Hello and happy March!
I’m back with my goal of reviewing as many Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies that I can in 2021! This particular film is one of the biggest and most famous.
My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning. Because of this I will be vague in a few places to not give away things from earlier movies. This is absolutely spoiler-free! You will still get all of the surprises from watching the movie even after you’ve read this review.
I’m back with my goal of reviewing as many Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies that I can in 2021! This particular film is one of the biggest and most famous.
My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning. Because of this I will be vague in a few places to not give away things from earlier movies. This is absolutely spoiler-free! You will still get all of the surprises from watching the movie even after you’ve read this review.
If you've read my other Marvel reviews then you know the drill: you have to watch them in a certain way. This is one of those “do what I say, donʼt do what I do” because I watched them in the most random order, but I want you to get a good experience out of it.
There are two recommended ways for watching Marvel movies. They are:
In the order which they were made:
Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Thor: Dark World (2013), Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 (2014), Avengers: The Age of Ultron (2015), Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Dr. Strange (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Spider-man: Homecoming (2017), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), Avengers: Endgame (2019), & Spider-man: Far From Home (2019).
Or chronological order:
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Captain Marvel (2019), Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), The Incredible Hulk (2008), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Thor: Dark World (2013), Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: The Age of Ultron (2015), Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Black Panther (2018), Spider-man: Homecoming (2017), Dr. Strange (2016), Thor: Ragnorok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), & Spider-man: Far From Home (2019).
If you've never seen a Marvel movie before but want to try it, then this is a great film for that! In fact, I'd say that most fans started with this one (not me, I do everything backwards). If you haven't seen Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) or Thor (2011) then you might be confused in a few spots, but it will be cleared up pretty soon.
The Avengers (2012):
Based on: The Avengers comics - by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
The Tesseract, a powerful tool that no one knows how to control, has been taken by force from S.H.E.I.L.D. headquarters. Nick Fury goes into action along with Agent Coulson who start to assemble a team to fight off these otherworldly threats. Good people are working against them, though, under the power of mind control. The chosen group has many skills and weapons to bring to the table, but disagree on many things and are just as likely to turn against each other. They each have a past that haunts them, so will they be able to forget that and focus on the future? Will this team break apart before they are fully formed? How can so few hope to beat one with mischief in his veins and in control of an army?
Genres: Superhero, Action, Science-Fiction.
Length: approx. 143 minutes.
Script: 7. The script itself is genius (I’ll talk about that more in a minute) but there is a smattering of bad words. Not the worst that I’ve heard, I’m just a little annoyed with it because it is unnecessary.
Starring: (I have been thinking lately about changing up my system for saying who is in a movie. Sometimes, especially with the Marvel movies, knowing the characters in each film are major spoilers! For right now I’m only going to list the ten most important characters, like I do for TV shows. What do you think of this? Any suggestions?)
1. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark.
2. Chris Evans as Steve Rogers.
3. Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner.
4. Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff.
5. Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton.
6. Chris Hemsworth as Thor.
7. Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.
8. Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson.
9. Tom Hiddleston as Loki.
10. Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill.
Costumes: 7. There’s a scene where someone isn’t wearing anything, but the audience doesn’t see any of that. Each character's suits are fitting to their abilities!
Cinematography: 9. I didn’t notice it until it was pointed out to me, but there is one scene that is truly a masterpiece with constantly changing angles to reflect how everyone is feeling. It’s an action movie so there are a lot of fight scenes which are well choreographed. I absolutely love all of what is done with Hawkeye’s weapon, a bow and arrows!
Cinematography by: Seamus McGarvey.
Music: 10. I’ve been listening to the score while I write this and it is just epic all around!
Music by: Alan Silvestri.
Notes: Be on the look out for a cameo from Stan Lee, and don’t forget about the post credits scenes! There are also a lot of references to other things, to which we all do this:
Quotability: 10. Everything that comes out of these characters’ mouths are iconic! Tony Stark’s nicknames for everyone are hilarious. The context behind this had a great build-up!:
Good For: My first response to this category is usually to say fans of the genre, but as a really insightful post of Sam’s (read it HERE, but be warned that there are spoilers for Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)) pointed out, you don’t have to be a fan of action to love this! It has a compelling story about bravery, sacrifice, and friendship. The characters are amazing and unique! Tony Stark can be hard to like for some, but that is who he is. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good story filled with depth!
Age Range: This is PG-13 for all of the violence and scary things, and I would agree with that. BUT, it all depends on each individual’s tolerance level! I know I would’ve been fine with seeing this when I was 10, but others might be more comfortable around it at 15. Don’t let that worry you too much, and focus on the core of the story and not what is happening on the surface.
Overall Score: 8.5!
Worth watching?: Sure thing! The amount of detail and subtlety in here went past me the first time I watched it. I can’t believe that I thought, “That was cool.” and just moved on! It is so much more than “cool”!
