Captain Marvel

Thanks to Jacob Smith for featuring this review on his site! If you're interested in movie reviews, news, and opinion pieces from a conservative perspective, you should definitely check it out -- society-reviews.com!

Spoiler-free!

The MCU's latest origin story is also its first solo film for a female character. They put their absolute best effort into touting the movie as such, and after seeing it, I understand why all the emphasis was on pre-hype. One of Marvel's safest and least-daring films, Carol Danvers' introduction to the universe doesn't do much that's spectacularly irritating -- mostly because it doesn't do anything spectacular at all.

Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck but written by three additional people because all MCU movies all have to be camels at this point. 

We start out with a brief glimpse of the Kree world where Carol (Brie Larson) is serving in the Kree/Skrull war under Yon-Rogg (Jude Law). There's one shot of the Kree city outside her widow that looks like a magnificent scifi scape leaning towards noir-ish, cyberpunk-ish vibes, but we never see it up close. She does some training, she goes on mission, and eventually winds up stranded on Earth circa 1995 where she meets a younger, two-eyed Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Coulson (Clark Gregg) and goes on a hunt for some people of her forgotten memories (Annette Bening) and (Lashana Lynch), all the while the Skrull Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) and his crew are on her tail.

The Skrulls are shape-shifting aliens and shape-shifting is an easy harbinger of fun. And the movie touches on its potential. It's the mid-90's which means grunge and kind of wonderfully cheesy music; and the movie touches on that, too. Carol wears band tees and ripped jeans, and the computers are super slow. Otherwise it could be set anytime. Style only seems to cross the movie's mind is when there's cool CGI effects to show off. Even the worst of the past MCU films have had tonal style and the dampener of the Marvel Brand isn't excuse for the blandness we get here. I wish they had fully embraced the grungy 90's and low-key cheesy spy thriller aspect it was all crying for. It could've been amazing with relatively little tweaking to the core story.

One thing I loved with all my heart: her helmet mohawk. 

The central heart of the story -- getting up when you're knocked down -- had a solid foundation, but I hesitate to call it a theme because the movie's attempts to present it as theme were grasping. Visually it had impact and you can practically feel them scrambling for a verbal iteration to match in the moment. The set-up for Carol's development is weak, and the part about her needing to control her emotions was left hanging. That didn't make sense to begin with as Larson's acting style is so reserved that her being overly emotional as the script says doesn't fly. And I'll will readily defend Larson's acting abilities. She can work wonders in indie films where everything's understated. But as a blockbuster-action superhero, her internalizing emotions gets lost in the total lack of nuance.

There were moments she made me laugh with her delivery and times she made me smile just by being happy and laughing with Fury. On the other side, I think she was miscast. She does look the part and all MCU actors give better performances elsewhere, but ultimately her inexpressive style only adds to the bland feeling that brings the movie down. The only person who seems committed to having fun here is Ben Mendelsohn. Samuel L. Jackson's natural charisma works so well for him that I can't tell if he was phoning in or not. He's also better elsewhere with better scripts. This script actively attacks him, making one very significant thing happen that does its level best to ruin his character with its abject stupidity. (Hint: it's to do with his eye.) Just another day at the old MCU!

Larson and Jackson had fun chemistry. The movie could've leaned hard into their dynamic and been better for it. But it could've leaned into anything and been better for it.

Fan-favorite Goose the cat was great -- when he was being played by a real cat. The disgracefully rendered CGI cat that he was half the time seems to have been animated by a person who has never seen a cat before. It moved like boneless dog. Other random things that bothered me was how Carol's hair was always curled. I felt like her stylist was sitting behind me with a hot iron, waiting for the camera to cut so she could run in and fix the falling waves. There are the expected Marvel Brand jokes to make me die inside. And they only play three era songs for a decent amount of time. One is horribly matched to a fight scene. The fighting overall was shot lazily to negate the need for good choreography. The good action beats came from special effects and infused drama instead.

Despite all this, I did somewhat enjoy myself for the most part. Perhaps simply because I expected a dumpster fire, and instead it was like watching the garbage truck come by your house; something vaguely loud to look at that isn't impactful in any significant way. They did manage to lose me eventually though, with a later twist. To "subvert expectations" is required in every movie now, and appropriately this subversion throws a wrench in the plotting. It flounders for a while before it settles into a new groove, no better than the original. Overall the whole thing feels like the result of cutting corners and skimping on budget -- but if anyone can take a slight risk and make a decent film for girl protagonist, it's Marvel! ... Right?

