Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is one of those movies that I had an interest in seeing after the first trailer because even if the story and the acting were not so good, I would still get to see a movie full of songs from the '80's particularly from a lot of the hair bands, that in and of itself could make everything in the movie worth seeing. Rock of Ages while it is the story of two young musicians in Los Angeles who are working in The Bourbon Room, biding their time until they catch their own big break in the music business. While the movie was enjoyable I found it to be very different from what was promoted in the trailers. Based on the trailers you get a definite feeling that the movie centers around Tom Cruise's character of Stacee Jaxx and not the story between Sherie (Julianne Hough) and Drew (Diego Boneta). While what happens in the movie is different than the feeling of the story of the trailer, it did make sense because the marketing people who are in charge of putting butts in the seats, featuring Tom Cruise will get a better turn out to the theaters over two relatively unknowns in Hough and Boneta. In the end I found the performances and the songs to be what really worked for Rock of Ages and I felt the story could have been stronger to support everything else.

Even though his character is that of a supporting character Tom Cruise in the role of Stacee Jaxx was a very strong role for him. While I don't believe it to be to the same iconic role as Depp's Jack Sparrow, but I do think this is one of those roles that we will look back and view this as one of Cruise's stellar roles when looking back on his entire career. Cruise had all of the mannerisms one would expect from a lead man in an '80's hair band and he had them down pat. He played an eccentric rock star so perfectly and he had moments where he was so incoherent at times and made no sense that you truly believe he was an actual musician from the '80's. Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta in the roles of Sherie and Drew have a good amount of chemistry together. While this is the first movie I have seen either of these two act in and while I think both of them showed a lot of promise in their roles. While they did show a lot of potential talent I think that the roles did not ask either of them have to do more other then sing. The rest of the supporting cast for Rock of Ages all do great jobs. Catherine Zeta-Jones as the holier than thou woman out to take back the Sunset Strip bu waging a war against The Bourbon Room and Rock 'n' Roll was a lot better then what I thought she would do. Baldwin and Brand were the greatest comedy duo I have seen in a musical and they worked so well together.

Where the performances I found to be strong, I feel that the story really lacked a lot in the end. I felt that the story was almost non-existent and was almost just there to move from one song to the next. I wanted the story to have not only an actual depth, but give us more on the characters. I wanted to know what had happened with Jaxx in his past that took him down the path that led him to the point of when the movie took place. This lack of depth really hurt the overall story and in the end it could have made the movie even better in the end. With this being based on a Broadway musical and having not seen it I do not know how much the story may be different then the original, but I just really wanted more in the end. With a musical on stage the audience is their live and so you are drawn in a lot easier and so I think the story flows plays a smaller role.

Of course in the musical movie genre the music and singing is vital. In Rock of Ages the music does not disappoint. With technology today they can allow the actors to actually do the singing because they can auto-tune all of the actors to sound fairly decent, which for the Broadway musical they can not do. With a live stage musical the actors have to be actually able to sing as well. It made it really nice to be able to know when Cruise was singing that you could tell it was actually his voice and not some singer that is singing instead of Cruise. The music used from Journey, Poison, Def Leppard among others were perfect. This type of music is fun to listen to and is really catchy and really makes you want to sing along. The best singing aspect that took place in the entire movie was the duet for "I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore" by Brand and Baldwin.This duet had me doubled over laughing throughout because both of them went all out in the selling of the duet.

Rock of Ages ended up being a fairly enjoyable movie that anyone can go in sit back, enjoy and they will recognize most of the songs that are played throughout. Tom Cruise's performance was spot on and he really went all in on this role. The songs are fun and even though the story was a little lackluster, I am still giving Rock of Ages three buckets of popcorn out of five. This movie is worth the price of a movie theater ticker. simply for the songs to be heard within a theater full with such great sound and amazing surround sound.

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 is one of those movies that I was glad to let my wife go with a bunch of her friends. I knew that I would eventually end up seeing it when it was out on dvd. The previous installments have built up for this installment and the next one that comes out in November of 2012, and while the past installments have had some decent action sequence moments, I was hoping for more of the same in Breaking Dawn Part 1, yet I was very disappointed that all the focus ended up being on the wedding, honeymoon and the pregnancy. The focus ended up being solely relationship building on Edward and Bella's love, without action or something ended up really missing some key components for it to an alright movie.