Will I watch again?: Is this even a question? Yes! The last time I watched it I did an exercise routine, so anytime certain characters say particular phrases then I had to do an assigned exercise. It was fun, but exhausting and I’m looking forward to being able to watch it without all of that.
Bonus thoughts:
I feel like I’ve been so ecstatic in this whole review, so there’s not much to add! This movie broke records and changed the way that we saw superhero films. It is a valuable part of the MCU!
Thank you for reading! Let’s chat and you can tell me what you love about this movie if you’ve seen it before. If you haven’t, then tell me if you would now be interested in doing so! Who else loves Hawkeye in this because he is the best ever? Who gets annoyed with Tony here and who (aka me) really thinks that he is awesome? Have a good day!
MovieCritic
The Tesseract, a powerful tool that no one knows how to control, has been taken by force from S.H.E.I.L.D. headquarters. Nick Fury goes into action along with Agent Coulson who start to assemble a team to fight off these otherworldly threats. Good people are working against them, though, under the power of mind control. The chosen group has many skills and weapons to bring to the table, but disagree on many things and are just as likely to turn against each other. They each have a past that haunts them, so will they be able to forget that and focus on the future? Will this team break apart before they are fully formed? How can so few hope to beat one with mischief in his veins and in control of an army?
“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”
Length: approx. 143 minutes.
Script: 7. The script itself is genius (I’ll talk about that more in a minute) but there is a smattering of bad words. Not the worst that I’ve heard, I’m just a little annoyed with it because it is unnecessary.
‘“Is everything a joke to you?”
“Funny things are.”’
(aka, my reaction to everything)
Crew: Directed by: Joss Whedon. Written by: Joss Whedon & Zak Penn.Starring: (I have been thinking lately about changing up my system for saying who is in a movie. Sometimes, especially with the Marvel movies, knowing the characters in each film are major spoilers! For right now I’m only going to list the ten most important characters, like I do for TV shows. What do you think of this? Any suggestions?)
1. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark.
‘“Stark, we need a plan of attack!”
“I have a plan: attack!”’
8. Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson.
9. Tom Hiddleston as Loki.
10. Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill.
Costumes: 7. There’s a scene where someone isn’t wearing anything, but the audience doesn’t see any of that. Each character's suits are fitting to their abilities!
Cinematography: 9. I didn’t notice it until it was pointed out to me, but there is one scene that is truly a masterpiece with constantly changing angles to reflect how everyone is feeling. It’s an action movie so there are a lot of fight scenes which are well choreographed. I absolutely love all of what is done with Hawkeye’s weapon, a bow and arrows!
Music: 10. I’ve been listening to the score while I write this and it is just epic all around!
Music by: Alan Silvestri.
Notes: Be on the look out for a cameo from Stan Lee, and don’t forget about the post credits scenes! There are also a lot of references to other things, to which we all do this:
‘“I thought we were having a moment.”
“I was having 12% of a moment.”’
Content: 6. This has a lot of fighting which includes physical violence, explosions, and killing. Briefly, there are a few suggestive lines and a mention of attempted suicide. There is also the fact that there are “gods” in here. I don’t believe in those myths at all, but I accept it here as fantasy. Plus, as Captain America says:“There's only one God, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that.”
Originality: 9. Movies where a team has to come together are really awesome, and this is one of the best! All of the dynamics and problems are extremely original and creative. All of the elements and powers merge together so well!
Age Range: This is PG-13 for all of the violence and scary things, and I would agree with that. BUT, it all depends on each individual’s tolerance level! I know I would’ve been fine with seeing this when I was 10, but others might be more comfortable around it at 15. Don’t let that worry you too much, and focus on the core of the story and not what is happening on the surface.
Overall Score: 8.5!
Will I watch again?: Is this even a question? Yes! The last time I watched it I did an exercise routine, so anytime certain characters say particular phrases then I had to do an assigned exercise. It was fun, but exhausting and I’m looking forward to being able to watch it without all of that.
Bonus thoughts:
I feel like I’ve been so ecstatic in this whole review, so there’s not much to add! This movie broke records and changed the way that we saw superhero films. It is a valuable part of the MCU!
Thank you for reading! Let’s chat and you can tell me what you love about this movie if you’ve seen it before. If you haven’t, then tell me if you would now be interested in doing so! Who else loves Hawkeye in this because he is the best ever? Who gets annoyed with Tony here and who (aka me) really thinks that he is awesome? Have a good day!
MovieCritic
Great review! (And thank you so much for linking my post!)
ReplyDeleteOoh, what's the scene with the changing camera angles for different emotions? I've watched the movie twice, and not caught onto that at all. XD
Hawkeye is the best ever, but I only really started appreciating him in Age of Ultron, so I may have to watch this one again one of these days...(twist my arm, haha)
And I, like you, think Tony is awesome! But then again, I almost always think he's awesome, so that's not saying a whole lot. XD
Thank you! No problem! :)
DeleteI probably would never have noticed it if it hadn't been strictly pointed out to me. XD It is the scene that I have a picture of right below where I mention the cinematography. They are all arguing about what to do ending in Bruce grabbing Loki's scepter. It shows off their feelings by the camera angles, because, for example, the camera is looking up at Thor showing how he is looking down on everyone else, etc.