At this point, I'm not particularly interested in the supposed future Avengers line-up, and if nothing changes for Marvel it won't be hard to quit.

The temptation to pander and squeak by on as little effort as possible was simply too strong. And why not when you can trust the brand and the hype to sell the resulting painfully average product regardless of quality? A handful of genuinely enjoyable moments and splashes of shiny CGI among long stretches of middling boredom is all we are rewarded with for our loyal patronage. Captain Marvel isn't a terrible movie; nor is it good, or a waste, or a success, or hardly anything resembling a movie at all. It has more in common with an extremely competent exercise in running down a checklist. The soulless Marvel assembly machine grinds on.

Trust Me

Very mild Spoilers.

Clark Gregg writes, directs, and stars in this comedy about a former, less-than-successful child actor who is now a less-than-successful agent for child actors. He finally gets his big break when he meets a stunning fourteen-year-old actress who is about to be cast in a huge movie franchise and hires him to represent her.

Agent Coulson is good with kids.

The movie starts out how you might (and I did) expect -- kinda goofy, kinda cheesy and kinda funny, and with plenty of potential. It was a typical beginning for a nice, better-than-average 3.5 or 4-star movie, and the supporting cast that included Amanda Peet, Allison Janney and my favorite, Sam Rockwell didn't hurt things one tiny little bit.

But then. BUT THEN. The movie started to take a strange turn. The first act was absolutely a comedy; the second act was more dramady, which was understandable, since plot-drama was happening. The third act had no comedy whatsoever, and was downright strange. I understood what was going on well enough, but was completely lost as to what Mr. Gregg was trying to say with it. I'm still trying to decide if he was trying to make a joke that fell completely flat, or some deep, insightful and artistic statement -- that also fell flat. Or maybe he was just playing a mean trick on those of us who were hoping to see a fun comedy about the movie business full of some of our favorite people in the movie business.

Hmm. Maybe he was making a statement about the movie business.

So while the strange and creepy twist that turned into a confusing, unsatisfying and ambiguous ending pretty much ruined the whole rest of the movie, up until the point of it's being ruined, it was quite enjoyable -- pretty funny, and involving and interesting. There was some cute romance between Gregg's character and Amanda Peet's, Allison Janney was as great as she ever is, and Sam Rockwell was Sam Rockwell -- except much meaner -- which is to say, he was pretty awesome, even though his part was way too small for my taste. And Clark Gregg made an involving and endearing lead. He started out rather a jerk, and seemed to be on a classic bad-to-good character arc -- for most of the movie he really was.

The girl this movie revolves around, relative newcomer to acting Saxon Sharbino, doesn't show her status as a newbie in the slightest. She never fails to impress with a very complex and widely-ranged role. Believing that she was the type to be cast in a teen film franchise and become the next Kristen Stewart, or Jennifer Lawrence or Shailene Woodley was the easiest thing to believe in this movie.

She certainly does have a presence.

And her performance was the only thing that connected (by the tiniest little thread) the jarring tonal change and plot twist that sent this neat little flick in the biggest downward spiral I've ever experienced in a movie. It was really quite spectacular. And after the fiery crash, I sat stunned amongst the wreckage on the couch while the credits rolled and wondered what happened. And every time I think about it I've still made no headway in discovering the reason behind that disastrous turn. I wonder if a second viewing would help my understanding of the point of this movie, but the chances that I'll ever sit through the hour-and-a-half of that weirdness again is very unlikely. Even if it does have Sam Rockwell in it!

I'd just watch The Way, Way Back again instead. And you should follow my example. Trust me.

Upcoming Movie Roundup - June

Edge of Tomorrow
Jun 6th; PG-13
If science fiction is the peanut butter of movie genres, then Tom Cruise is the jelly. And this movie is looking delicious. The trailer is fantastically intriguing, and practically perfect; giving away just enough to create interest, while keeping the element of mystery. And besides the mysteriousness of it all it also looks packed with epic sci-fi action, the right amount of humor, and drama and fun. And don't forget about Emily Blunt who is brilliant, and and totally should have been in a movie with Cruise by now. I was won over already, so the current 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes is just the sweet, sweet icing on my anticipation cake. (On a side note, I think I might be hungry.)