The acting ended up being the same as the three previous installments. Kristen Stewart while I think she has had some roles where she has shown the talent she has. I am disappointed in what she brought this time around. I am not sure if it is how Bella is written, but the emotion that is required seems to be nothing more then just to seem kind of sulky and nothing else. Taylor Lautner and Robert pattinson in the end do not bring anything to their roles, I think Lautner serves the only purpose of being eye candy for women watching the movie because it is like they find every reason possible to have him on screen without his shirt. I think the only role which I enjoy is that of Sheriff Swan and in the end he is under used. I feel like there is so mch more to his character and we never get it. The rest of the supporting cast are all forgettable and I can not tell what purpose some of the characters even serve in the end.

The story for Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 ends up being simply focused on Edward and Bella. While part of the pack of werewolves end up beig the antagonist for this installment, nothing really amounts actoin wist to anything so in the end to me it just does not have the bite of having an antagonist especially when compared to what Bella and Edward have gone up against in the first three installments. So with the story for me it ends up being boring because in the end it does not end up building to any true pay off action sequence, so you leave feeling completely unfulfilled. With Bella getting pregnant and the excuses she comes up with to tell her parents for why she can not see them, I do not now why her parents are just fine with sitting back and waiting to hear from her. If I had a child who while on a honeymoon lets me know that she is seeing a specialist in Switzerland because 

of how sick she got on the honeymoon, I would be on the first plane to Switzerland to be there no matter what she said. I know it was wat was needed to keep her parents away I just think they could have come up with something a lot easier to believe a parent would actually do. For me as well the story just really could have used better character development because in the end I did not care what was happening. The important thing is for the story for a movie to take the wiewer on a journey and unfortunately the journey went nowhere at a ridiculously slow speed.

The one good aspect of this movie is the special effects. Adter how cheesy the effects were in the first movie it is good to see that they have put the moenty necessary for the effects to be seamless. I am hoping it is CGI that they used to show how thin Bella got from the baby taking so much nutrition from her. She was truly so thin that it grossed me out a little bit. The other effects of the werewolves I really find to be done decently. I am not sure if they use contacts or if they just alter the eyes in the end, but the red eyes they uses for the vampires is a cool effect. This effect has its biggest pop definitely at the very end of the movie.

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 was a movie that while it connected with most women, most men are going to truly dislike because it was a movie that focused on the romantic relationship without much else. So this focus without mcuh else does not give us a journey to go on which while the mvoie is about the relationships it really lacks additional character development and depth. I am giving Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 one and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. With movies based on book series I want the movie to improve as each movie progresses and this movie was far from doing that. This is definitely a movie not worth renting.

-The Movie Man

Battleship





Battleship is one of those movies that I completely wonder what the critics went into this movie expecting? I mean this is a movie that is loosely based on a board game in which the players try to guess where the opponent has placed their ships. So I went into this movie expecting a lot of special effects, CGI and action with a super thin plot of basically aliens invading and it is up to a few ships as they end up playing out the battle for earth at sea. For myself I really enjoy science fiction type movies and so I really go into these types of movies not judging what has been said by critics. While Hasbro may not have hit the success like they may have had with the Transformers franchise, I did not find this movie to be as horrible as many critics and others have felt that this movie to be. Battleship is one of those aliens invading movies and the human race is the definite underdog that the audience just needs to sit back relax and enjoy the ride.

