Marvel's The Avengers [4K UHD]

....And what fun it is.*Spoilers Ahead*Marvel's "The Avengers" is an expertly-crafted movie that makes 2 1/2 hours fly by like....well....I don't really know...SOMETHING FAST. My thoughts on seeing this movie--the first time (yes, you WILL go to see this more than once)--were: "This was just as good as 'The Dark Knight'....how is THAT even possible?" Well...consider first that Marvel has always had the best storylines, and the know-how to mix all of their characters' comic books together into one, all-encompassing storyline. Then, consider they decided to apply said formula to their movies. Third, they went out and expertly casted the parts.How could this NOT be good?Who else but Robert Downey, Jr could be a multi-billionaire, techno-wizard, armor-wearing snark-artist? Acts like he doesn't care, but is willing to sacrifice his life to save New York.Chris Evans is Captain America. A 1940s guy living in the present day....brings "a little old-fashioned" to the role and shows old-fashionedness isn't cheesy, it just depends on how it is presented. It is presented very well, with Evans being the heart and soul (not to mention team leader) of The Avengers--by the way: love the shot, at the movie's end, of him on his motorcycle riding off into the sunset.Mark Ruffalo, (great casting here; now I feel the Hulk movie franchise finally has hope) channels Bill Bixby in his performance (good idea!) but adds a "Hulk-sized" portion of world-weariness to his character...his over-the-shoulder "I'm always angry" is one of my favorite moments in an entire movie of favorite moments. And....The Hulk gets two more "Hulk-sized" moments that totally bring the house down.Oh, nice touch having Lou Ferrigno voice the Hulk.Chris Hemsworth as Thor is the only character in the movie whom I feel was under-utilized. No fault of the actor's; he does a great job with what he is given....and DOES have his moments ("He's adopted")....I just felt they didn't give him as much as they did the other three leads.Rounding out The Avengers are Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner as the assassin/couple: Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff) and Hawkeye. Ms. Johansson is a master interrogator (albeit by making use of quite unorthodox means). Hawkeye is the steely-cool expert marksman--I had my doubts as to how an archer could work in such a high-energy movie. It works.The Avengers are put together by SHIELD: Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury (need I say more?); Clark Gregg (Agent Phil Coulson, and very funny in the role); Colbie Smulders (Agent Maria Hill--doesn't get nearly enough screen time) and Stellan Starsgard.Loki is portrayed by Tom Hiddleston; whom, for a character thinking of himself as a god, brings some amusing vunerability to the character: His embarrassment at being unable to kill/brainwash Tony Stark: "This usually works."; or, "If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now."I was initially skeptical about this movie. I didn't think Loki was the best choice for a screen villain. Er, was I wrong....this tale of an immortal/meglomaniac/demigod/god-wannabe who enlists an alien race to help him conquer Earth (Question: if Loki *really* was a god, why would he need alien help?) made for some great popcorn, big-tent, summer viewing.....My other initial fear was that this wasn't going to be "The Avengers" as much as it would be "Iron Man and Friends".Thankfully, I was wrong again.To sum up: The Avengers is cinematic excellence. Many have complained about it being too long--and, the first 20 minutes or so setting up the story *do* take a moment....but once "Marvel's The Avengers" splashes across the screen: The movie takes off and never looks back. It is packed with great moments and memorable lines/one-liners. The action sequences are the best I've ever seen and it all looks real. Seems I read somewhere online the battle in New York would have done (in reality) 39 billion dollars' worth of damage. You WILL believe it.Oh, one last thing: sit through ALL of the credits.Thank you, Joss Whedon and co.Please go all-out on the blu-ray release. Please.QuotesNatasha: "I'd sit this one out, Cap."Captain America: "I don't see how I can."Natasha: "These guys (Thor and Loki) come from legend. They're basically gods."Cap: "There's only one God, ma'am. And I'm pretty sure he isn't dressed like that."Cap: "Dr. Banner, now might be a good time for you to get angry."Dr. Banner: "That's my secret, Captain." (looks back over his shoulder at Cap) "I'm always angry."Loki: (embarrassed) "This usually works."Tony Stark: "Well, you know, performance issues...""The Avengers"PG-13 for language (non-harsh) and violence; no gore or sex to be found, parents.Marvel Studios in association with Paramount PicturesDirected by Joss Whedon**********UPDATE: Oct. 2, 2012**********Ok, the Blu-Ray/DVD has finally arrived, here is what you get:DISC 1*Blu-Ray Feature Film in 3D (3D viewing requires Blu-Ray 3D player, 3D capable display and 3D glassesDISC 2*Blu-Ray Feature Film*An original SHORT: "Item 47". I won't give the story away, but it could have been called, "Fun at the gas pump".*FEATURETTE: "A Visual Journey". Documentary about the film's look, ranging from the set-building and visual effects all the way through to the film's cinematography, too.*Marvel's First Ever Gag Reel: The outtakes are presented are entertaining enough, but the whole featurette is barely five minutes long. I wish it were a half-hour in length--at the least.*Deleted Scenes: and, a LOT of them. One very interesting one concerning a present-day Captain America *and* his love interest from "Captain America-The First Avenger". I had heard a rumor these deleted scenes WOULD BE INSERTED SEAMLESSLY into the original movie, giving us a new, special edition version....said rumor was wrong.