The Avengers

Okay...we went to see this movie on Tuesday, and let me tell you--it was great.  :)

I'll start off by saying that I go into more detail about movies, especially about any bad parts they may have so that people are warned.  This movie, however, was pretty decent compared to most movies these days.  There were a few bad words, but nothing past a few mentions of the "S word" or "D word" or I think one time the "B word".  There was one point when they used "OMG", in an amazed way.  But there was also reference to Jonah and the whale (it was kind of funny, too.  :)) and an awesome line by Captain America that I'll share below, because Captain America deserves a category of his own.  :)  There was no nudity, nor were there any "bedroom" type stuff.  There's really hardly any romance (except for one scene with Iron Man and Pepper Potts), which suited me just fine.  :)  This is more of an action-packed, thriller type movie with some pretty hilarious scenes stuck in there.  :)

So...the Avengers.

Basically, what the movie is all about can be summed up in this little synopsis from IMDB:

Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. brings together a team of super humans to form The Avengers to help save the Earth from Loki and his army.


*My note: I think this is also a movie about all the superheros having to overcome their egos and their pride, put aside their differences, and work together as a team, because, in the beginning, as Bruce Banner puts it, "We're not a team, we're a time-bomb!"

That's Iron Man (left, Robert Downy Jr.) and Thor (right, Chris Hemsworth) there in the front, with Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff  (Scarlett Johannsson) between them, and Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson) behind her.  Then you have Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) beside/behind Iron Man, the Hulk (Bruce Banner) behind him, and Captain America (Chris Evans) back there with the big red, white, and blue shield.

There's a lot you have to know from other Marvel movies to understand some things in The Avengers.  We've seen Iron Man 1 and 2, as well as Captain America, but we've never seen Thor's movie and we haven't watched the Hulk in a long time, so there were some things we had to guess at and put two and two together for--and do some quick internet research when we got home--to understand it all.  So, in case you haven't seen all the movies, I'm going to give you a few key facts about the characters and try not to spoil anything!  :)

Alright, first of all, I'm just not going to pay attention to either one of those posters up there, because they have it all out of order.  ;)

In my opinion, Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff is one of the best.

See the hair?!  :)

Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) is a Russian spy, so clever and cunning that she's known as the Black Widow (as in a Black Widow spider).  Let me tell ya...this girl can fight, and she's pretty awesome at it.  :)  She's very smart and did an awesome job outwitting the villain, Loki, in one scene.  You may recognize her from Iron Man 2.  She also has some curly, fiery red hair that stays almost perfectly in place even when she's riding on the back of an alien rocket ship or running from an angry Hulk--why isn't my hair like that?!  :)  She's also the only girl in the Avengers crew, and kind of the only one that doesn't have "super powers".  She's just a really cool spy with some really cool skills.  :)  Her best friend on the team is Hawkeye, as they've worked as a team before.

I also really like Captain America.

Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is the guy that (in case you haven't seen his movie) saved hundreds of people in WWII by choosing to crash-land the missile/plane that he had overtaken from the bad guys into the ocean, saving the big city it was headed for (New York, I think).  He was frozen/asleep for almost 70 years, until he awoke in present day and had to come to terms with today's time, another world for him.  He is everything that the other Avengers are not.  You've got arrogant, smart, filthy rich Tony Stark/Iron Man, sly spy Natasha/Black Widow, otherworldly Thor, polar extreme Hulk/Dr. Bruce Banner, and master archer Hawkeye/Clint Barton...and then you have Captain America.  He's old-fashioned in about everything--values, uniform, beliefs, thought pattern...even his hair is old-fashioned! He is very wholesome and loyal and has one of the best lines in the movie.

When Natasha advises him to "sit out" during a fight between Loki, Thor, and Iron Man, he tells her that he doesn't see how he can, whence she replies that they (Thor and Loki) are "basically gods".  Then Captain America says, "Ma'am, there's only one God, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that."  That line right there scored extra points with me!  Captain America doesn't have a big suit, or a thunder hammer, or amazing archery skills, or even spy skills.  He is strong and he fights courageously in an honorable way.  The guy hardly ever uses a gun!  He's disgusted with the modern world and wants to know what happened.  Plus, he might be..well..not unpleasant to look at.  :)

Anyway, on to Dr. Bruce Banner/The Hulk.