Taylor Kitsch in the role of Lt. Alex Hopper did the best that he could with what the role offered him. We get a little character development and set up of who his character is at the beginning and then from that point we get nothing. Kitsch though seems to hold his own through the action and I felt that had the dialogue been stronger it would have only made his performance that much more powerful. Having seen Kitsch in the TV series of Friday Night Lights and what he is able to do with strongly written dialogue I see that he has great potential on the big screen he just needs a role in which the dialogue he is given will match what he can turn out. Liam Neeson in a small role of Admiral Shane, ends up playing the strict father and Navy commander that demands perfection from the sailors in the Navy exactly how a Navy commander would be. While Neeson has had poor choices from time to time he still seems to be able to deliver strong performances even if it is a role that does not require much from him. Brooklyn Decker in the role of Samantha Shane, Kitsch's love interest in the film really ends up being not much more then eye candy. While with her role I think they tried to instill her more as to being able to not just being a helpless damsel in distress, she never really amounted to  being believable in being a part of the action. Rihanna in the role of Petty Officer Cora, really did not amount like I would have expected her to be. I think she ended up being a secondary character that really got lost in the shuffle with all the other secondary characters. I wanted to see her play the role with a stronger amount of toughness and really be a better character then all the others. The supporting cast all for the most part end up being fairly unmemorable, aside from the Japanese ship Captain played by Tadanobu Asano. The chemistry that is developed between him and Kitsch as this rivalry at the beginning to the respect that they end up having one with another.

The story is where Battleship truly lacked a lot and had it had a strong story and plot to go along with the action this movie could have really been a lot stronger. The first fifteen minutes of Battleship end up feeling fairly slow, simply because this is the part of the movie where we get the character development set up and then after that point there is no character development that takes place. The main aspect of the story is that scientists have created a deep space satellite to attempt to make contact with a planet that has a similar relationship to a sun as Earth. Of course, this leads to an actual alien response of a small fleet of ships coming to earth and the aliens having an apparent desire to takeover the earth. Unfortunately, I feel like they missed a golden opportunity to really help make the story stronger, by simply giving us a little depth to what made the aliens desire to actually come across space to invade earth. I found myself wanting to know more and wishing that I knew the purpose behind the invasion. The story layout was not all bad though, I think the great aspect they worked on was that the aliens technology was not so far above and beyond what we have here on earth that it was truly an even match up, as it truly ended up making the movie one where it came down to the strategic decisions by the commanders of the ships.

The action sequences is precisely what is expected in a big summer blockbuster movie. The explosions are large and are just awesome type moments. While some may have found it to be completely cheesy, I was really interested to see how they might add elements of the game into the movie, so I thought the night sequence with the fact the radar did not work so that both the aliens and the Naval ship have no idea where the other one is. I found the use of the wave displacement buoys to set up a grid for where to aim shots to be pretty clever and really give those in the audience that played the game growing up a moment of paying homage to the game. The CGI used in Battleship is fairly seamless, but like any movie that has moments of CGI it does not always work perfectly. The look for the alien ships as well as the armor of the aliens I thought was well thought out and it really had a cool look to it. I liked the concept that the alien ships rather then just moving through the water like a regular ship but the hop movement that it has to be a unique aspect to really distinguish the technology. The other part of the movie that really helped the action to work for me was that of using the classic rock music at different moments. I am a total sucker for classic rock and so when a movie can use classic rock in a way to make the action seem even that much more in your face, and I think that Battleship was able to integrate the classic rock perfectly to fit the movie style.

Battleship is a movie that is not as bad as it has seemed to get. I really found the action sequences and the performances to work well. I believe one of the strongest aspect was that they did not make the aliens so superior that everything we throw at the aliens will not work until we find a weakness to exploit, instead the aliens technology was not superior so it made the battle between the two forces be one where strategic decisions were what determined the outcome of the conflict. There is an after credits clip and I found it to be disappointing, because while it hints to a possibility for a sequel, I am not sure where they can take the sequel. The plot was almost virtually non-existent and had they given some better depth throughout the movie rather then just the beginning it really would have made a difference in the end. I am giving Battleship three buckets of popcorn out of five. If you are a fan of sci-fi movies this may definitely be one that is worth seeing in the theater.

-The Movie Man

Men In Black 3

It is surprising to me that it has been ten years since the last installment in the Men In Black franchise was on the big screen. After how lukewarm I was with Men In Black 2, when I heard they were doing a third installment I was not sure if it was one I would want to see. After seeing the first trailer for MIB3, it looked like with Sonnenfeld back involved that it was going back to the light hearted, fun feeling that was present in MIB. The original MIB was he first time I can remember them melding the movie styles of a sci-fi movie with that of the buddy comedy film. I think it was a great thought process to have Agent J to go back in time to save Agent K from being killed by a serial killer alien and prevent him from changing the course of history.

