Everything a super hero movie should be

Rating: 9/10 (21 May 2012)

I went into the Avengers with no expectations. I'm not really all that big on the super hero movies, but I don't dislike them either. I have at least seen all the newest Spiderman, Batman, Iron Man, and Hulk movies, being a teenage boy. However, when I heard about the Avengers, I just thought it sounded stupid. Then, when it was released, I kept hearing great things. So I thought, "maybe". Then, when some friends invited me to go see it in IMAX, I thought "Scarlett Johansson on a screen the size of my house? Heck yes!" So, I was pretty open minded. And it was great.
I don't want to give too many spoilers, so I'll just break it into sections: Acting- 8/10
Robert Downey Jr. gave a great performance as the narcissistic billionaire, Tony Stark. I thought his lines were very well scripted- some of the best in the movie, and he delivered them well.
 Chris Evans did well in his part as the confused Captain America, who is still used to living in the 1940's (you will be slightly confused unless you've seen CA- I watched it afterward and it cleared things up). I do think he was slightly out shined by RDJ, who really stole the show, but they both did a great job playing off of each other to show the tension between them.
It is a little hard for me to pass judgement on Scarlett Johansson's performance, as I was slightly distracted (and by slightly I mean very) by her hotness, but I think she did well.
Mark Ruffalo did quite well as the tortured Bruce Banner. He managed to create a complex, layered character with what was possibly fewer lines than any of the other super heroes in the movie. (don't quote me on that)
Chris Hemsworth did surprisingly well as Thor, also. I watched Thor last night and was very underwhelmed with his performance. It doesn't even compare to the Avengers.
Jeremy Renner did OK as Agent Barton, though I felt he tried to play up the "Bad-A Mercenary guy" a little too much.
Tom Hiddleston did very well as Loki, once again. I was impressed with him in Thor as well (he was just about the only one). He portrayed a bad guy that was, without a doubt, a bad guy, but that maybe was just a little misled and misunderstood as well. He managed to make a lot of little, as his character was one aspect where I felt the writing flopped a little bit. Clark Gregg did fine as Agent Coulson, though his character was different than in the previous movies.
Cobie Smulders was just OK. I think perhaps shes more suited for comedy.
Samuel Jackson did great as Nick Fury, as expected.
Plot- 7/10 It was much better than I expected. Very few plot holes, if any, unlike certain other summer blockbusters (cough cough Transformers). The only thing I was ever really confused about was some of the backstory with Thor and Captain America, since I hadn't yet seen them.
Special Effects- 10/10 Amazing. 'Nuff said.
Conclusion- 9/10 Overall, it's everything a super hero movie should be.