I get that! At first he was the cool guy with sweet skills but in Age of Ultron we really got to see a different side to him! Ah, I just love Clint.
It was such a surprise to me because he is a kind of character I wouldn't usually like! You saw the good parts of him right away. ;)
This was the movie that started everything for me! I remember when it came out in 2012 (which was an epic year all together) it was Avengers mania. Especially on Blogger. Everyone was obsessed with The Avengers and the MCU. That was a fun summer : )
ReplyDeleteMy favorite scene is when the German man refused to bow to Loki and said that there will always been men like him. When I saw that for the first time, I literally couldn't breathe. It was possibly the most beautiful moments in the whole MCU. That's when I realized this is not like other movies.
Hawkeye! The hot archer who just came out of nowhere and nobody cared to ask why. Because when you're that awesome you don't need an explanation!
Great review! You're making me want to rewatch it now.
Goodness, I can only imagine! That sounds like that summer was a blast! I loved being part of the excitement around Endgame so I'm sure the beginning was awesome when no one had no idea where it would go. Ah, so many good movies came out in 2012 and I'm only seeing them years later.
DeleteI always say that I like Loki a lot (I still do!) but I absolutely agree that it is one of the best scenes. In that moment he is so wrapped up in doing what he thinks is merciful and the man tells all of the others what he really is and won't submit to it. Ack, just thinking about it is making me teary!
Bingo! He was just awesome from the beginning and we all loved him. He has a great entrance proving how smart and capable he is and we were all hooked from there on out!
Thank you so much, Ivy! I want to see it again, too!
Great review! I love this movie so much. If I'm remembering correctly, it was the forth MCU movie that I saw, but it was definitely what got me into the Marvel fandom.
ReplyDeleteI really like Hawkeye. He isn't my favorite, BUT HE'S SO COOL, and he's an archer, so I really like that.
I love Tony, but I understand why other people think he's annoying.
Thanks, McKayla! Because it was such an early one for me I didn't really appreciate it, but rewatching it blows my mind by how much I missed.
DeleteArchers are amazing in almost all circumstances!
Same! I feel like the majority of people warmed up to him by Endgame.
One of my absolute favorites from the MCU. The very first one I saw, actually, which was a bit confusing because I didn't know anything about Marvel. I plan to watch it again soon!
ReplyDeleteIt was one of the first my sisters saw, too, but it is done very well that it doesn't need to much explanation after the first part. I hope you enjoy your rewatch!
DeleteThis is a great review! I haven't seen a single Avengers movie, but I think I'll have to watch one sometime soon. My sister actually watched Endgame first, so if I watch them I'll be sure to follow the right order. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's so sweet of you to say, Miss K! In my opinion Endgame is the best, but it is even more impressive when you know everything leading up to it, so watching it in the right order is a good choice. ;) I hope you have fun seeing them for the first time!
DeleteWhat's interesting about watching it now is comparing it to the other Avengers movies. There's a very clear distinction that makes this one look almost cheap, but in a good way that let's you know "yeah, this is the original, this is what got everything started".
ReplyDeleteThat's true! Compared to the others, the visual effects and technology is simpler, but there's something about it that set just the right tone for the entire MCU to work off of an improve on.
DeleteSuch a good one!
ReplyDeleteTruly brilliant!
DeleteTHAT CAMERA ANGLE SCENE. <3 Man, MC, you are making me so nostalgic for this movie! All the quotes! And your use of the "I understood that reference" gif was gold. :)
ReplyDeleteYES! <3 I'm making myself want to see it again, too, after all of this talking about it! :D Haha, I'm glad you thought it was funny! I've been wanting to use that gif for ages and it seemed like I couldn't get a better opportunity. ;)
DeleteAvengers is so good! It's probably one of my personal favourites of all the movies
ReplyDeleteI love it! A perfect choice for one of your favorites as it sets the stage for the greatness to follow!
DeleteThis is one of my top ten movies of all time, and the movie I've seen the most times in the theater, thanks to it getting reshown now and then. It is magnificent. And SO quotable! That line of Nick Fury's about behaving as the the world intends to spin on? I sad that SO OFTEN a year ago when people were like, "What are you going to do about the Coronavirus?" It was very useful.
ReplyDeleteAlso, btw, I tagged you with the Fandom Tag :-)
DeleteLucky! Getting to see it in theater sounds like a fantastic experience, and so many times, too! I've only seen Endgame and Far From Home in theater and both of them blew me away there so I can only imagine seeing where all of it started.
DeleteThat is the perfect response! I sometimes forget that life moves on and this is a good reminder for me.
Thanks again for the tag! I had a jolly good time answering the questions! :-)