Will Smith in the role of Agent J is once again perfect and he interacts on screen with everyone on screen seamlessly. Smith is the comedy side of the buddy duo and he truly excels in this role and he has done a great job at giving the role precisely what it calls for. While he has his over the top moments it is those moments that endears his character to the audience. Josh Brolin in the role of Agent K in the 1960's is a dead ringer or how Tommy Lee Jones would be along with almost perfect mannerisms and quirks. The chemistry between Brolin and Smith works so well together and the way they work together really matches the chemistry that Jones and smith have on screen. It was the fact that the chemistry worked so well together between both of these pairs that you actually almost believe Brolin and Jones to be the same character just at different ages. Tommy Lee Jones in the role of Agent K was precisely what we have come to expect from Jones in his roles. He plays the role with such a straight face that it only makes the comedy moments from Smith that much funnier. Jemaine Clement as Boris the Animal does a perfect villain for MIB3. He plays the role with just the right amount of hatred and evilness. Clement is relatively new for me, but he brought this character to life with just the right touch and finesse while still be very intimidating. The rest of the supporting cast for MIB3 are all admirable and provide good support for the lead roles, but in the end most of the supporting cast is very forgettable.

The story for MIB3 I really enjoyed and in the end we learned some strong character development  particularly with Agent K and Agent J that help us understand what has made them both the way they are in the end. The story was also was definitely fun and unique because I truly cannot remember an alien sci-fi comedy that uses time travel as a plot point and how an alien going back in time could change the course of history drastically to be a fun, fresh approach to a sci-fi comedy movie. The time travel was used so sparsely that it did not overpower the whole story while at the same time Agent J uses the time travel device in his favor a couple of times. The story worked so well for me because the pacing fit everything perfectly as it did not feel like the movie was dragging, but at the same time it did not feel like they were rushing to tell the story. I think to go along with the pacing to make the story work the chemistry between the characters fitting so well together helped to only make the story stronger.

The comedic moments throughout the movie all seemed to flow in well together and that either it had been long enough since I last saw MIB that in MIB3 the jokes did not seem rehashed, but very fresh and they made me laugh quite a bit. I loved the new twist in this go around of while they still had the pop culture icons actually being aliens, back in the '60s they take an icon of that time and you think that he is going to be an alien when really he is actually an undercover men in black agent who is sick of being the undercover character. Will Smith in his comedic delivery is perfect and the ability Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones have to be able to play their roles with such a straight face that in the end only makes Smith's jokes and one-liners even funnier. The music by Danny Elfman is so similar to what has been done in the past MIB movies that you know immediately it is a MIB movie. The official theme song by Pitbull is very catchy and once you hear it, it will get stuck in your head for days.

Where I felt MIB2 lost a lot of the MIB feel to it MIB3 re found that fun and lightheartedness. Brolin gave such a great dead on impression that he outshone everyone else on screen and it is because of that that I think the movie ends up being so enjoyable. The back in time aspect of the movie worked and I thought it made for a fun alien movie. I enjoyed the comedic aspects of MIB3 and I felt like the comedy helped to make the movie. I am giving Men In Black 3 three and a quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that I feel is well worth the price to see in the theaters, but I am not sure the 3D is worth going to because it had moments where you can tell they were doing it just for the 3D effect to poke something at you rather then to use the 3D to immerse you in the fantasy world.

-The Movie Man

Green Lantern

 Green Lantern is one of those movies hat is far from great, but the harsh reviews that critics gave this movie ended up being pretty unfair in my mind. I think critics went into this movie with too high of expectations because of Thor and X-Men: First Class opening in the summer of 2011 before Green Lantern. Had Green Lantern opened before these two movies I believe the reviews would have been a lot more favorable. I felt that while it is not one of the best super hero movies ever made it was still enjoyable and better then a lot of other movies that have been put out by movie studios. Green Lantern ended up giving me exactly what I expect from a super hero movie with a strong battle between good and evil, a reason to care for the super hero and at the same time strong action with a decent story. Green Lantern though was one of those super hero comics that I know very little about, but the general powers from a ring that bends to the will and mind of the person wearing the ring to create anything the person can think up.

