The Avengers - Review

[Kurt FabischMember]

I’ve been a comic book fan since I was in the 4th grade. And a fan of comic book superheroes since I was 4 and saw Batman and Batman Returns.

X-Men comes out in 2000 when I’m 12 years old and blows me away. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Finally they were taking a comic book and treating it with every bit of drama and seriousness as any other serious film. It was more of a science fiction film than just a dumb action film.

It was very well received by both fans and the general movie going public. And when X-Men came out, the dreams of many comic book geeks like myself was this:

“If only they’d made an Avengers movie!”

And even then I somehow knew that it was unlikely.

Then we get Spiderman, Hulk, 2 more X-Men films, Batman and Superman rebooted, and the comic book superhero genre is here to stay.

Then in 2008 Marvel makes 2 independent movies. Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. BOTH films staying true to the characters. Both films with the right spirit.

Iron Man being the better film, due to the stronger story and the performance of Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark. That film was just perfect for what it was trying to be. Smart, VERY funny and fantastic action and a good heart under all the crashing of metal.

And it ended with a teaser to end all teasers for comic book nerds. Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury shows up and drops that word: Avenger.

Iron Man 2, Captain America and Thor come out after that, and nicely form the rest of the foundations of what some call the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Iron Man 2 is very flawed but Thor and Captain America are outstanding films. Which manage to maintain the level of quality that Iron Man set up.

Cut to….. The Avengers is officially announced. And it has a writer and a director, and that man is Joss Whedon. And the geeks breathe an enormous sigh of relief. Because we know that Whedon was born to make this movie.

Joss Whedon, one of my favorite screenwriters along with Aaron Sorkin, Woody Allen, The Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarantino.

Like hearing that Tarantino or The Coen Brothers are making Westerns with Django Unchained and True Grit, hearing that Whedon was making The Avengers was a geek dream come true.

His previous work already heavily influenced by comic book superheroes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Dollhouse and Firefly. And he also writes what one of the finest comic books, Astonishing X-Men, where he and artist John Cassaday create maybe the best X-Men story ever written in comics, TV or film. And any Whedon fan who read that book was EXTRA relieved when Whedon was announced as the overseer of The Avengers film.

Iron Man
The Hulk
Thor
Captain America
Black Widow
Hawkeye
and Nick Fury

Together on the big screen. We all thought it couldn’t be done.

And in 2012 the world saw The Avengers. Much of the world as it turns out, the film broke all kinds of box office records and became the 3rd Highest Grossing film of all time bring in over 1.5 BILLION dollars.

Critically acclaimed and beloved by fans everywhere for its use of the classic characters, the whip-smart screenplay of Joss Whedon, its humor, action and overall spirit.

It has now become to the superhero genre what Rio Bravo and The Magnificent Seven are to the Western genre.

Where seeing these larger than life characters hang out is just as rewarding as seeing them beat something up.

The film was my number 5 favorite film of 2012 and I recently placed it at number 10 for best of the 2010 decade so far.

The film was everything both the 12 year old Kurt AND the 23 year old Kurt hoped it was.

Funny, smart, tense, geeky as hell, and most of all epic. The biggest superhero movie in terms of scope up to that point.

The effects.
The Alan Silvestri score.
That Whedon screenplay. The Avengers maybe the funniest film of 2012.
The all-star cast knocking it out of the park.
FINALLY getting to see superheroes get to fight something not of this world. And fighting each other in great fashion.
And seeing The Hulk FINALLY live up to his potential. Grabbing hold of a god with his bare hands and whipping him against the ground like a dead fish. That was just too perfect.

And after The Dark Knight, The Avengers is in my opinion the best comic book film ever made.

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