The Avengers is not worthy of placement on a pedestal, nor does it belong on any lists of the best cinematic masterpieces of all time. It cannot be placed on the other end of the spectrum, either- it is nothing atrocious nor any sort of slap in the face to film or comic book lovers. It is safe to say that all audiences will find redeeming qualities in the story (or, I suppose I should say stories), characters and visuals. However, that does not imply that parents should bring their 2-year-old children to see it, as was the case in the theater in which I was seated, desperately attempting to focus on the screen amid their terrified cries, which were justifiable given their age. "PG-13" can be up to certain discression, but pretty sure there is general agreement that a PG-13 audience should not include 2-year-olds.
Anyways, back to my point. I was substantially entertained by the story, but on that same note feel that for audiences aside from those who avidly read Marvel comics or who, like me, took courses on Norse Mythology in college, the story surrounding the multitude of superheroes could get a bit murky. There are allusions to Norse gods Loki and Thor and their relationship as well as their mythological home of Asgard. In retrospect, the presentation of this information was portrayed clearly enough, but I feel that my background paved the way for a much better understanding.
Personally, I have not seen Captain America nor Thor, and I have not read the comic books pertaining to Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) or Hawkeye, so I was completely in the dark about their histories. Captain America's past was explained well in the movie, but I am still scratching my head about the other two. Granted, the running time for the film was plenty long at 2 hours and 22 minutes, so any more explanation would probably have made my butt numb from sitting for too long and given me restless leg syndrome. If a goal of the lack of clarity surrounding the members of The Avengers was to make me want to see the other films, then goal achieved.
I have heard criticisms that there were not enough fighting scenes. Perhaps this ties in as well with the need to regurgitate a lot of information like a mother bird regurgitating worms, but I thought there was a sufficient amount of action. Granted, some of it was filmed at extremely strange and nauseating angles (for instance, at one point the camera filming Scarlett kicking some guy's butt is completely upside-down) which I do not think added any value.
Overall, I dub The Avengers good entertainment, though somewhat of a head-scratcher except for die hard comic book fans. Also, if you have really young kids, please think twice about bringing them to a PG-13 movie. You will end up pissing off everyone else in the audience, and likely having to leave when your kid gets freaked out and starts crying. Can't say the MPAA didn't warn you,
Anyways, back to my point. I was substantially entertained by the story, but on that same note feel that for audiences aside from those who avidly read Marvel comics or who, like me, took courses on Norse Mythology in college, the story surrounding the multitude of superheroes could get a bit murky. There are allusions to Norse gods Loki and Thor and their relationship as well as their mythological home of Asgard. In retrospect, the presentation of this information was portrayed clearly enough, but I feel that my background paved the way for a much better understanding.
Personally, I have not seen Captain America nor Thor, and I have not read the comic books pertaining to Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) or Hawkeye, so I was completely in the dark about their histories. Captain America's past was explained well in the movie, but I am still scratching my head about the other two. Granted, the running time for the film was plenty long at 2 hours and 22 minutes, so any more explanation would probably have made my butt numb from sitting for too long and given me restless leg syndrome. If a goal of the lack of clarity surrounding the members of The Avengers was to make me want to see the other films, then goal achieved.
I have heard criticisms that there were not enough fighting scenes. Perhaps this ties in as well with the need to regurgitate a lot of information like a mother bird regurgitating worms, but I thought there was a sufficient amount of action. Granted, some of it was filmed at extremely strange and nauseating angles (for instance, at one point the camera filming Scarlett kicking some guy's butt is completely upside-down) which I do not think added any value.
Overall, I dub The Avengers good entertainment, though somewhat of a head-scratcher except for die hard comic book fans. Also, if you have really young kids, please think twice about bringing them to a PG-13 movie. You will end up pissing off everyone else in the audience, and likely having to leave when your kid gets freaked out and starts crying. Can't say the MPAA didn't warn you,
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