Marvel's The Avengers - SPOILER ALERT

From the time I finished watching Thor, I was very much looking forward to seeing Marvel's The Avengers because I knew that Thor and Iron Man were both in it and they are, up to this point, my favorite avengers. I was delighted to find out the movie did not disappoint, and it wasn't just because of Thor and Iron Man. A well-assembled cast of characters with different super powers and personalities worked well together (most of the time). Their conflicts of interest between each other, when they did happen, was one of the elements that made the movie interesting. If even the allies got along well all the time, it would have seemed unrealistic and boring. In the real world, even the best of friends can have their differences.

I followed this movie quite well the first time around, unlike Captain America: The First Avenger. As each avenger in The Avengers entered the scene, I wondered how Thor would join the action. Humans can't just swing by Asgard and pick him up. Plus, the Bifrost was broken at the end of Thor, which would make travel plans for Asgardians a challenge.

But he is Thor, after all, and at the end of his movie we were filled with hope. So obviously, there had to be a way for him to come back to Earth. What a thunderous and brilliant way for him to arrive that almost...almost I say...makes me love thunderstorms! I wanted to stand up and cheer for him the moment I saw that lightning strike, cluing us in on his imminent return to Earth. Qandi would not have been happy with me, so I held back my extreme enthusiasm. 

Right from the beginning of The Avengers, we saw Thor's loyalty to his brother. Besides Thor's grand entrance into the movie, one of my favorite scenes was when Thor met Iron Man and Captain America for the first time. They found out just how much Thor "loves his hamm-", as Iron Man so rightfully warned Cap. After a brief, but edge-of-my-seat, confrontation, Thor was finally convinced that one cannot just reason with his bro.

Speaking of Loki, I was really glad to see he had a prominent role in this film. Tom Hiddleston did a phenomenal job playing Thor's evil brother. He was good in Thor, but his talent was even more evident in The Avengers. Excellent choice to have him as one of the main characters and the cause of the main conflict in this movie!

Samuel L. Jackson's portrayal of Nick Fury was spot on.  Although he is not one of the avengers, he plays an important role. It takes a certain kind of person to successfully lead a team, especially when that team's assignment is to basically save the world. Jackson was the perfect pick for this role.

Chris Evans returned as Steve Rogers/Captain America and again delivered well. His character remained mostly serious, but sincere and likeable.  The casting for Bruce Banner was different in The Avengers than it was in The Incredible Hulk and I think it was a positive change. I don't know if it was because I liked The Avengers more than I did The Incredible Hulk as a whole, but I really liked Mark Ruffalo as Dr. Banner. Bruce and Cap were a nice contrast to Iron Man and Thor. The dynamics worked well in this film.

I have to admit, though, I was a little confused about Hulk. At one point it seemed he was not able to control his anger (when he transformed and attacked Natasha), but then later in the movie he indicated that he can become the angry green guy whenever he wants to, or rather that he's always angry. He instantly turned into Hulk at that point, just like that. I was also confused about how much of his mind he is able to control once he becomes Hulk. He seemed to realize who the good guys were later in the movie, but not so much when he turned on his allies earlier in the movie. Having said that, though, this confusion didn't bother me. I didn't need to understand it to enjoy the movie, and even Hulk's character. (However, if anyone wants to address this, I'm open to reading what you have to say.)

In The Avengers, we got to see more of Hawkeye and Natasha. I look forward to seeing The Black Widow in her own movie later on in the series. I didn't realize Hawkeye had a brief appearance in Thor until I looked him up online. I must have blinked during his scene in Thor. Maybe it's because I love birds, but I'm intrigued by Hawkeye's character. Am I the only one who wants Hawkeye to have his own origin movie?

I cannot wrap up this review without commenting on that hilarious shawarma scene after the credits rolled. That is the funniest thing I have seen in a long time and I was still laughing about it the next day just thinking about it. All they did was sit in silence eating (all except Cap, that is), but it made me laugh so hard! Do you know why Cap wasn't eating? It was because by the time that scene was filmed, he had grown a beard for a different movie. Since Cap didn't have a beard in The Avengers, he wore a prosthetic jaw to film the shawarma scene. That prosthetic jaw made it impossible for him to eat!

That's okay. I'll eat his share on my birthday this year, which happens to be the same date that scene was filmed. Coincidence? I'd like to think it's synchronicity.