The Avengers

      How much did I love this movie?! Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Dollhouse, Firefly) is amazing! I am not much of an Iron Man fan, but he was so funny in The Avengers (2012).  He had some great one liners! The humor in The Avengers is wonderful! At one point, I was thinking to myself, "I have never enjoyed Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes, The Soloist, Wonder Boys) so much, he is so funny". That is when it hit me! It's Joss Whedon humor! He had to have written the screenplay! Sure enough, the end credits rolled and, story Zak Penn (X2, Elektra, Last Action Hero) and Joss Whedon, screenplay Joss Whedon. I knew it! His style is wonderful! I knew he directed The Avengers but somehow I missed that he wrote the screenplay as well. 


       There have been some doubts about cramming this many big names into one movie.  How can each superhero possibly be highlighted properly and each star get there time to shine? Well somehow Joss pulls it off! The combination really worked and it was wonderful. Thor and Iron Man are great.  They have this wonderful fight scene. Scarlett Johansson (The Island, The Prestige, Lost in Translation, The Perfect Score) was wonderful as Black Widow. I really liked her and her character. Jeremy Renner (The Town, The Hurt Locker, Thor) as Hawkeye was superb. His bow was so cool. He had a very small part in Thor (2011) but it was one of my favorite parts. "Do you want me to take him down or would you rather send in more guys for him to beat up?"

      The Incredible Hulk was so cool in this one.  I have seen the previous Hulk movies. I watched Hulk (2003). It was .... OK? I guess? I really liked The Incredible Hulk (2008) with Edward Norton (Fight Club, The Illusionist, The Score). That was just a great movie and Edward Norton is simply amazing so.... well you know. Mark Ruffalo (Rumor Has It...., Just Like Heaven, Shutter Island) plays Bruce Banner in The Avengers. I don't want to down play his performance at all. He does a great job. However, that being said this movie has the best Hulk ever! He has such character and the best facial expressions.  The Hulk has some of the best scenes in the movie.  He is actually very funny and has great comedic timing.  If I had to pick my favorite Hulk scene it would be a tie. It is hilarious when he punches Thor for absolutely no reason at all and his "fight" with Loki. Hulk is just cool.

       I really can't say enough about how much fun this movie is.  It is a great action flick with very cool fight scenes. The end battle was amazing! It is also full of Whedonisms, his style and sense of humor come through so clearly.  It is just brilliant.  By the way did I mention how much I enjoyed the director and his style? Beautifully shot.