Went and saw “The Avengers” last night, finally. Joss Whedon as director was an added enticement. Plus an action flick in 3D was bound to be watchable!
The film begins metaphorically, in mid-sentence. The SHIELD already has the tesseract and is trying to harness its power and so on. I was left wondering what the damn thing was in the first place and in the end I was still wondering what is was and how it came to be here. Maybe fanboys/girls of the franchise would have a good idea about it, but for the average viewer it was kinda dissatisfying to not find out any more details about the one thing everyone in the movie was fighting for. Random sentences here and there fill out the picture a bit but nowhere near as clear as they should.
The visual spectacle is massively entertaining, and truly grand in some parts like when (SPOLIER ALERT!) the aircraft carrier lifts up into the air and when Hulk smashes the huge metal worm’s head into the ground. The fight sequences are very well choreographed and some bits had the audience around me hooting and cheering (we Indians like to do that! ).
The first half an hour or so left me searching for a plot, some semblance of story, some depth. By the end of the first thirty minutes I realised there was none and I just sat back and enjoyed the acting the FX. That would be my advice to anyone going to watch the movie, don’t think this one’s going to be as intelligent as Batman Begins even, think of the earlier Batman series.
Not that the absence of plot leaves you wanting for more. The cast of superheroes makes up for it and how! Robert Downey Jr. And Mike Ruffalo lead the pack with excellent portrayals of Iron Man and Bruce Banner. I personally cannot think of anyone who could be a better Ironman, Downey is intelligent, charming, superbly confident, egotistical and very aware of his accomplishments. Banner is self-effacing almost excessively so, probably to make up for his alter-ego. Both men play their parts very ably indeed.
The two Chrises, Evans and Hemsworth aren’t nearly as good as the two above. Captain America seems out of sorts, not only as a character coming to terms with a world that’s changed dramatically since he last saw it, but even as an actor. Thor was hamming it up a bit I felt, especially in his scenes with Loki. Reminded me of Brad Pitt trying his best to portray anguish in Troy. 😀
Tom Hiddleston as Loki does well, but his character is the least fleshed out. You never really understand his motives. He ends up appearing less a super-villain and more a bratty kid desperately in need of a spanking. I definitely expected more from an evil demi-god!
Samuel L. Jackson’s role does not do justice to him and Cobie Smulders just doesn’t fit. I’m sorry but you will always be Robin Scherbatsky to me, Cobie! Is that why everyone was always asking everyone else to “suit up!” in the film? 😀
Lastly, Scarlett Johansson looks pretty as Natasha Romanov and acts well enough for her role too, but I couldn’t help thinking that if this movie had been made a decade earlier, Sarah Michelle Gellar would have nailed this role. The combination of femininity and steeliness, seriousness and playful chutzpah was her forte.
All in all the film has some nice touches, Captain America tips Jackson and always refers to Johansson as ma’am for example. The action is really good, though they weren’t able to make full use of 3D in my opinion. Avatar still stands as the best example of the genre to my mind.
Quite a long review, but I will end it by saying that the movie is definitely worth a watch and in the theatre no less. Go to one in India if you can and the crowd response will entertain you enough to forget what small faults the film itself has.
hbhatnagar 
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