The acting in Green Lantern was a lot better then what I expected after hearing what the reviews said. Ryan Reynolds in the role of Hal Jordan who becomes Green Lantern, was really a lot better then what I expected going in. I knew Reynolds would easily come across as a likable hero as Hal Jordan, simply because of his ability in the romantic comedy roles to be a very likable character. I was not sure though how he would fare in the action sequences and if he would be able to command the screen as a super hero. In the end he really ended up giving a strong performance and I felt like he completely engrossed himself into the persona of Hal Jordan and Green Lantern. Blake Lively in the role of Carol, the main love interest and lifelong friend to Hal Jordan gives a pretty decent performance. While I am sure a big part of her being cast was because of her eye candy appeal, she showed she can simply be more then eye candy and I felt that she was able to bring a great amount of emotion to her scenes and she seemed to not only connect with her co-stars, but she also connected with the audience. Peter Sarsgaard in the role of Hector Hammond, one half of the villain for Green Lantern to go against. Sarsgaard has a great ability to play a role with such ease that it comes off as if he is not playing a character onscreen, but that he is truly that character. The progression that we see in his character is perfect and it is through this progression that we are able to see the depth as to why his character is overcome and allows the power of fear to control him into being evil, while on the opposite end of the spectrum Hal is able to use his past to overcome the fear and use his willpower. The rest of the supporting cast are very minimal, which has its strengths and weaknesses, but in the end all of the characters seem to serve a purpose for each moment in which they are onscreen.

The story for Green Lantern ended up being precisely what I expect when going in to see a super hero movie. While one of the big aspects in super hero movies of late has been the use of a darker, grittier story telling. The story for Green Lantern being lighthearted and not being serious, but having those moments with great comedy seemed to fit perfectly. Unfortunately, the story did have its downfall moments throughout. The aspect for the story was that there were really some characters that were glossed over when it would have been more beneficial to give the characters more development. One such character was that of Sinestro, with where his story arc is going for a possible future movie. I did not feel like there was enough back story and development with his story to know why he made the decision he did toward the end of the movie. With the movie being under two hours, They could have made the decision to have added more time in the end to give the characters some additional depth that would have only strengthened the movie in the end. The action sequence while far from amazing, they worked very well for  everything that was happening in the movie. The direction ended up doing a great job at making all the sequences flow seamlessly. The CGI used for the Green Lantern suit I felt was done very well and I thought that they made the suit look pretty awesome in the end. There were however moments where the CGI came across as being pretty CGIish particularly some moments with Parallax. Parallax, I felt could have been a lot more fear inducing, but because of a lack of strength in the CGI came across just as being a huge villain in size and not in fear.

Green Lantern was a super hero movie that was a lot better then what a lot of the critics gave it. The acting ended up being pretty strong and ended up giving the exact type of performances that is needed for a super hero movie. I felt that this movie had a lot more going for it then what the credits gave them credit for and while it did have its weaknesses, it was still a fairly enjoyable movie to watch. The story for Green Lantern ended up being precisely what was needed for this movie to be successful and enjoyable to watch. This light story telling ended up fitting the persona of Green Lantern very well.  While I felt that they could have made this movie a little longer I am giving Green Lantern two and three fourth buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that is worth the price to rent and simply because it is a super hero movie it will end up getting added to the movie collection in the near future

-The Movie Man

Fast Five

Fast Five is the fifth installment in the Fast and the Furious franchise. After the original I would have never thought they would be able to take this franchise this far. After seeing the trailer for Fast Five I knew this would be a definite action packed movie that I would end up seeing and at the very least one that I would at least enjoy watching because of the fast cars. In this go around we are taken to Rio as Dom and Brian are on the run after breaking Dom out of prison, after a job goes wrong they are accused of killing three DEA agents, which puts a specialist team for catching fugitives hot on their trail. After learning this Dom and Brian plan a heist that ends up being one of those not as it seems moves.

