I would like to take a little detour from my usual Jokercentric ramblings to speak about the AVENGERS MOVIE.
WOW! At first, I wondered how they could make a movie with so many characaters and still give them all some meaningful screen time that added to the plot. I mean, there is Fury, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor, Ironman, Hulk, Agent Coulson, not to mention LOKI and his army and an array of supportive actors while there is only 2 hours and 30 minutes of movie. IMPOSSIBLE RIGHT?
WRONG!!!
Joss Whedon did an amazing work with the story and screenplay, allowing each of the characters to weave themselves into the plot in a way that flowed naturally. Each character takes the spotlight, like well choreographed fireworks, shining on details that have made them memorable (Fury’s commanding presence, Tony Stark complete disregard of authority while overflowingwith heroism, Captain America’s patriotism while searching for what it means to be a hero in a world so alien to him (without being cheesy), just to name a few). All while adding to the plot like threads add to the fabric.
But this could not have been accomplished if there was nothing to bring these heroes together because in the movies as in literature, heroes have to have something to forge their character. A Yin to their Yang…a villain. And here is LOKI, the vengeful (and may I add) psychotic demigod from Asgard magnificently played by Tom Hiddleston.
Most villains are hard to write while keeping them real. It is easier to write them flat and unidimensional; monsters or buffoons. Either extreme takes the menacing aspect from the villain, makes the plot weak, and the heroes just unrealistically heroic. That is why only a few villains transcend the page or the screen. Where would Moriarty, Dr. Doom, Joker, and Magneto be if they would have been carelessly written? Good villains embody not only evil, but highlight that side of us that we would like to keep in the shadows. They are mad, but they are human too (or demigod in this case). They are evil, but they are in a sense…they are like us and that is what makes them scary.
This is another thing in which I think Mr. Whedon excelled. Loki’s character was (in my humble opinion) magnificently written. From the Thor movie we knew that Loki was still alive and not happy. He felt displaced, humilliated, defeated by mortals and his spoiled half brother. And we know he was not going to just quit because he knew he was destined for some greater purpose.
But before he gets the spotlight, he’s going to to take on those that have done him wrong. Loki’s anger turns into vengeance, then slowly morphs into obsession to finally become madness. He is willing to sacrifice it all to show everybody his greatness. And that, like with every villain, is his downfall. He plays the heroes and is played upon in a clash of opposing forces that leaves us wondering what is really going through Loki’s mind. What is his ultimate goal? Can our heroes defeat a god?
I laughed, gasped, held my breath, sighed in relief and even shed a tear, all in just 2 and a half hours. That is what good movies are made of, and this movie has it all.
I’m not going to give spoilers here. There are plenty of sites where you can get those, but I will tell you that the movie is definitely worth watching, at least once. It is good entertainment, and lots of fun, while keeping a good quality of storytelling without becoming cheesy or ridiculous. Go to the movies and enjoy the two and half hours that will leave you yearning for more avengers, while satisfying your inner child dreams of superheroes and supervillains.
Oh, and before I forget…remember to stay in the theaters until after the credits so you can see what’s in store for the Avengers. Really want to know that bad? Ok, because you asked….THANOS
I wish I could watch it. But I have to wait for the DVD release:(
And my friend, you will not be disappointed. Sad you have to wait so long…
Saw it in theaters, and it is absolutely magnificent. This film has become one of my top favorite films; it’s got wonderful character dynamics woven in. I particularly liked the little thread with Thor and Loki dealing with what it means to be brothers, even if they aren’t related by blood, and how Thor basically went in the course of two movies from desiring to battle for power to being a fair leader who really does want the best for his people, his brother, and for earth. However, Loki became the exact opposite; now HE’S the warmonger who wants to use his power to subjugate and destroy everything, he’s the one who so desperately wants to lead, but is so completely unfit to lead because he wants the power, but not the responsibility. That’s ultimately part of what made Loki such a great villain in this film – he’s power mad without being cheesy, he’s devious and calculating which is fitting for a trickster god, he gets under the heroes’ collective skin and forces them to realize where their faults and weaknesses lie.
That brings me to the good guys. They all kicked tremendous amounts of ass in this film and they all had their own special skill sets that worked in tandem to make that happen. I loved watching Captain America and Tony in particular get upset with each other – you could literally see the clashing of not only two different worlds, eras, and lifestyles, but also of two different styles of leadership. Tony is the one who takes charge and does it himself, brilliant but egotistical, believing in bucking conventional authority and taking things into his own hands. Captain America, however, believes in trusting authority, that a team needs to have one leader and follow that leader to succeed, and that taking matters into one’s own hands is too risky to chance. They also show two different American ideals, if you think about it. Tony Stark represents capitalism and the American Dream, the idea that the United States’ engineering and science/mathematical achievements were born of the few people who chose to go a different direction and do their own thing. Captain America, however, represents good old American patriotism, the soldier on the front lines doing anything to represent the power and respect the United States should supposedly have overseas, as well as the classic “picket fence, standard nuclear family with two kids and a dog, male breadwinner” societal roles of his era. This is already enough for these two to clash – The Old American ideal sees the Modern American ideal as having become lax and rogue, without cohesion, while the Modern ideal sees the Old ideal as being overly strict and refusing to keep up with the times. It’s really kind of cool.
One thing did bother me – the money gag with Nick Fury at Captain America. Yeah, I know Cap comes from a time when blacks didn’t have rights, but… really? Did that joke really have to be in the film? I didn’t find it that funny and actually think it’s a little insulting (I am not black, but I don’t have a tolerance for racial jokes or gay jokes). The film would have been fine without it. It doesn’t ruin my enjoyment of the film in any way, but it does annoy me a bit that they’d put that into the film.