I know there is a huge debate about whether or not “The Avengers” has unseated “The Dark Knight” as the greatest super hero movie of all time but I do feel it is the best ‘comic book movie’ that has ever hit theatres. Trust me, there is a difference in there somewhere. Director Joss Whedon did what no one thought he could do and that is take a collection of heroes who have all had their own big screen adventures and put them into one big bad movie. He not only pull it off, but he has set the bar for future comic book and super hero movies to come.In “Marvel’s The Avengers”, described as Phase One in Marvel’s movie plans, Nick Fury must put together a team of heroes to stop Loki and his Chitauri army from taking over the world. Yes, on the surface it’s a pretty tacky premise. So Director Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. calls on Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the Hulk to join Black Widow and Hawkeye in hopes they will be able to work together long enough to fight of this alien invasion.
“Avengers” is fun from the time it starts right up until the second stinger in the closing credits. Yes, you’re advised to sit through the entire credits to get not one but two post-movie scenes, one of which sets up the sequel, the second was thrown in just for fun.
The movie should not be defined by the box office records it is obliterating. This is an outstanding movie, although it still has some flaws. It’s a little too long and…well, maybe that’s it. I make no effort to hide the fact that I dig Marvel a bit more than DC. I’m sure “The Dark Knight Rises” will be great. Christopher Nolan has made easily the best of the DC movies. EASILY. It’s really not even fair to compare. It is possible for “The Avengers” and “The Dark Knight” to be equally as great.
Marvel has been far from perfect in their endeavor to set up “The Avengers” but they truly hit a home run here by finding a director in Joss Whedon who was fully capable of telling an exciting story and handle multiple characters without losing any of them in the shuffle. Each one of the the Avengers gets their own screen time and the movie offers some of the most exciting action sequences in any of the previous comic book movies.