"We need a plan of attack." ... "I have a plan: attack!"

Rating: 5/10 (6 May 2012)

Simple-minded live-action comic book extravaganza uniting Earth's resident superheroes to thwart Thor's adoptive brother Loki and his faceless army from destroying the world. The 3D effects aren't terribly good, though the film looks expensive and is top-heavy with crushing destruction (taking place in Manhattan, somewhat disconcerting in the post-9/11 years), coupled with blisteringly loud sound effects. Robert Downey Jr. brings his usual panache to the fore as Tony Stark/Iron Man, and Chris Evans is a wonderfully well-scrubbed Captain America, but others in the all-star cast (particularly Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Ruffalo and, in a cameo, Gwyneth Paltrow) just appear to be slumming. The script (by Joss Whedon, who also directed) could only be amazing and complex to comic book fans who haven't been comic book fans for very long. It's a mechanical enterprise for audiences looking to be uplifted by the sight of buildings (and people) being obliterated...and the patriotic revenge therein. ** from ****