The Fault In Our Stars
Jun 6th; PG-13
Okay. Let's just say this: I'm currently in the middle of reading the novel, and, if this movie version has half the quality the book, it'll be a pretty great film, no matter how teenage-romance-y it is. However, with the cast including the great Shailene Woodley and her Divergent co-star Ansel Elgort, and with how the trailer seems like it could be a trailer for the book it follows it so closely... I dunno, I'm having a hard time believing it could go so far down as to be half as good. There's probably no chance of it turning out better than the book though. Still, who knows; I could hate the ending of the book, and take this all back. You never know. Except for sometimes when you pretty much do.




Trust Me
Jun 6th; R
Clark Gregg writes, directs, and stars. I repeat: CLARK GREGG writes, directs, and stars. Oh, and the supporting cast? Just a few people like Sam Rockwell, Allison Janney, and Amanda Peet. Who all together remind me of The Way Way Back, and you all know how I felt about that movie. The plot is completely different of course, but very original, revolving around an agent for child actors. I won't get my hopes up since early review are split, plus there's the R-for-language rating to get around, but... oh, who am I kidding, my hopes are definitely up.




How to Train Your Dragon 2
Jun 13th: PG
Sometimes sequels are terrible ideas and ruin the original movie (if the original movie was good in the first place.) I was wary of How to Train Your Dragon originally because of the silly trailer, but of course I was proved wrong when I finally did see it. And then comes along the sequel to be suspicious of. Except I'm not. I was a little, up until the teaser trailer came out, and after the silliness they won me over by proving they were making an original movie instead of just capitalizing on the first's success. They proved it by making Hiccup age significantly. It's a small thing, but a very encouraging one. It means things will be different. And now of course it's getting lots of praise in early reviews, so I guess I'll be happy to see this one eventually.




The Signal
Jun 13th (limited); PG-13
I'm not exactly sure why this one is interesting -- it has a little to do with Laurence Fishburne, and Brenton Thwaits (who is apparently in the middle of a breakout year, what with being Prince Phillip in Maleficent, and the lead in The Giver, which I'll certainly be mentioning come August) but mostly it's just the trailer which is "weird" and "wow" and "huh?" all at the same time.



Transformers: Age of Extinction
Jun 27th; NR (yet)
Oh help me. Am I actually including a Transformers movie in this list? I guess so... Technically it's not a reboot, but the cast of characters has been completely redone, so there seems to be a chance of a hope of a possibility of it coming off feeling maybe a little fresher than it would otherwise. Mark Wahlburg for Shia LaBeouf is a fine trade in my book. Plus the dinosaurs, er, dinobots... is it possible that mean that they've gone so far down the path of ridiculousness that this movie might actually be so bad it's good? I'll be observing from the sidelines to see.




Snowpiercer
Jun 27th (limited); R
I'll keep this one short and simple: Chris Evans. Jamie Bell. John Hurt. Tilda Swinton. And most importantly. Watch. This. Trailer.

Much Ado About Nothing

Ah, such a quaint happening -- a Shakespeare adaptation... modernized, but with the original script intact... filmed in black and white... at the director, Joss Whedon's own house... in the span of about twelve days... with a bunch of famous people he calls "friends." I believe I had never been more interested in Shakespeare in my life.

And I finally got to see it, but now I meet with a little difficulty. I am no expert on Shakespeare, and honestly I probably feel a bit too proud of myself for understanding this movie, though it was relatively easy. I don't feel qualified to critique this movie. I lack the experience and understanding to know if this is a good adaption or not. I only know what I happened to like and dislike. So let this be a disclaimer, and from here on I'll go ahead and make this review as biased, subjective and otherwise personally opinionated as I like. As, really, these things should be.

Leonato is ashamed... no... just hungover.

Apart from one annoying hiccup, I have never has more fun watching Shakespeare than with this little film. And I'll address that one problem first, that is, that in spite of the original script remaining majorly intact, the story has been pointlessly sexed up, just to the level of  PG-13. The villain's accomplice was changed to be a woman seemingly for the sole purpose of their being a couple to add a random inappropriate scene. Then there is another exactly where you'd think it'd be if you know the story. It spoils the movie just enough to make disappointment rain on the otherwise delightful experience. This is the first and last negative thing I will say about the movie, on to the good stuff!

