see the movie at 11:40 in a Saturday morning will save me from the occasional film chatter or movement, but boy, I was wrong. It was a pretty full theatre and there were a lot of kids and teenagers in the room, who, of course, felt the need to talk and make exciting noises for most of the movie. (Off-Topic observation: They showed The Raid trailer before-hand, which I thought was a bit too violent for most of the viewers in that room).

On to the most important topic: AVENGERS ASSEMBLE (AA)- why they changed the name is still a mystery to me (I mean, I know why, but it wasn't necessary). Anyway, I think you can all guess the storyline: bad guy threatens to distroy Earth, so they decide to round up a team of superheros to save it.

First good thing about AA: the cast. Not only did it feature world known, talented, attractive actors (Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Tom Hiddleston), but the performances were on point, funny, relatable and the chemistry was off the charts- they just fit together so well.

Mark Ruffalo as Banner aka The Hulk stole the show from all the Avengers. Loki was a great villain, maybe a little too nice and sweet- he really tried to be a monster, but I couldn't see him that way, he is such a sweet, smart guy, and so, without knowing, I kind of rooted for him throughout the movie, which is weird. I'm glad his fate at the end was not that tragic. My favorite moment of the movie has to be the short, but extremely funny interaction between these two in the Stark tower. Loki: "I am a god and....", Hulk: cue awesome scene. Everyone was laughing out loud, I loved it.

The script was good, extremely funny at some points (everything RDJ related, plus other one-liners), although you couldn't not chuckle at some of the lines, as they were slightly clicheic and hilarious- but hey, that is to be expected in a superhero movie, there are no gigantic green monsters or nordic gods amongst us in real life (from what we know, at least).

Joss Whedon created a great action movie- he had great direction, and some of the shots were visually beautiful and interesting (Black Widow through the empty mirror frame at the beginning). From an action point of view, everything was perfectly done- the fights, the special effects, the script, the performances.

It's a very good movie, well-executed in every way. You will surely enjoy it- you will laugh, you will be surprised, you will wonder at some of the special effects and action sequences, and you will secretly crush on Loki/Black Widow/ Iron Man or whoever you might fancy. It has a little bit of everything in it and it's made for a large audience.

All in all, Avengers Assemble is a great popcorn movie, but it didn't make me excited and I wasn't blown away by anything specifically. Nice to see it on the big screen, it was fun, but not so memorable. Oh, and if you're not sure about 3D or 2D, go for 2D and save yourself some money- 3D is worth it just for 5 minutes at the end, the rest is perfect in 2D, too!

10 comments:

  1. I saw the movie in 2D since my head always hurts after 3d and it was very beautiful visually, especially the action sequence in the end and all the moments Iron Man was flying around. I really liked the film, it was great entertainment and it had plenty of humour, which I adored. Great review!

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  2. Thanks Sati, glad you liked it. I know what you mean about 3D, that always happens to me, too (last time, when I saw Mission Impossible, I had a huge headache afterwards). Really funny indeed, good movie!

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  3. Great review! I think I'm going to go with 2D. I also think I'm probably only really going to see it for the comedy. All the action scenes sound fun but it's the interplay between the characters that I'm excited about!

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  4. @Pete: I agree, the actions sequences are nothing new, but the interaction between the characters is worth the money alone!

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  5. I agree Diana. So glad you enjoyed it. I saw it a couple of weeks ago now - and going to check it out again today. Really looking forward to see how it holds up on a repeat. I am guessing...pretty well.

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  6. @Andy: I think you will still like it, but probably see some of its flaws, as well! A good popcorn movie, worth a second round!

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  7. The name was changed to Avengers Assemble so there would be no confusion in Europe with the old TV show (and Fiennes/Thurman movie).

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  8. @Anonymous: I knew that, I just didn't want to mention it. Thank you anyway, and nice to have you here, please do come back!

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  9. Interesting to hear that you liked the flick but weren't necessarily blown away. I really liked the final action sequence, but other than that, I though the whole thing was a better-than-average super hero movie.

    Nice review, glad to see we're in agreement!

    Also, don't be ashamed to admit you saw the movie by yourself. 90% of the movies I see (in the theater or at home) I see alone. I love watching movies with people, but my family and friends aren't always interested in the weird shit I often watch.

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  10. @Alex: "but my family and friends aren't always interested in the weird shit I often watch." I agree with that, and the sad thing I don't even watch weird things, it's just that people around me don't really see movies at all!

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