Vin Diesel in the role of Dom is precisely what we have come to expect in this character of being kind of a meat head on the surface, but with the street smarts to get out of a lot of situations when more then brute force is needed. Over the three movies that Diesel has played in the franchise, his character has not really changed much and we have not seen much depth added to the character. Yet, his character is one that the audience cares and roots for, even though he pulls off heists in his street racing cars. Paul Walker co-stars as Brian O'Connor for the fourth time. His character has had an interesting progression throughout the franchise, starting as an undercover agent only to be on the other side of the law this time. Walker's character has some development that has gone on, but in the end he is still kind of the arrogant, cocky street racer, who makes calls on feelings even if it may not be the best decision in the end. Dwayne Johnson plays the D.S.S Agent Hobbs, who is sent to bring the fugitives back to justice. Johnson is the federal agent version of Dom and is a lot of brute force who is trying to physically out power the fugitives. Unfortunately, Johnson's character did not do much to impress me, I did not have the feelings of dislike that you want from the hunter in trying to catch the fugitives. The rest of the supporting cast all serve the roles perfectly and they all fit different roles so well, whether it is the comedic moments to the action they all take part. Joaquim de Almeida in the role of Hernan Reyes the true villain fits so well. He has played so many various villains that it is truly easy to hate him on screen and want everything to go against him. He is a devious and unforgiving crime boss who is able to run Rio through fear.

The story for Fast Five is nothing new and while it was far from groundbreaking it was still enjoyable to watch. The interesting part for me is that the heist part of the story was Ocean's 11 meets Italian Job with fast street racing cars. While some may say that having such a similar story is a bad thing, but the story worked for me. While the similarity to the nothing is as it seems  heist with the Italian Job, the aspect of the story that was similar to the original Fast and the Furious was a little stale. The aspect of the DSS agent being soft in the end, rather then bring in Dom and Brian, decides to give them a 24 hour head start, much similar in fashion to Brian letting Dom go free in the end. In the first film Brian letting Dom escape makes sense. In Fast Five Agent Hobbs letting them go seemed completely against everything we are made to believe in his character. We are told that Hobbs is the one they bring in when they need to catch someone because he always gets his man. So why would he risk his reputation for Dom and Brian? While they are able to outsmart Hobbs with some things in the end which work well I would have liked to see them outsmart him in order to escape.

The action sequences are over the top and many times it passes the point of ridiculousness, but that is what I think makes the movie so fun and enjoyable in the end. The stunt driving in the cars is not nearly as much as what was used in past movies. Yet, Dom and Brian  dragging a vault through the streets of Rio behind their obviously torqued up cars was pretty cool even though it was pretty unrealistic at being able to control a vault safe as much as they are able to. The action keeps everything moving at such a good pace in which the movie does not drag, but does not move so fast that we are not able to follow the story and the plot points that in the end are vital to the audience knowing what is going to happen.

Fast Five is an action movie that gives us some fast cars and fun action scenes. Nothing in the movie ends up being stellar, but all of the acting ends up being enough for what is needed. The story has its good points and a point or two that I did not love. I am giving Fast Five two and three fourth buckets of popcorn out of five. Fast Five is not a great movie, but it is one that is worth renting.

-The Movie Man

The Avengers

After five individual super hero movies, The Avengers ends up being the culmination of these movies and finally getting to see the forming up of The Avengers. Once the rumors stated flying of The Avengers movie I was very excited for this movie to finally come about. The buzz for The Avengers has been huge that while they had a good advertising push for the movie, the real push for The Avengers has been the fact that the five individual movies have been strong representations. With this it has truly only added to the expectation and excitement that I had for The Avengers. One of the greatest strengths I found throughout this movie was that it had that huge feel of a comic book that it is light and funny while still being a great action movie.

