This Tuesday, I got a call. My friend wanted to ask if I wanted to go with him to an advance screening of "The Avengers" on Thursday (19/04/2012) (or rather, "Avengers Assemble" here, as they seem to think we'll confuse it with the old British series (okay, my annoyance/arrogance stems from actually not knowing what this series is, so sorry for that)). At first, I had to tell him I'd ring back. I'd promised someone that we'd see "The Avengers" when it was released, and we'd been planning this since it was first announced. I liked to think I had principles. Then I decided, no, I really don't called him back, said yes and thought I'd watch it again anyways.
Thursday, we arrived, and I shouldn't have been surprised: our phones were taken from us and we were scanned before we were even allowed to enter. To that point, I hadn't really realised what I was about to see. Or perhaps didn't believe it. But after a gruelling hour of promotion from the cinema and speeches from a local charity (sorry, must sound like a monster, I did donate to the charity) it began and...
It was simply awesome. The main thing about it that struck me at the end, is that it was genuinely funny. Not in a that-was-really-bad-so-it's-funny way either, I'm talking about the script. It's atypical Whedon whit. There were moments where the entire cinema were bawling in hysteric bliss because it was that funny. Admittedly, there were some phrases that were corny, or yano, classic, but they were needed for the film and ultimately, the team to work.
That in itself was another thing I was impressed by: the way they balanced out the team. I gained this great sense of joy from the equilibrium pervading the film: each member had their own part, it wasn't heavily focused on one or the other like I was expecting. I was also surprised by the performance of some of the cast; especially Cobie Smulders during the opening and Mark Ruffalo was great as Banner (had some cool, nervous hands thing some of the time, it was great). Not to say that the other cast weren't great, because they were, these two just surprised me.
As I said above about the balance with characters, the same is to be said for the action as well: nicely spread out and paced. Admittedly, there were some little things with the plot that I had issues with; but I think some things have been cut from the final product (assuming this from interviews), because then it would make more sense if these were left in. Otherwise, there are some unexpected events that occur but ultimately it is sort of formulaic, but it had to be if there were gonna be sequels and stuff I guess. One other thing I must mention is the CGI: wow. Just wow. Brilliantly crafted. The are some bits where it lacked, but with the action scenes it was pretty much top notch (also; action scene in there that sort of reminded me of Buffy and Faith's battle at the end of S3 of "Buffy"; filmed similarly).
Anyways, just my informal stream of my thoughts and impressions, and on the whole: awesome. There was someone who I heard say that the film "redefined the superhero genre". I think I'd have to disagree with that. It doesn't re-define it. It's perhaps better to say that is a definition of what a superhero film should be, renewed for a new era. It is the rule itself, rather than the exception, which in this case: works great for it.
P.S. STAY AFTER THE CREDITS! THERE IS SOMETHING THAT FOLLOWS!
P.S. Sorry, couldn't say much more without spoiling. But, definitely, go watch.
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