Movie Review: The Avengers

Words. Words can't describe how much I loved this movie. The first time I saw The Avengers, I quietly muttered, "Joss Whedon...I love you," under my breath as the credits rolled. I say, the first time because I saw The Avengers TWICE last weekend. Yes, I was on the frontlines of geekdom on the film's opening night at the Arclight in Pasadena. The theater was like a giant club house. We hollered, laughed and sat awestruck with mouths aghast (at least, I did!) over the miracle that unfolded before our eyes. That was the first screening.

20 year dream come true!

Round two happened the next night, i.e. Saturday...less than 24 hours later, with my girlfriend at our local movie theater. She's become quite familiar with the Marvel universe after having viewed all the previous Marvel films leading up to The Avengers (plus years of listening to my geeky rants about mutants, Celestials and Thor kicking Superman's ass) but even if she wasn't tainted by my Marvel fanboy-ism, like our friend who came along and had never seen any of the other films before, they both loved it! Not only is this the pinnacle of comic book movies, it's also a totally rad summer popcorn blockbuster that doesn't blatantly insult your intelligence (take that Michael Bay!).

So the movie, it's amazing. Joss Whedon's script and direction are superb. The film's pacing is exhausting but in a good way. I'm sure you've all seen snippets of commercials for movies that say "So and so from the Daily Bugle calls it, 'a nonstop thrill ride!" Well, that's how The Avenger's is. Whedon's film is a legitimate nonstop thrill ride. It's the fastest 2 hours and 15 minutes of your life, trust me. Not only is the action and special effects mind bogglingly awesome, but The Avenger's is also one of the funniest movies I've seen in ages. There are several L-O-L moments throughout the film that had the entire audience in stitches.

Of course something must be said about the cast. They're phenomenal. All of them. Even Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner (as Black Widow and Hawkeye) who did jack shit with their roles in Iron Man 2 and Thor, even they brought it home with their performances in The Avengers. All praises due to my boy Loki! Again, after stealing the show in Thor he's like super smooth evil asshole perfection in The Avengers. Also, The Hulk....never has he been more awesome than in this movie. NEVER!

Hands down, the raddest movie of the year. I don't care how great The Dark Knight Rises might be, nothing compares to the 20 year nerd-gasm I had watching The Avengers (twice!).