The Avengers 3D Blu-ray delivers stunning video and reference-quality audio in this exceptional Blu-ray release
When the Tesseract, a cube of pure energy with the power to destroy the Earth, is stolen by the nefarious God of Mischief, Loki, S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Nick Fury embarks on a daring recruitment effort spanning the globe to assemble a team of the world's most powerful superheroes to get it back. Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye and The Hulk are brought together to stop Loki. But unfortunately, it'll take more than just assembling them to save the world from the brink of destruction. Based on the Marvel Comics characters.
For more about The Avengers 3D and the The Avengers 3D Blu-ray release, see the The Avengers 3D Blu-ray Review published by Jeffrey Kauffman on September 20, 2012 where this Blu-ray release scored 4.5 out of 5.
To paraphrase a quote by the redoubtable Mark Twain, reports of the death of the superhero film franchise are greatly
exaggerated. Every time a superhero film arrives that doesn't instantaneously leap tall buildings in a single bound (Green Lantern, anyone?),
the press goes into hyperdrive proclaiming the end of a genre that has been a staple of film at least since the early
days of Superman and Batman serials in the mid-twentieth century. While those manning adaptations
of DC Comics
could pretend to ignore disappointments like Green Lantern due to their stellar run with the Christopher Nolan
Batman reboot (aside from the horrendous tragedy in Colorado earlier this year), they've had a tougher row to
hoe with their proposed reboot of the Superman franchise (with the long gestating Man of Steel). That
property is facing serious problems due to several lawsuits involving heirs to the estates of Superman's
creators, a tangle of litigation which may prevent any adaptation from moving forward, at least for the
foreseeable future. Marvel, once the scrappy also-ran in the comic book wars, has had a much better time of it, despite
the occasional misfire along the way. While Marvel may have stumbled at least a little bit with its two lackluster
Hulk attempts, and with second tier fare like the Ghost Rider franchise, the past several years have
seen a number of high profile superhero films culled from Marvel comics that have met both with serious critical acclaim
as well as humongous boxoffice receipts. Several of these Marvel adaptations have featured huge casts aggregating
several superheroes in properties including The Fantastic Four and X-Men. Still, nothing quite as immense as The
Avengers had ever been tried before, and Marvel took the rather unusual step of rolling out what is set to be a
major tentpole for the next several years over the course of at least a couple of other films, with co-star Samuel L.
Jackson providing cameos in single superhero offerings like Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, in a blatant if very smart attempt
to whet viewers' appetites for what was obviously going to be a major mashup of Marvel legends.
So was all that appetite whetting in service of a decent main course? Absolutely. One of the first things that
even casual appreciators of The Avengers may notice is how brilliantly the little seeds that were planted in the
last few Marvel superhero outings blossom in this new film. What's even more remarkable, however, is that while it
can't be denied that having seen the last few films (especially Thor) helps to set the stage for The
Avengers' major plot points, it isn't absolutely necessary. Rarely has a new franchise built upon the veritable
shoulders of several other films so intelligently furthered those individual elements while at the same time working just
as well independently of them.
The sibling rivalry at the heart of Thor is the prime motivator for much of what transpires in The
Avengers. Black sheep Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is in cahoots with a bunch of nasty aliens called the Chitauri, with
whom he has struck a deal involving the glowing blue cube of pure energy known as the Tesseract (as a Madeleine
L'Engle A Wrinkle in Time fan, may I just interject that that term will forever be linked in my mind to L'Engle's
books). Loki's goal is to steal the Tesseract, deliver it to the Chitauri, at which point a large horde of Chitauri will aid
Loki in enslaving Mankind. In the meantime, super-secret spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. (an acronym which has had any
number of definitions through the years in the Marvel universe) and its spymaster Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) have
been employing the services of scientist Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgĺrd) and agent Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye (Jeremy
Renner) to run experiments on the Tesseract. Those experiments go seriously awry when Loki utilizes them to open a
portal and enter our little corner of the universe, whereupon he uses his glowing blue spear to hypnotize both Selvig
and Hawkeye, making off with them and the Tesseract.
That in turn leads Fury to recruit all the members of what S.H.I.E.L.D. has been referring to as the "Avengers Initiative".
