{"id":79076,"date":"2012-05-04T08:38:39","date_gmt":"2012-05-04T15:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lookingcloser.org\/?p=79076"},"modified":"2012-09-27T10:19:51","modified_gmt":"2012-09-27T16:19:51","slug":"iron-man-thor-the-hulk-captain-america-black-widow-hawkeye-and-me-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lookingcloser\/2012\/05\/iron-man-thor-the-hulk-captain-america-black-widow-hawkeye-and-me-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye … and Me."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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On Monday night, April 31, Anne and I sat in the middle of a crowd of comic book superhero fans and film critics. And we had a fantastic time, as the crowd cheered and laughed and celebrated throughout The Avengers<\/em>\u2018 142-minute running time.<\/p>\n

But then, what you feel while you\u2019re watching a movie can be very different from what you think about after the movie.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written a review that includes all of the exclamation points that were exploding in my head while I watched the movie\u2026 and yet it also includes many of the misgivings I felt after the movie was over.<\/p>\n

Visit Filmwell to read the whole review.<\/a><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s just a piece of it. (But the best parts are over at Filmwell<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\u2026 believe it or not, it is not my intention to condemn the affair. I enjoy a good superhero movie the way I enjoy a bowl of ice cream, and this is a six-scoop sundae covered in toppings. I\u2019m just here to point out that it\u2019s not a particularly healthy form of entertainment, it is calculated to give us what we want rather than what we need; and it\u2019s full of artificial ingredients. To put it another way: It\u2019s basically history\u2019s most expensive Itchy and Scratchy cartoon. And it so focused on fulfilling adolescent fanboy fantasies that it makes\u00a0X-Men: First Class\u00a0<\/em>seem like Shakespeare in the Park.<\/p>\n

Still, while\u00a0I may be 41, I\u2019m also 14.\u00a0I\u2019ve always enjoyed ice cream sundaes just as I\u2019ve always been thrilled by blockbuster Fourth of July fireworks shows.<\/p>\n

And as fireworks displays go,\u00a0The Avengers\u00a0<\/em>delivers the awesome.<\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s abandon the essay. It seems more appropriate to respond\u00a0to<\/em>\u00a0explosions\u00a0with<\/em>\u00a0explosions. That\u2019s what I\u2019ll do.<\/p>\n

Since the movie isn\u2019t so much a work of storytelling as it\u2019s a marathon of wish-fulfillment moments for comic book enthusiasts \u2014 punches peppered with punchlines \u2014 here it comes: A movie review made of comic-book style exclamations from my inner 14-year-old, which should easily fit into dialogue balloons. I\u2019ve even put quotation marks around a bunch of outbursts for your convenience. And I\u2019ve included exclamation points, since no movie has ever made them so necessary.<\/p>\n

What can we say about writer and director Joss Whedon?<\/p>\n