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| Source: Wikipedia |
At a "secret" facility that studies artifacts of comic book science, eyepatch Samuel L. Jackson shouts orders and spouts technobabble. Splendiferous CGI summons the morally ambiguous sympathetic villain. Shit goes down. Loki now wields a world-bridging stick. He later unironically monologues to Germans (in English) about humanity's secret craving for enslavement.
Meanwhile, the stupidly-named organization SHIELD rounds up the superheros onto a physics-flouting aircraft carrier, presumably to prevent their massive superhero egos from igniting the ozone layer. The manly heroes fight each other for trailer-tastic motivations. While ordinary humans Black Widow and Hawkeye, who don't (yet?) have their own movies, struggle to remain relevant.
Joss Whedon's directorial thumbprint lingers: improbably witty conversations, angst, and women's feet (hi Pepper Potts, bye Pepper Potts). The villain indulges in antiquated vulgarity ("mewling quim"). And, in case you haven't heard, a side character's nerdiness becomes plot relevant as an excuse to capitalize on tragedy for strategic deception. (Say it with me now: USA! USA!)
But the final fight exceeds description. A cyborg lizard army drops from the sky. Thus commences forty minutes of punching and explosions. The destruction to NYC makes 9/11 look like spilled milk.
There's no social injustice to castigate, no political agenda to promulgate (except perhaps government-mandated superhero insurance). Just pretty people in silly suits smacking each other and cookie-cutter CGI baddies. It's glorious. And despite the gimmicky sheen, with the teasers and continuity nods and Stan Lee cameos, it works.
143 minutes.
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