Aside from Captain America (Chris Evans) and Tony Stark AKA Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Fury and his aide Coulson
(Clark Gregg) reach out to Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), asking her in turn to track down
Dr. Bruce Banner AKA The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), since Banner's longstanding research into Gamma Rays evidently equips
him to track down the missing Tesseract. Into this motley group flies Thor (Chris Hemsworth), descending from the
heavens to track down his errant adopted brother.
Whedon threads this multi-pronged needle with incredible facility, managing to sum up characters in a just a beat or
two before moving on to the more important kind of beat, the beat down. The whole central section of The
Avengers actually sees a number of fantastic and often funny battles between the superheroes themselves, before
they turn their collective sights on Loki and the Chitauri. Rather interestingly, these bombastic sequences actually help
to
develop the characters rather than just act as adrenaline pumping instruments, and it's also here that Whedon's
fantastic sense of humor comes to the fore and elevates the film above the often turgid and self-important superhero
ambience. Without spoiling any punchlines, suffice it to say that (to give just two examples) Stark's snarkiness and
Captain America's earnestness each deliver some classic one liners which are not just laugh out loud hilarious but
actually help to develop the interrelationships between the various characters.
The Avengers is a breathless and mostly elegantly structured entertainment that manages to let each of the
superheroes (and their merely mortal helpers) have their moment in the sun while at the same time providing some
fantastic set pieces. Truth be told, virtually the entire final hour of the film is one huge set piece as Loki's shenanigans
allow the Chitauri to start teleporting into a suitably distraught Manhattan. All of this said, is this a perfect
superhero film? Probably not. That same final battle might last a little too long and I for one just couldn't warm to
Ruffalo as Banner (one assumes that's not him as The Hulk). But these are very minor quibbles in what has to
be one of the most rousing action films of at least the past decade. Whedon expresses some surprise (consternation,
really) that he was handed this property without having a large film oeuvre already under his belt, but The
Avengers proves that he was an incredibly smart choice to man an incredibly entertaining film.
The Avengers in 3D is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Disney – Buena
Vista (who distributed the film) with an MPEG-4 MVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. 3D activity here is generally
consistent but suffers from the same problem which affects the film's 2D version, namely its ubiquitous darkness. Because
the first half of the film especially is so intentionally murky looking, dimensionality is somewhat limited and tends to pop up
mostly in foreground objects which suddenly enter the frame courtesy of Whedon's penchant for tracking shots. The
second half of the film, which is considerably lighter and brighter, really explodes with some fantastic 3D action, including
Hawkeye's arrows shooting toward the viewer and the massive, dinosaur like Chitauri vessels exploding through the
interstellar portal and seeming to burst out of the screen. Some viewers may notice the 3D presentation will be more prone
to crosstalk or ghosting on some displays, once
again exacerbated by Whedon's hyperkinetic camera style. Keep your eye on the lower right side of the screen when the
flying aircraft carrier is introduced and you may see a double image on one of the tether ties that extends beyond the
frame. Colors are also just slightly more muted in the 3D version, though the ubiquitous blues which dot the film courtesy
of the Tesseract and its accoutrements pop magnificently. But these are minor quibbles in what is overall a thrilling and
immersive visual experience.
The Avengers features an astoundingly effective lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix. For those of you who are
new to high definition audio and wonder what all the fuss about "LFE" is about, pop The Avengers in your Blu-ray
player and prepare to feel the might force of interstellar energy pulse through your very being. This is one of the most
fantastically robust mixes I've personally experienced, one that keeps the low frequency effects coming from virtually the
first second of the film, but which never overplays its hand, allowing the listener to catch a little "breathing room" before
launching off on a new sonic attack. Immersion is simply perfectly handled. Spaceships whiz through the soundfield with
clear panning action, various punches and bone cracking moves are perfectly placed around the surrounds, while at the
same time dialogue is never sacrificed and rings through loudly and clearly. Particular attention has been paid to various
ambient effects; notice Stark's "cloistered" sounding voice when he's inside his Iron Man suit, or the creepy, bass heavy
tones (very reminiscent of Darth Vader) of Loki's Chitauri collaborator. Fidelity is sterling and dynamic range is amazing in
this reference quality track.
