The Avengers

With a movie like this you wonder how all of the otherwise, main characters will work together and support the story.

No problems here. While as might be expected, R. Downey Jr. comes across largely central, it is still a good mix and IMHO the best scenes in the movie involve the generated Hulk character.

With that kind of successful melding of characters, Hollywood-scale egos and even computer generated characters; you have to give it up to the writers and director to make this the successful film that it is.

A long format review from 2012

My new favourite Marvel Cinematic Universe film, undoubtedly! Order goes thusly;

1. The Avengers
2. Iron Man
3. Thor
4. Captain America
5. Iron Man 2
6. The Incredible Hulk

I had the privilege of going to Sydney and watching this almost a full three weeks before it’s American release, in a special advance screening for fans and a handful of critics. I drove up and back on a day trip with my mate HRV, spent over $400 between us… So worth it.

I think perhaps my expectations of The Avengers were too high. In fact I know they were, even so, I feel that it almost managed to meet them. All but two of the fears I had about this epic were quashed without a doubt. I initially was worried about Mark Ruffalo helming the role of The Hulk/Bruce Banner after taking over from Edward Norton who was ousted after his first appearance. My complaints were completely unfounded however, as Mark Ruffalo presents us with an at least as good Marvel Hero.

In terms of entertainment, The Avengers is one of the greatest feats ever produced. At the screening I went to, I actually missed more than a couple of lines due to the fact that the entire bloody cinema was in hysterics from some classic Joss Whedon (Director - Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse) humour. The squabbles between these larger than life characters are not quite up to the peak that Jon Favreau’s Iron Man & Iron Man 2 sit on, but in terms of film in general, they are some of the better interactions I’ve ever seen.

The only weak points I really have to whinge about are both quite minor, and perhaps can be rectified in the MCU future. Firstly, Thor’s return to Earth (whilst brilliantly dramatic and pretty) was quite weak in terms of exposition. That said, this isn’t a Thor movie, so we don’t need to know everything that happens to him. Also, in next year’s Thor 2, it is very possible we’ll discover more specific details about the first few scenes of his return. Secondly, Loki...

After the recent disappointments from Marvel, notably Thor and the abysmal second instalment of Ghost Rider, this was a pleasant experience.

The special effects are dazzling, the plot is acceptable and the heroes are not making total idiots out of themselves just because the director wanted some “depth” to their characters. Sure there is a little bickering in between them but not too much to distract from the fun.

I’ve always liked Robert Downey Jr’s portrayal of Tony Stark and his sharp tongue. I did wonder how they where going to get the Hulk in there since he’s supposed to be uncontrollable but they did it. Okay they downplayed his uncontrollability a bit but I can live with that. I absolutely loved the “puny god” scene (if you haven’t seen the film yet you’ll have to see it to know what I mean, I wont spoil it in advance).

I have to say that I found Thor himself a bit underwhelming again though. I just expect something more imposing as the good of thunder. But then I’m Scandinavian so…

Anyway, this was a great film. I enjoyed it very much.

One of the few movies to actually make me feel like a kid again, Joss Whedon was the perfect filmmaker to do this film. Everyone gets their time to shine. The script juggles every plot point and character moment with clarity and ease. It's funny, smart, and visually jaw dropping. Definitely lived up to the five movie hype.

I give this 10 Stars based on it being not only better than the trailer and the hype made me thing it would be, but also that it was the first time anything the size and scope of the Marvel Cinematic universe was pulled off successfully. Having Joss direct this movie lives and dies on character interaction. This movie is on the definitive list in my opinion even just for that.

Everything that's happening, the things that are about to come to light, people might just need a little old fashioned.

The Avengers (AKA: Avengers Assemble) is written and directed by Joss Whedon, with Zak Penn co-writing the story. It stars Robert Downey Junior, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddlestone, Clark Gregg, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders and Stellan Skarsgard. Music is scored by Alan Silvestri and cinematography by Seamus McGarvey.

Asgardian outcast Loki (Hiddlestone) has struck a deal with the Chitauri to exchange the Tesseract for an army with which he can attack Earth and thus control it. With the Earth in mortal danger, S.H.I.E.L.D director Nick Fury (Jackson) activates the Avengers Initiative; a collection of super heroes and deadly assassins who, if they can actually come together as one united force, hold the fate of the Earth in their hands.

I have no real frame of reference with The Avengers comic book world, when I was young I read a bit of Spidey, Batman and was kind of partial to The Fantastic Four, but I really don't remember story lines and gave up reading that sort of stuff once sport and exams came into my life. I love movies and as I enter the later stages of my forties I'm pleased to say I have a wide range of film genre interests. I have very much enjoyed The Avengers solo films so far, with the exception of Iron Man 2 which quite frankly is average at best, but the reality is that if The Avengers failed as a movie, that Whedon got it so wrong, then I wouldn't be foaming at the mouth or proclaiming that the director be stripped naked and whipped around the streets of Hollywood! As it is, with one or two minor irks aside, The Avengers is about as much fun as I have had with a movie in quite a few years.

I wouldn't know if the makers got the essence right, or if the story is at one in the Marvel Avengers Universe, I just know that it is a right old blast and made a colos...

The Avengers is a dream movie come true for superhero fans with its group of extremely talented actors and epic champions, to create an action- packed movie with hilarious banter laced in between scenes. I love how each of the actors and actresses has portrayed each of the roles they were given.

Definitely the greatest superhero movie of all time. Marvel has set the bar high with this one and so far, they're doing a good job of keeping up with that despite not being able to raise it higher!

I found it creative of Marvel to introduce each character one by one. It really set the tone and had me looking forward to what's gonna happen.

Perfect casting! You can really see and feel that the actors have great chemistry both in and out of their characters.