The Avengers

Marvel’s The Avengers. Dir. Joss Whedon. Perf. Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans. Walt Disney Pictures, 2012. Amazon Instant Video.

Annotation

This action packed movie is based upon the comic book series of the same name. Team up with The Hulk, Capitan America, Iron Man, the Black Widow, Hawk Eye, and Thor as they fight to save the planet from Loki’s plan of chaos and destruction.

Plot Summary

When Loki makes a deal with the Other: an army that will help him conquer the planet for the exchange of the Tesseract, a mysterious energy source that no one really seems to understand, all hell is about to break lose. After Loki steals the Tesseract, Nick Fury (head of S.H.I.E.L.D., the CIA like group that was responsible for the Tesseract), calls in the Avengers to reclaim the device from Loki and save the planet. Nothing is as simple as it seems on paper though, and the Avengers find themselves fighting their own battles as they prepare for war against an unknown enemy.

Critical Evaluation

This is an excellent super hero movie. When you watch it you can tell that Joss Whedon had a ton of fun making it. All of the special effects are amazing, not even the CGI Hulk looks bad, in fact he kinda even looks like Bruce Banner after he changes, which I thought was a really nice touch. Anyone who enjoys super heros or is a Whedon fan is going to have a blast watching this movie. My only complaint was that when I was viewing the film in HD the dark scenes were really dark, the color contrast was way hard to pick up, when I switched the stream over to SD it was much better though, so that’s probably just a problem with my television more than a production issue.

Author Information

Joss Whedon is a demi-god when it comes to science fiction and fantasy television and film. Making a name for himself with the teenage cult classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer (move and television series), he hasn’t done anything halfway since. Whedon is well known for his witty dialogue, dorky humor and writing a directing a series of excellent, if not misunderstood by networks, television programs such as Firefly, Angel, and most recently Dollhouse. He he also directed the major motion picture Cabin in the Woods, which came out in early 2012.

Genre

super heros, comics

Curriculum Ties

n/a

Reading Level/Interest Age 

13+

Challenge Issues

This movie is rated PG-13, there is a fair amount of violence and lots of explosions. We urge our patrons to choose material that is appropriate for them to watch.

Reason for Inclusion

This is a really great movie that I think will appeal to young men and women equally.