Editor’s Note: The following reflects the opinions of the author.
After many years of watching Samuel L. Jackson pop up at the end of our favorite super-hero movies – “Iron-Man,” Captain America” and the rest of the gang – “The Avengers” finally came together this past May.
It was a blockbuster, accruing enough money to earn the ranking of third highest-grossing movie of all time, according to Forbes.com. And now it is coming to the university as a part of the APPS Super Cinema Film Series.
Now, some people may have gone to see this film just because Scarlet Johansson was playing Black Widow – we’re looking at you, fellas. And ladies, surely Chris Hemsworth as the Norse God Thor factored into you letting your boyfriends drag you along. The rest of the movie goers saw the potential for cinematic gold by placing so many promising actors into one film.
For starters, you have the one and only Samuel L. Jackson, action hero to movie fans everywhere. He plays Nick Fury, the man with the plan who assembles “The Avengers Initiative.” As director of the organization known as SHIELD, Fury and his partner agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) went from movie to movie collecting Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Dr. Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Thor.
Other notables featured are the previously mentioned Black Widow – aka Natasha Romanoff – and Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner). Both are SHIELD agents and make appearances in “Iron Man 2” and “Thor,” respectively.
The super villain of the plot is Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor’s brother. Loki’s cunning provides several challenges for The Avengers to overcome and tests their ability to work together.
Where “The Avengers” really stands out among other great films is its ability to demand a full array of emotions out of the audience. Director Joss Whedon clearly knew what he was doing when he decided to take the story in such a direction that he could make the audience laugh, cry, sigh at defeat and yell across the theater in triumph. Not to mention all of the awesome effects, intensive CGI , fast-paced action scenes and hard-hitting super-hero fights.
The aspect of the film that really ties everything together cohesively is the superb script. From the cunning and some-what snobby speech of Loki to Stark’s classic, suave one-liners, every character comes alive in their natural demeanor thanks to excellent writing.
The final gift Whedon offers Marvel fans is the ending of the film, which ultimately points to “The Avengers 2.” Those fans are sure to not be disappointed with a sequel to such a phenomenal motion picture.
So this coming weekend, if you and a few friends want to go see an awesome movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat, you can’t go wrong with “The Avengers.”
It will show at I.G. Greer Auditorium this Thursday through Saturday at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $1 and the film is rated PG-13.
Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars
Story: BRANDON ALLISON, Intern A&E Reporter