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Assemble the InitiativeWednesday, May 23, 2012 By Courtney Inbody
96 800x600 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} “If we can’t protect the earth, you can be sure we will avenge it.” Yes, this cheesy line, which alludes to the title of the biggest box-office-weekend-opener, was said, and will be remembered as the cheesiest line ever, but who cares. As Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) rounds up the Marvel gang, the Avengers Initiative is back, and doesn’t disappoint, at all. For all you non-Marvelites, or comic book junkies, The Avengers is a team of rippling biceps, flowing capes, tight suits and… well, avengers. It all started with Iron Man, aka Tony Stark, as he was approached by the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) The original name for this round-up-all-the-Marvel-heroes-organization was the Supreme Headquarters of International Espionage Law-Enforcement Division, but for the United States and newly applied Homeland Security, here you go. The movie starts off with the Asgardian demigod Loki (Tom Hiddleston) talking to “The Other,” the leader of the Chitauri, another alien race. Promising him an army to take over Earth and rid it of its freedom, The Other gives Loki enough power to open a portal to the human world through a tiny glowing blue box, the Tesseract. Once Loki steps foot on the human planet, the action begins. He escapes capture and the movie is finally set up for its obvious “super villain taking over the world, therefore the heroes must save it” mentality. One would think that bringing together a Norse demigod, a “genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist” suit-of-armor wearing stud, a World War II superhuman experiment gone right, two assassins working for the good guys and a green monster would work. Unfortunately, their clashing personalities and brooding backgrounds prevent them from working as the team that viewers around the world hope for, at first. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) clashes with Captain America, aka Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) because of his father’s involvement in finding him. Iron Man and Captain America clash with Thor (Chris Hemsworth) because he comes to Earth from a thundercloud to bring his brother, Loki, back home to Asgard. Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Natasha Romanov, aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) have a past that neither is proud of. The movie’s saving grace was the one person who could kill everyone, literally. Bringing in Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and giving him a human form, was the greatest decision director Joss Whedon could have done for the Avengers. The gamma-radiation affected doctor provides the tipping point for the team, as they don’t know if they can trust him and his alter-ego, the bulging green monster, the Hulk. For their sake, and for the world’s, they have to. Loki finds the Avengers on their invisible Helicarrier, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s operating base in the sky, which is very realistic in its portrayal through mirrors and reflected light. The superheroes somehow find their way back to each other on the streets of a trampled New York City. As Chitauri aliens and ginormous metal leviathans navigate through the falling buildings and screaming people, Captain America calls out the troops for one last war to save the East Coast. The Avengers is the movie to see, and deserves its role as the highest grossing weekend opening CGI (computer-generated imagery) created masterpiece of the year. Think of Transformers meets the hottest superheroes ever, add in a dash of attitude, a sprinkle of fear, and a shot of camera effects, and you’ve got the chart-topping movie that anyone can, and will, love. |