Joss Whedon Rocks the World (movie review--no spoilers)
We went to see the midnight showing of The Avengers last night. I'm getting a bit old for that sort of thing, so I've been paying for that decision today. I'm not regretting it. Not one little bit. In fact--and I'm almost never able to say this about a book or a movie--I can't find ANYTHING bad to say about it!
So, the good stuff. There's so much...where to begin? The characters, perhaps, which are wonderfully, beautifully, amazingly true to themselves from start to finish. Director/screenwriter Joss Whedon made the comment that these people shouldn't even be in the same room, let alone on the same team. So true! And yet Whedon manages--through the medium of Nick Fury--to get them to work together to save the Earth. Well, not entirely Nick Fury. Tony Stark and Bruce Banner grok science. And along with Black Widow (who is very, very good at making you forget that she never, ever stops being her persona), they don't trust authority. Thor and Captain America (who becomes the de facto leader of the team because he is literally the only one with the qualifications to do so) understand taking responsibility. The Hulk and Thor are both into smashing things. Tony and Thor are about style. And with Hawkeye (who eventually gets out from under Loki's mind control), they all know about GETTING A JOB DONE, no matter what it takes. As do lesser characters...but I won't spoil that. And have I said before that love Loki? (*checks* Yup, I did.) His motivations tear at my heart strings, even as his pathetic cruelty and arrogance provoke in me an earnest hope that he will be smacked a good one (and he is...oh, he is). The real enemies are the aliens, in their creepy (and delightfully Miyazaki-esque) spaceships.
The dialogue, quite naturally, plays an important role in all this character stuff. It is also--as one might expect from Joss Whedon--exceeding funny (without ever going over the top) and infinitely quotable. Here's just one example, a line that ONLY Captain America could get away with: having been warned that Loki (whom he is about to go up against) is a god, he says (Chris Evans' perfect deadpan), "I only know of one God, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." Even the non-verbose Hulk gets one of the best lines in the film (no, I will NOT spoil it). And Stan Lee's line in his cameo (hint: the news montage near the ending) is as uniquely appropriate to him as it is hilarious.
The pacing of this movie is relentless, and yet it never feels rushed. The primary sensation I experienced as our heroes had one thing after another thrown at them was a half-despairing suspense at how they could possibly handle it all. The stakes are constantly high, and yet Whedon sustains that tension without exhaustion. Nor--even clocking in at over 2 hours--does this movie ever seem long. Speaking of which...stay to the ending of the credits. Don't be fooled by the teaser scene that occurs around the halfway point in the credits. Stick around to the very end. Short scene, no dialogue, quintessentially Joss Whedon.
So...go see it...go on...*waving motions*
So, the good stuff. There's so much...where to begin? The characters, perhaps, which are wonderfully, beautifully, amazingly true to themselves from start to finish. Director/screenwriter Joss Whedon made the comment that these people shouldn't even be in the same room, let alone on the same team. So true! And yet Whedon manages--through the medium of Nick Fury--to get them to work together to save the Earth. Well, not entirely Nick Fury. Tony Stark and Bruce Banner grok science. And along with Black Widow (who is very, very good at making you forget that she never, ever stops being her persona), they don't trust authority. Thor and Captain America (who becomes the de facto leader of the team because he is literally the only one with the qualifications to do so) understand taking responsibility. The Hulk and Thor are both into smashing things. Tony and Thor are about style. And with Hawkeye (who eventually gets out from under Loki's mind control), they all know about GETTING A JOB DONE, no matter what it takes. As do lesser characters...but I won't spoil that. And have I said before that love Loki? (*checks* Yup, I did.) His motivations tear at my heart strings, even as his pathetic cruelty and arrogance provoke in me an earnest hope that he will be smacked a good one (and he is...oh, he is). The real enemies are the aliens, in their creepy (and delightfully Miyazaki-esque) spaceships.
The dialogue, quite naturally, plays an important role in all this character stuff. It is also--as one might expect from Joss Whedon--exceeding funny (without ever going over the top) and infinitely quotable. Here's just one example, a line that ONLY Captain America could get away with: having been warned that Loki (whom he is about to go up against) is a god, he says (Chris Evans' perfect deadpan), "I only know of one God, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." Even the non-verbose Hulk gets one of the best lines in the film (no, I will NOT spoil it). And Stan Lee's line in his cameo (hint: the news montage near the ending) is as uniquely appropriate to him as it is hilarious.
The pacing of this movie is relentless, and yet it never feels rushed. The primary sensation I experienced as our heroes had one thing after another thrown at them was a half-despairing suspense at how they could possibly handle it all. The stakes are constantly high, and yet Whedon sustains that tension without exhaustion. Nor--even clocking in at over 2 hours--does this movie ever seem long. Speaking of which...stay to the ending of the credits. Don't be fooled by the teaser scene that occurs around the halfway point in the credits. Stick around to the very end. Short scene, no dialogue, quintessentially Joss Whedon.
So...go see it...go on...*waving motions*