*Soundgarden Music Video: :Live To Rise".*The Avengers Initiative: A Marvel Second Screen Experience. This works on your iphone, ipad or laptop. Once enabled, it "breaks you into" S.H.I.E.L.D.'s data base and allows you to explore:1) Marvel's cinematic history2) The comic book history of The Avengers3) Avenger personnel files and originsDISC 3*DVD Feature Film*Audio Commentary (full-length) with director Joss Whedon. I've listened to it--very well done.*Featurette--Assembling The Ultimate Team: the movie casting process, what the actor's bring to their roles, character interactions, etc, etc.DISC 4*Digital Copy (for Mac and PC)*Digital Album1) Soundgarden-Live To Rise2) Shinedown-I'm Alive3) Rise Against-Dirt And Roses4) Papa Roach-Even If I Could5) Black Veil Brides-Unbroken6) Scott Weiland-Breathe7) Redlight King-Comeback8) Bush-Into The Blue9) Evanescence-A New Way To Bleed (Photek Remix)10) Pusher Jones-Count Me Out11) Buckcherry-Wherever I Go12) Five Finger Death Punch-From Out Of Nowhere13) Cherri Bomb-Shake The GroundFINALLY*Technical Specifications:Blu-Ray: 1080p High Definition Widescreen (1.78:1) * Audio: English 7.1 DTS-HD MA, English DVS 2.0 Dolby Digital, 7.1 DTS-HDHR French, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital Language Tracks * Subtitles: English SDH, French and SpanishDVD: Widescreen (1.78:1) Aspect Ratio * Audio: English, French, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, English DVS 2.0 Dolby Digital Language Tracks * Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish (Applies To Film Content Only)Film's RUN TIME is 143 Minutes (Approx.)Avengers.Marvel.com****ALL SPECS AND RELATED INFO ARE TAKEN FROM THE BLU-RAY/DVD PACKAGING--WHICH FEATURES A NICE (DARE I SAY, "COLLECTIBLE?") HOLOGRAM OF ONE OF THE MOVIE'S (FULL TEAM ASSEMBLED) POSTERS ON THE FRONT.Thank you again for reading.

This is a great movie. Humor throughout, stunning visuals, an excellent cast and amazing director, and an interesting, if slightly contrived, story add up to a brilliant movie and a perfect new addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I purchased the 4-disc combo, so this review is for that version.3DThis is by far the best done 3D graphics I've seen on a Blu-ray movie so far. Even the menus have incredible depth. Unfortunately, the price seems to have gone up in line with other 3D movies; on release it was down around $18 on Amazon, miraculously.PackagingThe typical Blu-ray case comes wrapped in a cardboard sleeve with a thick, holographic cover image of the Avengers, plus Nick Fury, looking intimidating on the streets of New York as you can see in the product image. The hologram is pretty nice; it shows a good bit of depth but has very limited range before it repeats. It's pretty much the same image inside the sleeve minus the hologram. Inside, the typical ad leaflets sit on the left along with your code to unlock a digital copy (haven't redeemed it yet, but it says it works with iTunes and Windows Media Player, so it doesn't seem to be Ultraviolet which is nice), a digital music album (see below for tracks), a free digital comic book *offer* (have to be registered at Marvel.com), and a free* movie poster ($3.59 shipping and processing). Another comment mentions having difficulty with the digital copy and downloading the tracks in different regions, so be careful with that if you're interested in those. Rather than have a plastic middle insert with two discs attached to it, both sides of the case have extra deep CD slots that hold two discs each. If you press down on the center plastic mechanism hard enough, the discs come out easily without the death grip some cases seem to have on discs.DiscsThe four discs consist of one Blu-ray 3D copy, one Blu-ray copy, one DVD copy, and one standard definition digital copy. The DVD and Blu-ray discs have several skippable previews before you get to the main menu; I don't think the Blu-ray 3D copy had previews.Special featuresYou can find lists of special features in several places, so I won't list them all. The special features vary by disc. The Blu-ray 3D disc has no special features, the DVD only has commentary by Joss Whedon and Assembling the Ultimate Team special features, and the normal Blu-ray disc has all of them. The deleted and extended scenes are interesting if you enjoy those, but my two personal favorite special features were the gag real and the "Marvel One-Shot: Item 47" digital short. The gag real was funny, though certainly not the best I've seen. A couple scenes near the end of the real are pretty hilarious, though. The Marvel One-Shot is a short film (11:20) about a couple finding one of the pieces of alien technology used by the Chitauri and getting it to work. It was a humorous extra piece of the Marvel Cinematic Universe starring Lizzy Caplan (Party Down, True Blood, Cloverfield, New Girl) and Jesse Bradford (Hackers, Swimfan, Guys With Kids) with Maximiliano Hernández and Titus Welliver.Digital album tracks1. Soundgarden - Live to Rise2. Shinedown - I'm Alive3. Rise Against - Dirt and Roses4. Papa Roach - Even If I Could5. Black Veil Brides - Unbroken6. Scott Weiland - Breathe7. Redlight King - Comeback8. Bush - Into the Blue9. Evanescence - A New Way To Bleed (Photek Remix)10. PusherJones - Count Me Out11. Buckcherry - Wherever I Go12. Five Finger Death Punch - From Out Of Nowhere13. Cherri Bomb - Shake the GroundOverall, I'd definitely recommend this to anyone, especially those looking for a quality 3D movie to show off a 3D TV. Since this was $18ish at release, I was really hoping this would be the one to stop the annoying $30+ 3D Blu-ray trend; alas, it's not. If you're looking for one 3D movie to actually spend the $30 on, though, this one would be an excellent choice.