The acting continued in The Avengers to be just as strong and enjoyable as the performances that came about in the individual super hero storyline movies. Robert Downey Jr. once again in the role of Tony Stark/Iron Man fits perfectly in every scene he is in. The development that has taken place with his character has been minimal, but it has worked perfectly because he plays the eccentric billionaire playboy very well. His character flows so well with all of the characters in such a way that the one-liners come off the cuff so smooth and with such an ease that you feel like he is just talking normally and not going off of a script. With the way Downey Jr. is able to come off with such an ease that I feel like you do not view as him playing a role, but that he is truly Tony Stark/Iron Man. Chris Hemsworth in his role of Thor really showed more then just strength, but also a caring emotion throughout the movie that was not as prevalent in the Thor movie. This caring side came out strongest in his interactions with his brother Loki. While he could have easily just been physical and overpower Loki with his strength, he tries to appeal to his brother in trying to tell him how much he still cared for him and that he wanted his brother that he grew up with back and that there was still time for Loki to turn things around. Mark Ruffalo in the role of Bruce Banner/The Hulk was the biggest wild card going into this movie. Being the third iteration of The Hulk I was not sure how I felt about him in the role going into the movie. After seeing him in the role he ended up fitting the role very well. He ended up really having the look that you would expect Bruce Banner to have especially after being in hiding in third world countries for so long. Tom Hiddleston in the role of Loki once again he played the villain perfectly. The audience in this go around immediately does not like Loki, and as the movie continues forward the way he commands the screen works. The character of Loki is a strong villain for the Marvel franchise, of the opponents so far he has been the strongest and his character development has worked so well. While he imposes the fear in all of us, I am sure that many can relate in some ways to Loki and the feeling he is the son that can not compare at all to the power of Thor. The rest of the cast all do similar strong performances. It was nice for the role of Nick Fury to be more prominent and Samuel L. Jackson does a strong job. Likewise Scarlett Johansson in the role of Black Widow/Natasha is able to twist and get her out of a lot of different sticky situations.

The story for The Avengers was really done well. Having a movie that features six separate super heroes working together to defend the Earth is a story that could easily get muddled with so many different superheroes  or in trying to avoid this so much that we feel like we are viewing the depth from miles away. I felt that the story was brought about perfectly in the simple fact that we were not thrown into the team being together and working together, instead we get to see the super heroes having the issues that cause them to be at each other's throats throughout. Director Joss Whedon is truly spot on with The Avengers. Whedon's scripts usually include clever banter, gripping action sequences and an air of mystery and The Avengers is no different. Whedon has an utter love for comic books, and it is proudly put on display in The Avengers. The feel for this movie works perfectly as Whedon gives each super hero moments to shine and during these moments the super heroes take full advantage of these moments. Whedon has such a great ability to bring everything together with such great pacing, even though The Avengers  is two and a half hours long the pacing was set perfectly that it truly did not feel like it was that long of a movie.

In The Avengers they are able to successfully give us a full of action movie, that has great moments of feeling light and not an overly serious movie through the use of clever banter and off the cuff one-liners throughout the movie. While Tony Stark seems to have the most of the one-liners, most all of the main characters get these one-liners from time to time and they have been written into the script so seamlessly that nothing feels forced from the comedy. A lot of times in action movies you get the one character that is the comic relief and other then that the purpose is not clear as to why they are even in the movie. Because of that by the end the jokes seem old and forced by midway through the movie. The Avengers spreads the humor out so well that you never feel bored with the comedy. To counter the comedy Whedon gives the audience some great and nearly perfect action sequences The camera angles are set perfectly for all of the fighting, because you were able to sit there and watch the action unfold and you actually could tell who was hitting who. With the camera not being the shaky action where in wanting you to feel like such a part of the action that you do not know what is actually happening, it works greatly to actually know what is going on with the action sequences.

I went in to The Avengers with very high expectations, because of how well executed the individual super hero movies had been I expected no less. The Avengers went out and improved on the individual movies. Whedon in his directing was perfect with his touch as he gave the audience perfect moments of each super hero. While Downey Jr. in the role of Tony Stark was just as charismatic and perfect as he had been in the Iron Man movies, it ended up being the interaction between all the characters and the chemistry that was strong between them all that really helped make The Avengers be such a strong movie. The comedy and action sequences flowed together perfectly. The Avengers has been the best movie I have seen in a while, that is why I am giving The Avengers four and a quarter buckets of popcorn out of five.  The Avengers was well worth the price for a ticket to see in the theaters and even after seeing I would be very intrigued to go back and see it in 3D/IMAX.

-The Movie Man