First Hit: Quips abound as these action heroes give the audience a good time.
A film with Robert Downey Jr. (as Iron Man) will have quips and he’s one of the best. However, in this film every one of the Avengers gets their day in the sun in both quip world and demonstrating their super powers.
The basic premise is a little unwieldy in that some super power generating light cube is found at the bottom of the ocean and aliens decide they need to control earth and the rest of the universe.
This story is enough for uniting superheroes to fight a common enemy. What makes this film fun are the separate storylines with each hero. When they each talk to each other it is of mutual respect and pointed sarcasm. I won’t share any of the quips here because it would take away from the best parts of the film.
With Iron Man, the Avengers are: Captain America (played by Chris Evans), The Hulk (played by Mark Ruffalo), Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (played by Jeremy Renner). They are loosely led by Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson). Additionally Pepper Potts (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) makes a couple of appearances which pulls Iron Man’s ego down appropriately.
I’m sure Downey made up a good portion of his lines and he’s good at it.
The 3D is effective in portraying depth and the visual effects. Unlike other films, scenes weren’t set-up for 3D, they just looked better in 3D.
Downey Jr. was wonderful as Iron Man and was the glue of this team. Evans was muscularly fantastic as the straight-laced Captain America. Ruffalo was wonderful and the guy who struggles to maintain inner peace or else his other self, “The Hulk”, reigns over havoc. Hemsworth is powerful and funny as the god Thor. Johansson is funny, fun, and strong as the Black Widow and the only female Avenger. Renner’s role as Hawkeye is first controlled by the enemy but then gets the sense knocked back into him and joins his buddies to fight the aliens. Jackson is alright, not great or as strong as the other characters, in his role as Nick Fury. Paltrow is perfect as Potts. Zak Penn and Joss Whedon wrote this funny, lively script. Whedon did a great job of making the film interesting through strong characterization of the Avengers, allowing each their day in the sun and humanness.
Overall: Although the film’s story is highly improbable, it was only there to showcase a lot of fun these actors had in their roles.