Marvel's The Avengers

When Loki  makes a deal with the Chitari to retrieve the Tesaract from Earth in exchange for their army conquering the planet for him, he ventures to Earth and steals the Tesaract.  Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D must find a way to unite the super soldiers of the planet into a fighting team capable of protecting the planet.

Putting a group of hotshots in the same room (or on the same helicarrier as the case may be) is one thing, getting them to play nice is another. When Loki is captured, but the Tesaract remains at large, hot tempers flare and it seems as though the group will tear itself apart before they have the chance to think about banding together.

When one of their own is killed as Loki escapes their clutches, the others band together to save New York city, not only from the Chitari army coming through the portal above Stark Tower, but from the misguided decision of the international counsel to nuke Manhattan.

My Thoughts:

The relationship between Phil Coulson and Captain America is one of the best things about this movie. It’s an interaction you rarely see in this sort of movie. And it makes sense that Coulson is the glue that pulls them all together. And that’s what makes his death so tragic. (Though, they didn’t show his death, so I’m still holding out hope that he’ll come back in one way or another)

Loki is an interesting character, because it’s difficult to hate him… even when he kills off one of the most loveable characters in the movie… even when he constantly takes his brother’s attempts at kindness and stabs him in the gut (once even literally). He’s the little boy who wants to do great things, but doesn’t understand that great things often take time, and so he tries to fudge the system, content to be infamous if fame won’t come easily. And honestly, I know a lot of people are upset by his use of “mewling quim” it honestly doesn’t bother me that much. Loki is trying to shock Natasha’s character, he’s trying to put the fear of God him in her, and he’s going to say terrible things to do it.

Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk is quite possibly the best to date. There’s something nice about his ability to accept what he is, and focus his energy on helping those he can, instead of himself. There’s something peaceful about his jokes at his own expense. It’s a way of warning others, without dwelling on the dire consequences. And above all, he’s not Edward Norton.

As with all of the Iron Man movies to this point (and I expect any others that come from this franchise) the whit that RDJ brings to Tony Stark’s character is funny without feeling forced. I’m sure we can attribute that to the fact that RDJ is great at adlibbing, and the fact that Tony Stark is kind of just an augmented version of RDJ. I do appreciate the dynamic between the billionare playboy philanthropist and the WWII hero. It makes sense that Tony would be a little miffed about the guy his dad kept on about – after all, we’ve all see that there’s some serious daddy issues there. And it makes perfect sense that Steve, with the overflowing honor and goodness inherent in him, would have a problem with Tony’s cavalier attitude.

Thor is the one character in the whole of the film who feels like he shouldn’t have a problem with anyone (except Loki)… but I think that’s the same issue with his own movie. He needs a severe injection of personality, so we can only hope he gets that somewhere in his next movie, or  by the second Avengers installment.

I’ve jokingly suggested that this film could be retitled Avengers Assemble, since the first 2/3rds of the film are the Avengers fighting themselves. It will be very interesting to see what and who they pull into the second film, and how much action will find its way in now that the characters and their interpersonal dynamics have been established.