10 Problems with the Avengers

Instead of writing another review about how awesome the Avengers is, I thought it would be more fun to examine some logical flaws in the plot that you might have overlooked. :) Also, I thought it would be fun to borrow a bit from Mark Twain's critique of the Deerslayer series.

WARNING: This may contain spoilers!

And you thought this movie was "realistic"?

1. Nick Fury gets shot.

In the very first scene, Nick Fury is shot in the chest and the force of the bullet is enough to to throw him off a platform. Not only does he not seem to suffer major injury, but he seems completely unhurt. After all, in real life, a bullet to the left chest is a critical injury, if not fatal. Yet not only does Fury survive the fall without injury, but he calls his allies with no breathing difficulty, and proceeds to run through the building as it collapses in mere seconds. Not only does he get into a helicopter, but he also begins to shoot Loki's vehicle from the air, and then bails out as the helicopter crashes, just in time.


Oh, and he can also shoot F-22s with bazookas WITH ONE EYE!

Reindeer Games, remember?

2. Loki's multiple illusions all can act independently.

Loki is supposed to have the power to create multiple illusions of himself. But in the Stuttgart, Germany scene, each of these illusions move on their own during his speech. Only the real him gives the speech while the others scan the crowd. This doesn't make any sense.

3. Iron Man's suit charges up to 400%.

This made absolutely no sense. Sure, the massive electricity would have just passed through him and wouldn't have harmed him. Buut....The massive surge would have completely fried the delicate silicon chips that create the complex interfaces and weaponry displays for Iron Man. Basically, his suit would have lost all hi-tech functionality.

Sorry, I was under contract for this so I passed up on a chance
to be in the biggest movie of all time

4. Movie constraints clearly limited the cast.

For instance, there's no way that Thor went straight back home without visiting Jane. But of course, they couldn't pay the cost for Natalie Portman who would definitely have wanted a fortune just for a 30-second scene. Also, I really wanted to see Rhodey/War Machine. Um, last I checked, he's a colonel who's fairly high up in the military, is very close to Tony, and would most likely know about the Avengers initiative. There is no clear explanation of why he's not helping out in the NYC battle scenes. Of course, contract negotiations probably broke down with Don Cheadle.

5. The Aircraft Carrier that Becomes a plane that can fly at 35,000 feet.

Obvious Plot Silliness is Obvious.

6. The invisible technology is so pointless.

The only benefit to being invisible...is...I'm waiting for it. Enemy forces can easily find a gigantic aircraft carrier with radar. Invisibility doesn't stop radar. It's 35,000 feet in the air so it's not like they're trying to hid from the naked eye on the ground. Renner seems to be able to "see" it and find it easily. The technology had no practical purpose other than being "cool". What a waste of government money. :)

Guess who forgot to pack his oxygen mask?

6. Everyone doesn't die of depleted oxygen.

Why do I say this? Fury tells Loki that the Helicarrier is 35,000 ft in the air. The carrier itself is clearly pressurized. (No one can survive at that height). People die at Everest without oxygen tanks? Well, this is a lot worse. And then, in comes Jeremy Renner, without a mask of any sort, the back of the transport opens, and he's standing in the open air and breathing just fine.  Hulk breaks open the cabin glass yet no one starts gasping for air. This was a huge plot hole. Captain America just stands around on the top of the carrier.

7. The Hulk arrives in Manhattan on a motorcycle.

Riiiight. Wherever the Helicarrier was, it wasn't over the Northeast. The Hulk falls into an English-speaking area, where a man informs him that there's no one around for miles. Clearly somewhere isolated. Canada? Yet, just maybe an hour later, Banner has arrived on a motorcycle in war-torn NYC. So you're telling me that NYC, notorious for traffic jams wouldn't have had a massive influx of people trying to get out? And Banner can just enter the city and somehow find the Avengers with no previous contact? In an hour or two? Riiight.

8. The Aliens all die when the mothership is blown up??

How is this possible? These aren't robots. These are flesh and blood aliens. And they don't have mind-meld powers because when Iron Man enters the bank, each alien acts independently and don't notice him all at once. But when the mothership blows up, the aliens "deactivate" as if they're all droids in Phantom Menace Episode I.

9. Iron Man doesn't die.
Last time I checked, there is a heat barrier that the space shuttle has to weather on reentry into the atmosphere. Also, I highly doubt the Iron Man suit has a breathing system that can survive space. And apparently, he can't. He faints and apparently stops breathing. So wait, after that, the Hulk can simply roar and revive him? With no lasting effects? Seriously? He should have been dead way before he made it back.

10. The little details.

The Hulk would never be free of those seeking
the secret of the magical, no-rip pants

Hulk's pants. Apparently, his regular shirt rips off and so does his glasses but his pants conveniently stay on. Oh wait, they disappear when he crashes through the building ceiling. Then, he's wearing khaki's again in the NYC scene. I'm pretty sure those things were not built to expand by seventeen waist sizes.
They don't change the password. So they know that Jeremy Renner, the trusted agent is loose with Shield weaponry and that he knows all their dirty secrets. But they don't change their aircraft access codes? Wow.
The bloody Captain America trading cards. So Fury uses these to motivate his guys and they're all bloody because they were in Coulson's jacket. Wait, Fury later admits he took them out of Coulson's locker. So you mean he went and doused the cards in Coulson's blood before using them as a prop? Gross.
 Product Placement forced Tony to change his car. The Iron Man films always show Iron Man driving snazzy Audi R8s and whatnot. But in this film, they zoom in on the logo on his car - Acura. Apparently, Acura paid for product placement so Tony had to get a new favorite brand.
And my favorite....

Mind Control is easily reversible with a good bump on the head.

For some reason, I feel that I should have asked for a warranty on this.