The Avengers is an awesome movie! The summer blockbuster to beat! Yeah, it has great action, yeah it is full of the wit and jabs from the likes of Tony Stark, yeah it has Scarlett Johansson for the guys and Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans for the girls. What is has most of all is repeat viewing value because it is a great fun movie you’ll want to see again and again!
Marvel started something with the first Iron Man footage shown at San Diego’s Comic Con in July of 2007. Simply put the footage of Tony Stark in the Iron Man armor zipping around with two F-22’s blew everyone away. Marvel and Jon Favreau did something really special. They made Iron Man look really cool and ramped up the image of the “comic book movie” to a new level. It was also the start of a grander plan by Marvel.
Over 5 years they would release 5 movies that all built towards something. The Avengers. Something I believe no other studio of franchise had come close to attempting.
So how do you make a non comic book reading crowd show up for a multi-hero movie? Well Iron Man was a great choice to easy viewers into the world of Marvel super heroes (who aren’t X-Men or Spider-Man, or even Ghost Rider). Great casting, good directors, and handling the material in a way that makes it easy for non-comic book audiences to digest while keeping the heart of those stories and peppering in some fun fan service.
I really enjoy how nicely each movie hints are the others, each carries a little piece of back story that overlaps with the next one, and always be sure to stay for those after credit scenes. I’m not going to say The Avengers assumes you have seen all previous 5 films that lead up to it, (Iron Man, Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America) it doesn’t do that at all, but it makes the movie feel rich. Fans have waited 5 years to see what this all leads up to, and to watch one of the most beloved super hero teams come together to fight evil. I hope that Marvel continues to keep the quality up and I look forward to Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Captain America 2, and the next installment of The Avengers.
Nothing will compare though to all the excitement and hype that lead up to (and paid off for me) in the past 5 years.
Oh and be sure you stay after the credits, all of the credits…