Avenger's review

Daniel Brizuela                                                                                                                                5/14/12

The Avengers review.

            Since the early 1960s, many people became fascinated by MARVEL’s answer to DC’s Justice League, The Avengers. With such famous comic book heroes like Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Thor, and so many other MARVEL characters it’s no wonder.

            Ever since superhero movies really took off in the early 2000s, fans have wanted there to be a film on the Avengers. It was 2008s Iron Man, where fans got their first glimpse at what would eventually become a series of superhero films leading up to an Avengers film.

            The excitement all started when Iron Man, directed by Jon Favreau and Robert Downey, Jr., in the title role that fixed his career after his decade long drug abuse in the 1990s, came out and they saw a scene after the credits ended where Samuel L. Jackson plays Nick Fury, the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D, telling Tony Stark that he’s not the only superhero in the world, and telling him of the Avengers Initiative. Originally that was put there as a joke for the fans since no one thought that Iron Man would become the success that it became.

            It was because of the success of Iron Man that eventually led to the idea of making an Avengers film seriously. After Iron Man, there was a scene added near the end of The Incredible Hulk the same year, which had Stark talking with the general in charge of hunting down the Hulk about putting a team together. Two years later Iron Man 2 was released and it too became a huge success thus making an Avengers film more possible. To show that iron Man wasn’t alone the post-credits scene had an S.H.I.E.L.D agent arrive in New Mexico to study what looks like Thor’s hammer in a crater.

            In 2011, two more movies were made that would eventually lead into The Avengers, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. First was Thor, with Australian Chris Hemsworth in the role and directed by Shakespearean actor/director Kenneth Branagh. In it, Thor has to learn how to get back home when he’s vanished to Earth in order to defeat his brother Loki while learning what it means to be a hero from humans. On the film’s post-credit scene, Fury shows one of the scientists that Thor befriended the Cosmic Cube and on his reflection is Loki, foreshadowing that he’s the main villain of The Avengers.

            The second 2011 film, Captain America, has Chris Evans in the role of Super Soldier Steve Rogers, directed by Joe Johnston. In it, weak and small Steve Rogers become buffed up and given tremendous strength, healing, and memory along with his iconic shield to fight the Nazis in World War Two and its science division HYDRA, led by The Red Skull, also given the Super Soldier serum but with bad results. HYDRA uses the Cosmic Cube as a weapon against its enemies, but thanks to Rogers they’re defeated, but in doing so he ends up frozen in the Arctic with only the Cube found. Captain next awakes in 1940s-style hospital room, but escapes and sees present-day Times Square and meets Fury telling he’s been frozen for over 70 years. The post-credit scene has Rogers training in a gym with Fury telling him about a mission that could help the world.

            That was the last scene shown before The Avengers came out at the beginning of May of 2012, which proved to be the long awaiting film it was going to be. In it, Loki arrives on Earth and steals the Cosmic Cube from S.H.I.E.L.D, along with a mind controlled Hawkeye and the scientist from Thor. After that, Fury has Agent Coulson recruit Stark, although still reluctant, and Black Widow recruit Bruce Banner, now played by Mark Ruffalo, voluntarily. When it looks like Iron Man and Captain America captured Loki, after Thor intervenes but decided let them take Loki, it all turns out to be part of Loki’s plan to turn Banner into the Hulk and divide the team.

            At first it works, but when Loki kills Coulson, who they all knew a lot, they all decide to work together to defeat Loki, with Hawkeye joining after being knocked out of the mind control. Loki opens a portal for a race of warrior aliens to go through and take over. Tony uses a new suit, Banner accepts the Hulk as a part of him which gives him control, and Captain America leads the team thanks to his military skills. The team defeats the alien army by driving a nuclear missile fired by the government to Manhattan and diverted by Stark through the portal to the alien ship. This helps the Avengers win the battle and at the end they all go their separate ways and Fury notes that if the world is in trouble, the Avengers will return. After the credits, the aliens realize they underestimated Earth and you see Thanos in the shadows.

            The Avengers has already become one of the greatest films of all time, having achieved great critical acclaim. The film has gotten praise in pretty much everything including its direction by Joss Whedon, its action, the actors-especially Ruffalo’s take on Banner surpassing Bana and Norton-, and many other things. The film had the biggest opening weekend for any film beating out the last Harry Potter film and the first to make over 200 million dollars and earning over a billion dollars in just 17 days, tying with Avatar and the last Harry Potter. Even then, they’re not done making more films as there will be more sequels to Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor, and spinoffs for Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and other superhero films that will lead to more Avengers films.