Like the cast. Though this is another situation where my lack of Shakespearean knowledge weighs me down, but, in general, no one sounded unnatural or like they were just saying lines. The leading couple, Beatrice and Benedick, (Amy Acker, and Alexis Denisof) are fiery and goofy -- former mostly to former and latter mostly to latter -- well matched and fun to watch. I particularly love the hilarious, over-the-top scenes where they try desperately to overhear "secret" conversations staged for their benefit. And the one scene between, where Benedick goes through a series of lunges, pushups, and crunches, in an obvious attempt to impress the icy lady.

The comedic styles of Shakespeare and Whedon suit each other very well.

Also standing out in the cast is the awesome Clark Gregg as Leonato, delivering the comedic one-liners only slightly more brilliantly than his dramatic lines. Sean Maher is the complete opposite of his Firefly character, and impressively so, as Don John, the cold, scheming evil villain, and his Firefly captain, Nathan Fillion is probably the funniest character, Dogberry. I laughed many times. And the secondary couple, Hero, played by newcomer, Jillian Morgese, and Claudio, Fran Kranz, easily manage to be an adorable couple is spite of relatively limited screen-time. Everyone in this movie is so obviously having a blast, how can we do anything but also have a blast watching them?

The most effortlessly stylish "home video" ever.

It was an interesting choice to set the film in modern times but still keep the original Shakespearean language, and it was, in all likelihood, a choice of convenience, (scripts and period costumes cost time and money) but it worked in a surprising, unique way. A little jolting at the very first, but only for the first few lines at most, before it becomes perfectly natural. Ladies in floaty dresses, men in suits and the black and white (also a convenience... that I wholeheartedly approve of) suspends your disbelief; it's not set in modern times or the 1600's, it's set in a time and a world of its own.

And a world, at that, that I would by no means mind living in -- a laid-back, joyful place where making a movie is as easy and fun as calling up your friends for a party and grabbing a video camera and a book for source material. And for someone like me, that is nothing short of inspiring.

Thor

Thor. What to say? That the blockbuster accidentally created one of the greatest movie villains of all-time? Who is arguably more sympathetic than the film's hero? There is certainly much, much more to Thor than the beginning of Tom Hiddleston's Loki, but if I were to say this movie may be hard to review objectively, and ... rationally ... I'm sure you could sympathize.

"Seriously Thor, I swear I didn't know my army would be so BIG... or how crazy they'd be! ...should we run?"

Kenneth Branagh directs this take on Shakespearean Norse "gods" who are really aliens, and Marvel superheroes. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) the "god of thunder" and son of Odin, (Anthony Hopkins) the king of Asgard, is poised to succeed his father as king. He is strong, and handsome, and, oh yeah, has an ego the size of the nine realms. When Thor foolishly nearly destroys Odin's peace treaty with the Frost Giants, Odin does what every good king would do; he banishes him to a out-of-the-way world called Earth. When and only when he is worthy, will he be able to claim his hammer and his powers.

Immediately upon his arrival on earth, Thor runs into -- er, is run into by scientist Jane Foster, (Natalie Portman) her colleague Dr. Erik Selvig, (Stellan Skarsgård) and intern Darcy (Kat Dennings) as they track strange weather patterns. Jane doesn't know it yet, but the large, odd acting dude she just "grazed" with her car is the answer to all her questions. Back in Asgard, Thor's friends, Lady Sif, (Jaimie Alexander) and fellows Frandal, (Josh Dallas) Hogun (Tadanobu Asano) and Volstagg (Ray Stevenson) consider how to get Thor out of his banishment, while his brother, the "god of mischief" Loki, (Tom Hiddleston) eyes Thor's would-be throne with jealousy, while having a bit of an identity crisis.

"This is not funny, father, humans are so petty and tiny!"

Branagh is mostly known for his Shakespeare adaptations, so he was a very interesting, interestingly fitting choice to direct Thor. It may be sci-fi, but Asgardians know how to use their "thee's" and "thou's" and to never use contractions, and if the conflict between Thor and Loki and their father isn't Shakespearean, I don't know what is. Branagh does an especially impressive job with the latter of these. The most compelling conflicts of this movie are not physical ones.

