Make Mine Marvel!

This is the movie our family had been waiting to see with great anticipation - especially Katie.  We were strapped financially this weekend.  It had been a very tight week for us. At first we were resolved not to see it until later, but we ended up combing the house for money to go.  We looked everywhere and added up all the change in the house.  Not only did we scrounge up enough money, but Katie found some coupons for free popcorn.  So we went.

The Avengers is among the best superhero movies ever.  This movie ties previous Marvel movies into something rather epic.  So if you want to watch this one, I'd recommend you go back and first watch The Hulk (the second one), Iron Man 1 and 2, Thor and Captain America for all the back-story.  The Avengers doesn't try to force previous stories together to work.   The Avengers make all previous stories one story - like the Star Wars or The Lord of The Rings sagas.

Even if you don't know the comic book history or watched the previous movies, you'll enjoy this one. This movie rates FIVE STARS from David.

I've been a Marvel fan since I was knee high to a grass hopper.  Though not a big super hero fan in my youth, I read my share of them and dove headlong into Nick Fury's past with Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos.  My only disappointment with The Avengers is the Nick Fury character.  I think Samuel L. Jackson was a great cast, but I walked a way feeling that the writers were not true to who Nick Fury was as a leader.  Nick Fury from the beginning is every bit as red, white and blue as his old friend Steve Rogers.  Maybe the writers and directors didn't want too much mushy sentiment, desiring only Captain America to reflect his allegiance to God and country.

What I REALLY liked about the movie is that it shows what sets the Marvel world apart from all other comic book worlds - the Marvel humor.  Whether found in tough guy one-liners to physical humor found amid struggle amid life and death situations.  There's no world like Marvel.  This couldn't have been illustrated better after calm Bruce Banner turned into the Incredible Hulk.  He was violent, vicious and full of rage... all about smashing things up in a carefree creative way.  This is how the Hulk is supposed to be, the way that Stan Lee and the late Jack Kirby originally created him to be.  I think if Kirby were around today, he'd be very pleased with The Avengers.