Release: The Avengers

 

The Avengers

Genre: Action/Superhero

Director: Gareth Edwards

Writers: D.R. Cobb & Mark Newton

Based on Marvel Comics characters

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Alden Ehrenreich, John Krasinski, Sarah Gadon, Jason Segel, Jack Reynor, Mark Duplass, Glen Powell, Mila Kunis, Orlando Bloom, Tom Selleck, Bryce Dallas Howard, Arnold Vosloo, Gemma Arterton, DeObia Oparei

Budget: $285,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $660,496,003

Foreign Box Office: $824,780,457

Total Profit: $580,070,033

Reaction: The latest mega-production has thankfully managed to become a mega-hit - staking its place as the highest grossing non-DC Comics Universe film in LRF history.

"Let me be clear: this is not Kirby. But in a cinematic landscape where most 'comic book films' are less adaptation and more content slurry, The Avengers dares to honor the cosmic terror of Galactus with something approaching reverence. Gareth Edwards captures the scope of Galactus as a metaphysical force rather than just a big purple dude. Reeves’ Silver Surfer is legitimately the most faithful translation of a Lee/Kirby archetype in years, and the inclusion of the Ultimate Nullifier — handled with surprising narrative restraint — suggests the writers actually read the source material. It's not perfect: Doom is too quippy, Namor too softened, and the Third Act leans more toward spectacle than allegory. But it dares to pose cosmic questions - with non-stop action to back it all up." - Sloan Armitage, Sequential Sanctum Quarterly

"The Avengers is like a galaxy-sized punch to the face, in the best possible way. Gareth Edwards balances world-ending drama with emotional punches that land just as hard as the Hulk's. Keanu’s Silver Surfer is equal parts zen and deadly. The fight scenes are gnarly, the visuals are insane, and the Galactus reveal? Legit jaw-dropping. There are some pacing bumps in the middle and the Tony Stark send-off feels a little too fan-servicey, but that final act? Pure comic-book bliss. Bonus points for Johnny Storm trying to be relevant. Poor dude." - Jaz Flores, ScreenJunkiezBuzz!

"At long last, The Avengers receives a cinematic treatment that aspires to something grander than capes and quips, thanks to Gareth Edwards’ somber sensibilities and an uncharacteristically meditative script. While the film struggles beneath its own cosmic weight at times — particularly in the overlong second act and the tiresome reliance on multicolored explosions — there are flashes of genuine awe. Arnold Vosloo’s Galactus is a true cinematic menace, and Keanu Reeves as the Silver Surfer brings a mournful gravitas that elevates the proceedings beyond juvenile fare. There’s a touch too much shouting and smashing for my taste, and the presence of Mr. Stark’s heroics feels like a studio-mandated ghost clinging to the frame. Yet, for all its overstuffed grandeur, The Avengers offers a glimpse of what the superhero genre could become: tragic, mythic, and — dare I say — sincere." - Reginald Thistlewaite, The London Review of Film

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence, destruction, some language, and thematic elements.