No supplements of any kind are included on the 3D version of The Avengers. The 2D version of the film includes
these supplements:
Commentary by Director Joss Whedon Whedon is his typically dryly humorous self, starting out by
agreeing with those who question why he of all people was chosen to direct such a humongous production. Whedon
then goes on a hilarious "rant" about how awful he wanted to make everything for the cast and crew. Whedon does get
into quite a bit of the technical details of shooting in 3D, talking about his preference for fluid camera moves and
midrange shots to emphasize dimensionality. Whedon is incredibly self deprecating throughout this commentary,
something that makes his insights all the more enjoyable. It's nice to listen to an auteur who has no ostensible
delusions of grandeur.
The Avengers Initiative: A Marvel Second Screen Experience allows viewers to access a supposed
S.H.I.E.L.D. database which includes information on the various characters and story elements via their Ipad, Iphone or
laptop.
Marvel One-Shot: Item 47 (HD; 11:20) is another direct to video release short which has a tangential tie in
to the main feature. In this outing, Jesse Bradford and Lizzy Caplan play down on their luck would-be thieves who have
stumbled onto a piece of extraterrestrial gadgetry which they hope will help them achieve their wildest dreams.
Gag Reel (HD; 4:05)
Deleted and Extended Scenes (HD; 14:59) features eight scenes, including an alternate opening and
ending. Some of these feature raw footage and animatics and all of them have very small timecode captions and other
identifying features in very small text at the top and bottom of the frame.
Featurettes (HD; 14:37) include A Visual Journey and Assembling the Ultimate Team. Both
feature Whedon and others in interviews discussing the aims for this new franchise.
Soundgarden Music Video "Live to Rise" (HD; 4:49). Who decided to offer this in Dolby Digital 2.0? I think
the Hulk needs to visit them, whoever they are.
The Avengers is a near-perfect "summer blockbuster", a film which weaves together a glut of previously introduced
characters (and storylines) about as effortlessly as possible, while bringing a new face or two into the mix. Rousing without
ever seeming manic, and wonderfully funny a lot of the time, The Avengers easily establishes Whedon as one of the
most formidable writing-directing talents of his generation. The film has a couple of niggling issues, but its self-awareness
helps to overcome them without any false irony. The first half of the film is awfully dark, making some of the action too hard
to see, but once the final battle erupts during the final hour or so, The Avengers is just a nonstop assault of visual
and aural treats. The 3D version offers consistent depth, though due to the film's darkness in its first half, some of that
depth is only hinted at, mostly by objects in the foreground which are more easily discerned. Though a couple of minor
issues of crosstalk which may crop up for some viewers depending on their display and/or glasses, this is overall a nice
looking 3D offering which never seems artificial and in fact tends to err on
the side of restraint, which actually helps augment the visual immersion, since it isn't constantly "in your face". This Blu-ray
offers excellent 3D video and reference quality audio, as well as an appealing package of supplements. Highly
recommended.
The Avengers: Other Editions
4K SteelBook
2-disc set
4K SteelBook
2-disc set
Wal-Mart
4K SteelBook
2-disc set
Best Buy
4K
2-disc set $24.96
3D
3-disc set
3D
3-disc set
Best Buy
3D
5-disc set
Target
Blu-ray
1-disc
Target
Blu-ray
2-disc set
Blu-ray
2-disc set
SteelBook
1-disc
Best Buy
Blu-ray
3-disc set
Target
Blu-ray
1-disc
Blu-ray
-
Best Buy
Blu-ray
2-disc set
Blu-ray
2-disc set
Wal-Mart
Blu-ray Bundles/Box Sets with The Avengers 3D (1 bundle)
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Walt Disney Home Entertainment announced today that it will release on 4K Blu-ray The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron. The two releases will be available for purchase on August 14.
Best Buy has also launched their Black Friday deals, among the more popular deals are
Godzilla $7.99, Transformers Age of Extinction $5.99, How to Train Your Dragon 2 $9.99,
Edge of Tomorrow $7.99, Maleficient $9.99, Divergent $7.99 and more.
Black Friday Blu-ray deals keep coming in (so keep an eye on the newest deals page for updates). Now is the time to get your movies and/or Holiday gifts at the best prices.
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