Classic Rant #732 (May 9, 2012): Superhero Sandwich

My family and I saw "The Avengers" movie over the weekend. No, we didn't spend extra for 3D, but yes, we did see it, as part of a packed house in our local movie theater.

I was expecting shock and awe, because the reviews were pretty much overly positive. There were a few negatives, but generally, the movie received very good reviews.

Sorry, this won't be one of them.

No, the movie wasn't terrible; it's about 20 steps up from "The Three Stooges" fiasco I described a few weeks back.

But does this movie deserve the raves it has gotten?

Sorry, this is going to be a rant.

The story, or what passes as a story, is that the evil Loki (Tom Hiddleston) comes to earth with a powerful energy source with which he hopes to hold the earth captive.

Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), the leader of the S.H.I.E.L.D. force, calls upon the Avengers "initiative" to thwart Loki and save the world.

Yes, that is it in a nutshell.

But what other movie features several superhero superstars--and a few non-superstars--to save the day?

You have Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, and two real non-entitities in Hawkeye and the Black Widow.

You also have a big budget, so you get the predictable explosions, car crashes, and general havoc.

You also get a hint that we will see the Avengers again, and certainly see the superheroes in numerous other films.

But what you don't get is the whimsical nature of the individual superheroes' films, and that is what is sorely lacking in this movie.

And I mean, sorely.

Sure, you get Tony Stark/Iron Man's smirks, courtesy of good lines provided to Robert Downey Jr., but you get almost no insight into their characters.

It's like the individual films were there to lay the groundwork for that element, and this film has no room to fit in that aspect to the characters' persona.

The character of Captain America, played by Chris Evans, is sorely wasted here. In this movie, he has as much brain capacity as the Hulk, played by Mark Ruffalo and CGI special effects, but he isn't as funny.

Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth, continues to underplay the character, but you almost forgive him, because that is what the character demands.

Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye is a very minor character to begin with, so you don't get too much, and sorry, guys, but the Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson, only flashes her luscious lips, and little more.

Yes, it is exciting at times, and yes, there is some humor, and even a swift cameo by Marvel's Stan Lee.

But there is little else here. The individual movies are much, much better.

This weekend, we will see "Dark Shadows," and frankly, I am not expecting much.

Early reviews of this movie have been terrible, and I don't expect my review will be any better.

But maybe, just maybe, for the first time in years, I will be surprised by a film.

Maybe this will be the one, maybe not.

I'm leaning towards the latter.