All My Friends Are Fictional Characters

And it’s finally out ladies and gentleman. The movie we’ve all been waiting for. I would explain things for those of who don’t know but the problem is that this explanation would be so many forms of unnecessary. If you don’t know what this film is about, I would like to know how you’ve managed to successfully live under a boulder for the past four years. This movie really does not need the usual set up. So let’s just jump right in.

The plot is expertly crafted in that the movie itself seems to run the plot as a sideline to the main conflict of the group not working as an actual team. And that works shockingly well in this movie. That isn’t to say the plot itself isn’t in any way a major element of this film. It just is not the central conflict per say. The general idea is pretty much everything you’ve see in the trailers. Loki is back, with an army of god knows what, to destroy Earth. It’s seriously that simple. Loki is going to kill all of us and the Avengers are tapped to stop him. Simple.

The characters are truly what make this movie shine though. They are all extraordinarily well done with each managing to bring exactly the personality they had in their own movies together into the team. This, of course, causes a massive personality clash which works as the central conflict of the film. You have the boy scout, the arrogant genius, the repressed monster, the god, the sultry spy, and the brash marksman with none of them really agreeing with each other. Each actor manages to not just portray, but quite literally BE their character. You can look at Robert Downey Jr. and think Tony Stark. You can look at Mark Ruffalo and see Bruce Banner. You can look at Chris Hemsworth and see Thor. Very few movies are able to do that perfectly but they manage it here. And that is why the characters drive this movie. The actors give so much and we see it all play out on screen beautifully. The writing also manages to give each character a very noticeable arc through the film. I’m not going to reveal all of those now because  I’m not that much of a jerk. But just trust me in that the characters are what make this movie as good as it is. By the end of it, you’ll have your favorite. I can guarantee that.

The effects need to be talked about, because they are absolutely AMAZING. I never really find myself to be a huge fan of CGI (I’m much more a traditional effects kind of guy) but these blew me away. The actions scenes, when they hit, are absolutely fantastic because of the great CGI and it genuinely looks like a real battle between aliens and super heroes (never thought I’d say that one). For another great example, the Helicarrier. I was blown away when it first transforms and takes off. The movie just looks absolutely great and whoever did their special effects work honestly needs an award of some sort.

As far as negatives go, I have heard one major complaint: that SHIELD as an organization doesn’t really do as much in this film as they should. In the comics, SHIELD is basically the most powerful Earth based defense super group in history. And honestly, they don’t do very much. They seem mostly to be based on The Avengers Initiative which seems to be a lot more “eggs in on basket” than a man like Nick Fury would be. However, I was really in the realm of uncaring on the whole issue. SHIELD does what it is supposed to do and, do to plot developments from mid-way through the film, it does seem like they were actually trying to grow into an organization that can more easily do that.

The interesting thing is this movie is actually incredibly funny. I found myself laughing far more than I thought I would. This probably comes from this movie, much like last time, being written by Joss Whedon and, much like before, it does nothing but help this movie come across as more realistic and natural. Overall the film is absolutely amazing. I was one of the few who was actually expecting a little less from it. Why? Because I’m cynical and I thought that there would be no way that Marvel could manage to tie all of these storylines up perfectly. I was more than happy to be proven completely and utterly wrong. Marvel, for the moment, can apparently do no wrong. If you in any way enjoyed the other films in the series, you’ll love this movie. Oh and don’t worry about it if you haven’t seen the Hulk because no one has. His character is also given a great explanation in this movie. I’m giving The Avengers a 5 out of 5. Go out, see it, love it, see it again, love it again, until eventually you’re out of cash. Also, stay through the credits. And I mean THE WHOLE credits. It’s worth it.