So you decided to watch the Avengers? Good choice.

Are you deciding to watch it? I’ll take the decision for you just go watch it.

I got to see one of the first shows in Bangalore in India for the Avengers movie release. This is a little strange considering that the US has it’s release slated for the 4th of May. I know.. Those guys made the movie and we get to watch it first. Somehow the outsourcing Karma is all right in the universe. I am not going to ruin the movie for you , instead I’m going to give you a prelude to the movie so that you can understand what happens in the start and what everyone is talking about because for non comic book fans (and I am as huge as it gets) this was a treat that the story line was maintained.

The director Joss Whedon didn’t fuck it up. I sort of expected it to be like Iron Man 2 or the Green Lantern where the story and characters had so much potential but then fell into that commercial spiral we all know that destroys movies.

Quick Summary

Loki, Thor’s brother, decides to come to Earth and capture it. He wants a kingdom to rule and he decides Earth and it’s beings were designed for submission. So he gets this cosmic cube called the Tassaract which helps him to open a portal to the netherworld where his minions live. Did you know that the word minions was popularised by the phrase “Loki and his minions”?. I digress.

He comes to earth and quickly traps Hawkeye and the scientist friend of Thor and makes them do his bidding. They steal the Tassaract from SHIELD headquarters where it was stored and kept to make weapons of mass destruction. That’s when shit hits the fan and Nick Fury (played by Samuel Jackson) decides to put together the Avengers Initiative. A collection of beings so powerful that they alone can do what cannot be done by the humans.

And that’s where the fun starts.

Plot lines/ Interesting things

Given the potential for this movie to go wrong in so many ways. I am surprised that Joss pulled a winner out of this hat. Many times during the movie I’d be reminded of the Transformers like scenes that take place. The art work and the sci fi team really hit this out of the ballpark. At no point was one painfully reminded of the terrible work that happened in movies that preceded this. And it is a delight to see Computer Graphics Imagery in damn near perfection.

What gives this movie a lot of flesh though isn’t the plot or story line as a whole. Some bad guys come to take over earth. it is defended. That’s the premise but boy what an interesting blend of characters and comedic timing moments. From Iron Man’s cockiness to the Hulks burliness movements, there wasn’t a single minute where I thought “wtf am I doing here?”.

An interesting thing to note was the third Bruce Banner introduced. Bruce Banner is a character that is plagued by 2 things. When will he be captured. And being the intelligent but submissive genius in all his efforts. His gamma radiation signature is key to Loki’s efforts to take over Earth but I won’t ruin it for you. I think Mark Ruffalo’s performance has been a good one. Though I still think the best Bruce Banner was Edward Norton.

But always overshadowed by the cocky alpha male in the audience, Robert Downey Junior. And boy does he make a splash. Fantastic as always. Those who can grow a beard would get his style, I’m betting Rs 500 on it.

The characters are  Black Widow (Scarlett sigggghhhhhhhh), Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk (definitely my favourite), Thor, Hawkeye  and Nick Fury.

All in all a great watch and one that I highly recommend. Go go watch it.