Avengers is an impossible movie. Getting so many heroes together with so many disparate movies, giving them all sufficient screen time, and having people who fit the roles so well just doesn't seem like it could happen. But you know what? They managed to pull it off. Everybody has great moments and one-liners, the dialogue is incredibly snappy, though that shouldn't be a surprise with Joss Whedon at the helm. And it's all capped off with an incredible 40-minute finale that may be one of the finest every seen on film.
That being said, this is a very comic book movie. Unlike say Christopher Nolan's Batman films, which have comic book roots but take a real world context and deal with deep issues and characters that evolve and develop. Avengers isn't particularly deep and the characters don't really evolve or change, but it's smart enough and entertaining enough that unless you're a complete cynic you don't need it to be. I don't even know if they can possibly top this, but I can't wait to see them try because with it having the biggest opening weekend ever, a sequel is kind of a no duh. And of course this means after years of finding at best middling success, Joss Whedon can pretty much do whatever the hell he wants to do next, which is awesome for him and us Whedonites who have been fans of his quirky and brilliant but usually short-lived TV shows.
Of course, this might impossibly raise the bar now. We were pleasantly surprised that Iron Man, Thor and Captain America actually managed to be good, now audiences might expect the follow-ups to be absolutely fantastic and be massively disappointed if they aren't. We also may suffer from superhero overload, as everybody and their mom is trying to get some even mildly popular comic book property on the big screen in some desperate attempt to get in on this thing while it's hot. But as long as they keep making the smart choices they have, audiences should be able to separate the actual movies from the desperate cash grabs.
That's it for today, I should be back with another post tomorrow or Friday. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Goin Up
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