The Avengers

Six Marvel Comics superheroes, four of whom have had their own film franchises, come together in one great big action adventure movie. Hulk. Iron Man. Thor. Captain America. Black Widow. Hawkeye. Brought together by Nick Fury, head of S.H.I.E.L.D. Ever since the after-the-credits scene in Iron Man teased the idea, fans have been eagerly awaiting The Avengers, hoping it would live up to its potential.

It’s not an easy task. The film has to balance the different characters, making sure they play off well against each other, making sure each has plenty of screen time and “awesome moments”, and making sure it builds just enough on each characters’ own film franchise. It has to be exciting, it has to be inspiring, it has to be at least a little witty, and it has to have just a bit of emotional depth. It has to make the audience want to see more Avengers films, more films from the established character film franchises, and hopefully films with the characters who didn’t have franchises before. It has to do a lot.

It does it. Continue reading