But I do question some of his choices. Like, what is up with the angled shot composition? It's pretty distracting as I always feel like cocking my head. It only really works when it's a shot of Thor and Jane together -- that's the only way to fit Jane's head in without zooming way out, but that's it. Neither am I a big fan of Thor being a complete fish-out-of water on Earth. It did make for some amusing, some hilarious situations, but it's not practical for him to be that naive. I don't know if these are things Branagh really had a say about though... it could be more a producer/screenwriter problem.

It's not at all odd that Thor falls in love with the first human woman he meets, is it?

My thoughts on the scope of the film and the action of the film are very similar; I thoroughly enjoy, and am sometimes impressed by what I see, but there's sometimes something lacking. Asgard is beautiful and creative, and fills you with wonder, and just isn't used enough. And fight sequences -- particularly the one in the Frost Giant world -- don't have the snap and crackle they could have; they get generic. The most exciting action sequence is when Thor fights off highly trained humans as he goes to claim Mjolnir, it's epic, memorable and involving, perhaps because he's not super-powered at the time?

I wish Thor's four friends had more screen-time and development... which is a complaint and a complement since I liked them enough to want to see more. (Hoping for, and expecting more in The Dark World!) Their best bit of development was their being described as "Xenia, Jackie Chan and Robin Hood" but they left out Gimli! Hopkins as Odin is kingly and very solid; Dr. Selvig and Darcy do what they're meant to -- feed the plot, and add comic relief, but nothing more. Clark Gregg as Coulson makes an appearance, and shows up all the other side characters in awesomeness with ease. And Jeremy Renner has a short cameo as Hawkeye.

Jackie Chan, Robin Hood and Gimli.Fitting descriptions, I think.

As for the man himself, Hemsworth is a bit stiff at first, all proper and aloof, but we do warm to him as he learns humility and to be a true hero. He doesn't grow on you as quickly as is ideal, but since he's in multiple films now, it's a minor problem. He has some great one-liners and does physical humor very well, and once we like him, he's even endearing. Hemsworth's real strength as Thor though, is his appearance -- he is Thor, no question. Now, Jane, well... I don't like Jane. But that's personal, and really more of a dislike of Portman whose acting irks me. Her portrayal of Jane is fine, but there's nothing really special about her.

Okay, I left someone out, right? Who...  oh, right, the guy in green... what was his name...? Just kidding, I was saving the best for last of course! Loki! When I saw Thor for the first time, I tried to like the main character best. It's what you're supposed to do. I thought it was quite odd and sad that the bad guy was more sympathetic than the hero though. Since, I've developed a much more... avid opinion on the subject. Hiddleston's Loki breaks your heart. He does and tries to do some horrendous things, but his situation is so pitiable and Hiddleston plays him with so much charm and complexity and pathos and fervor and understanding, he becomes lovable in spite of his deeds, because we understand him as well. Yet, at the same time, he is an incredibly sinister villain -- but it's only a sneak peek compared to his full-fledged evil villain in The Avengers. I don't know how he managed the role so perfectly, but I'm delighted that he did. Tom Hiddleston is the man.

Does this even need words? No.

In case you haven't guessed it yet, Loki is my favorite. But don't get me wrong, I like this movie as a whole on its own merit, Loki's just a step above. This isn't a masterpiece, but there's a bunch more to in it to love than to gripe about; it's is perfectly cast where it counts, looks unique and stylish, is driven by fun and humor, but stays grounded in truth. It may not be realistic, (in fact it's can get downright cheesy) but its themes are. Thor is a colorful bout of glee and sincerity. And if the sequel keeps up the tradition, it will doubtlessly be a success, so, there's only one thing left to say: come on, Dark World!

The Avengers

Marvel's The Avengers. If you haven't heard of it, you've probably been living under a rock. Ever since the first Iron Man movie in 2008, we have been teased with the promise of this movie. Now, after four years, two Iron Man movies, two Hulk movies, (each with a different actor as the title character) and a movie each for Captain America and Thor, the Avengers have assembled. And what an assembly they make.