"The Other Guy," as Dr. Banner refers to him.  :)

Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) was laid-back, smart, and funny as Dr. Banner, and destructive, furious, and hilarious as The Hulk.  He was one of my favorites, too.  :)  Most of you know the basic story of the Hulk so I won't go into that.  Mark Ruffalo did a great job and had most of the funny parts/lines.

Iron Man/Tony Stark: Dr. Banner, your work is unparalleled.  And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.

Bruce Banner: Thanks.

He cracked me up in this first scene with Natasha Romanoff.  :)

And Hawkeye/Clint Barton.

As my brother, Colt, put it, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) is just bad (In a good way).  :)  You just don't mess with him.  What's neat is that he's like Natasha Romanoff and Captain America; he doesn't actually have powers; he's just awesome.  :)  He has awesome archery skills and is just quick-thinking (and also has some tech-y, explosive arrows :)).  I won't spill all the beans, but he does some quite involuntary switching of the sides.  You'll see.  :)  I

Okay...Iron Man/Tony Stark is not on my favorite list.

Iron Man (Robert Downy Jr.) is awesome; he's got a neat suit and he's really smart and everything, but in my opinion, he's a jerk.  :)  He's arrogant and, worst of all, he picks on Captain America, so that especially irritated my mama and me as he is one of our favorites.  :)  Robert Downy Jr. does do a great job at playing the part, though.

Nick Fury: It's called the Avengers Initiative.

Iron Man: I thought I didn't qualify.  I was considered, what was it....volatile, self-centered, and I don't play well with others.

On to Thor.

I don't think Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is very popular.  He's Loki (the villain)'s brother through adoption, and both are from other galaxies/worlds.  He acts sort of...above the rest of them, and in fact, he calls the humans "petty, and tiny".  Lol!  I personally find him kind of silly...the hammer and the hair and the clothes are just a little over the top, I guess.  :)

But then again, he is supposed to be from another world/time era.  Thor also has his own movie, which I haven't seen.  He does (as Iron Man puts it) have a "mean swing", and he and Iron Man and Captain America have an all-out battle before they can work together as a team.  Thor's character does help out by giving insight into Loki's tactics and background, and Chris Hemsworth did a great job portraying him.  Is it just me, or does he remind you of Brad Pitt at a glance?  He also has a very, very deep voice which is perfect for the part.

And I have to include Nick Fury, even though he isn't actually part of The Avengers.  He's kind of their headmaster, or adviser, or director.  In fact, he is the director of S.H.I.E.L.D, a spy agency sort of thing.

Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson) was calm, collected, and smooth--he played his part perfectly.  I don't really know if I like the character though...he's a good leader, I suppose, just not a necessarily friendly or kind person, if that makes sense.  He's kind of...emotionally withdrawn.  He's not really friends with anyone.  Anyway, the rest of the Avengers do kind of resent him, although they follow his lead.  He's the one that brings them together and he's the one that gives them plans of attack, for the most part.

And I have to throw in a picture of his right hand man, Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), because he's a loyal, rather funny, guy to the end.  :)

That's him and his helper, Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), on the big boat/plane thingie.  

And what would a superhero movie be without a devious, creepy villain to fight?!

Presenting...Loki.

Creepy, right?!  Loki (Tom Hiddleston) was a great villain, if that makes sense.  Tom did a great job playing him.  He was cold, and creepy, and scary, and terrorizing.  :P  Loki is the adopted brother of Thor, and they are both from outer space.  They have been fighting over the throne of Asgard for a while.  Loki is using the tessaract to try to take over the world that Thor especially loves--the earth, of course.  He also has an army of some kind of alien.  Loki, was, like I said, creepy, but he could also be funny, especially when he was mad or nervous.  :)

There's that nervous-angry expression.  :P

The Hulk has a dealing with him...it's the funniest part of the whole movie.  :)

                                          

                                                       ~*~

All in all, I really liked this movie.  I give it 4 stars.  I would give it five, but because of the few bad words/parts it does have, I won't.  I really do recommend it, at least for people 12 or 13 and up, or even for a more mature 10 or 11 year old.  Luke didn't go see it with us as he thought it would be scary, but we probably would have let him come if he wanted to.

Until next time,
Have a great day and God bless!
Joy :)