Avengers Assemble!

Got to see the Avengers this past weekend. It is one of the first movies I was anticipating seeing this year (Dark Knight Rises, Bond being the others). Now, I’m not a comic book reader, so don’t know much of the backstory for most comic book movies. But this one had been hyped so much over the years, and I had thoroughly enjoyed the two Iron Man movies that I was sufficiently bought into the anticipation machine.

Also, Joss Whedon. Seriously, Joss “Goram” Whedon.  Everything he’s made, that I’ve seen, I’ve enjoyed. Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Serenity, Dr. Horrible. All great character pieces, full of great liners. You could see his influence all over the movie.

The movie did a great job as an ensemble movie, something that would appear necessary for a movie about a team of heroes. No one character stole the spotlight for the entire movie. Though, I was really pleased with the Hulk. Mark Ruffalo did a wonderful job here, better than the other Hulks who had been tried. I thought Ed Norton did a pretty good job in the last movie, but Ruffalo was better.

Now, the movie was chock full of cheese, camp, over-the-top action, and crazy plot. It very easily could have crossed the line into stupid. But it never took itself too seriously, without being needlessly silly. It found that necessary balance for superhero movies.

Will the sequel be any good is a legitimate question. The movie involves an alien invasion that decimates New York. Where can Iron Man 3 and Avengers 2 go from there? How can we work with that framework without the next bad guy being a let down, or unfathomably powerful? We’ll find out.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about this movie was getting to go see it with my Dad. I always enjoyed going to see movies with him as a kid, he’s the reason I love movies. He has not enjoyed going to movies in the last few years, finding the expense and the crowds annoying when you can just watch from the comfort of you home on a giant HD screen. Who can blame him? This Hijinks Ensues Comic perfectly illustrates those concerns

Fortunately, being a writer allows me the opportunity to go to a movie on a Monday afternoon, when kids are in school. Even still, there’s something nice about getting to go see a fun action movie with your Dad that makes it worth it. I look forward to taking my son to a fun movie when his Papa is in town.

I definitely recommend going to see the Avengers if you haven’t already. Will the Dark Knight Rises be as good? Can it be following in the shadow of the Dark Knight? Will it instead faulter like the previous third movies have (X-men and Spiderman). Will Iron Man 3 face that fate next year? We’ll find out…