It was either amazingly brilliant, or unbelievably lucky when Joss Whedon was hired to script and direct this film. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say it was brilliance. Because it was. Whedon was creator and director of this little cult tv series called Firefly that was canceled after only 14 episodes, but was still so popular, he made a movie (Serenity) which was way more and better than just wrapping up the plot for all those loyal fans. When I heard Whedon was writing and directing the Avengers I knew it wouldn't be the mashed-up jumble full of miserably underdeveloped characters I was previously worried it might turn out to be. I saw Firefly/Serenity, so I know; Joss Whedon is king of ensemble casts. He successfully defined, developed, and meshed nine main characters in the tv show. "But," you might say, "The Avengers isn't a tv show, it's for the big screen!" Yes, a really big screen. It's gotta have lots of explosions. And fighting. And the using of amazing superpowers. And you can have all that, but it's not worth anything without a good script. A script with plot. Character development. Drama. Just cause it's a superhero movie doesn't mean it should be all pow, bang, and Hulk smash with corny lines. No worries. Whedon and co. deliver in all departments.

Some plot aspects from Captain America and Thor continues for this movie. Loki, (the ultimate of sneering baddies you'll just love to hate, played by Tom Hiddleston) Thor's brother comes to earth and steals the Tesseract (that blue cube that was on the bottom of the ocean at the end of Captain America) from the SHEILD base, giving him the power to summon an alien army to help him conquer the earth. This forces Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to restart... the Avengers initiative. And the avengers are...

Robert Downey Jr. As Tony Stark/Iron Man, Downey Jr. is as good as - or possibly better than - his solo outings. The hilarious script gives him his sarcastic, bone-dry one-liners, that he delivers with his signature style, but also remembers to give the character... well, character, even if he hides it most of the time. But Stark doesn't get all the good lines by any means...
Chris Hemsworth as Thor says the line I laughed the most at. Thor has matured since his last movie, making him a lot more likable. He feels responsible for his brother's evil deeds, and is the only one who doesn't need a kick-start from Fury to try and bring Loki to his senses, or justice.
Chris Evans is Steve Rogers/Captain America, who is still thawing and in culture shock from his 70-year slumber buried in ice. He's a natural born leader who holds on to his morals and ideals of his time. Which causes him to clash with Stark, and his loose, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants attitude. But he is not resentful, and helps Tony out when he needs to, even if he annoys him.
Mark Ruffalo as Dr. Bruce Banner/Hulk is the new guy, the third to tackle the role of the Hulk, too big (ha) for his two predecessors. Ruffalo slyly slips away with scene after scene, as the understated Dr. Banner, trying to keep his cool, and, once he loses it, gives suspense, terror, and then a bunch humor to his angry side, "the other guy."
Scarlett Johanson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow is more fleshed out than she was in her Iron Man 2 role, here she's more than just the obligatory hot girl in a leather suit. Her mysterious background is slightly more explained, but it only makes her all the more intriguing. Even without superpowers, Natasha can hold her own with, and be just as useful as the men. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets her own movie soon. Or maybe she can costar in a film with her assassin buddy...
Jeremy Renner. Renner plays Agent Clint Barton/Hawkeye, master at archery. He had a small cameo in Thor that anyone who didn't know of the upcoming Avengers would've missed. But he's just as important as the rest of them, both in terms of adding to the plot, and adding to the group in general. Unfortunately, his adding to the plot subtracts from his screen time, but gives his character more depth later, which almost makes up for it. Renner is a great actor, who's been nominated for two Oscars, and plays Barton in a ultra cool Bourne sort of way, (he's staring in The Bourne Legacy this summer) and makes me wish he had more screen time. I guess I'll just have to wait for Avengers 2.

You've probably by now got a good sense of what I thought of the script, but let me just add that it was truly funny. I don't often laugh out loud at movies, but this had as many good laughs as almost any comedy I've seen. And the action sequences - there's a lot of them - had all the pow, bang, and yes, Hulk smashing you'd ever want, all the while staying comprehensible and involving. The plot is perhaps a tad simple, just an excuse to fight, but this is, after all, a superhero movie. Don't worry. Certain giant flying aliens crashing through skyscrapers may be slightly reminiscent of Decepticons, but Transformers this is certainly not. The Avengers is how Transformers should have been; blowing you away with dazzling action sequences, cheer-able moments, and a truly fun movie experience.

The Avengers flew away with $200M this weekend, completely shattering records, and nothing could be more deserving. This is an action-packed, visual feast of a superhero pic with heart... and a brain. A real blockbuster. And easily the best two-and-a-half hours I have ever spent in a movie theater. Avengers Assemble!
-5/5 Stars