Dane and I went to a late night showing last night. Kung fu this morning is going to be a bit rough going, but it was worth it. Joss Whedon did not let me down. The dialog was amazing. The character development -- considering he had six heroes to juggle on screen, two of which have not had their own films (or TV series) with which to establish themselves -- was nothing short of brilliant. And while Black Widow was still sporting 6" heels*, at least they were wedges colored to match her jumpsuit (thus camouflaged) and more stable in an engineering sense than spike-heeled pumps or boots. This left me with the impression that she was walking on stilts in order to prevent her from looking like a child compared to the other actors. (She is 5'4" tall.) That counts as a practical reason. So, I'm okay with that. It was also nice to see more than one kick ass female character with a name on screen in a comic book movie who was not a romantic interest -- Ms. Hill. It was also great to see that these two characters were not the only females on screen. There were many other nameless characters in the background as there were nameless males. Not quite a 50/50 ratio but close enough to give the impression that SHIELD employs more than two females. Since SHIELD is both a secular organization and a government run one, realistically, this would be the case. Quite nice, that. The jumpsuits worn by Black Widow and Ms. Hill were also more loosely-fitting than I ever recall seeing in a comic book film before. There seemed to be more emphasis on practicality which made me happy. Speaking as a martial arts student, there is no way you can do those moves in tight leather. No. F-ing. Way. All in all, the film was a blast, very, very well done, and well worth the 3D. Once again, Joss Whedon flexed those mighty writer muscles and proved he is the king of dialog.

There was only one little problem, and frankly, it wasn't Joss's fault. In order to assure decent seats on opening weekend, Dane and I went to a theater that wasn't as pricey as the one we usually frequent. (Ah, Alamo Drafthouse. How do we love thee?) The theater was in a different area of town, and thus, a) didn't sell out completely and b) was far more ethnically diverse. As a result, Cap wasn't the only one who didn't catch some of the geek in-jokes -- or at least didn't respond to them. It made me aware of how much privilege geek culture has these days. It was kind of odd to witness the real world affects of this tidal change. I'm glad I did.  As a writer, it's something one needs to be aware of.
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*Yes. I always look at the female hero's shoes. It tells me whether or not she's being taken seriously as a hero or whether her actual function in the film is romantic interest or decoration passing for Strong Female Character(tm).