The only way this film can be enjoyed is to toss away all expectations of what makes up good cinema

Rating: 4/10 (29 August 2018)

The only way this film can be enjoyed is to toss away all expectations of what makes up good cinema and instead go in expecting some cool action, hot chicks and a few wisecracks.
In this endeavor it succeeds fairly well; it is in fact almost nonstop action, and it flows well for this purpose. There's hardly a moment of relative boredom or dullness, and it keeps your attention throughout. Pacing is something many films have trouble with and this does it well.
The special effects and sound editing were very well-done too. Not once did I think they were overdone or cheesy-looking/-sounding, and they packed a punch. The way the aliens looked was neat, and most of the fighting was cool to watch. What sticks out in my memory is Thor hitting his hammer against Captain America's shield, an awesomely done scene for effects.
The humorous one-liners, mostly stemming from Tony Stark but also from the camaraderie among the Avengers group, also work well enough and keep you at least smiling throughout.
However, I sensed a strong amount of cold, calculated filmmaking here. I felt almost no style in this entire film, and instead I felt as if Joss Whedon had a quota to fill as he was filming it. It's almost as if he was thinking, "I need to show what happens during the following encounters: Thor vs. Captain America, Thor vs. Iron Man, Iron Man vs. Loki", etc., and then later on, many combinations of two or three of the Avengers fighting bad guys together, to contrast their earlier conflicts. I appreciate the contrast that went into that aspect, but it just felt plain robotic the way it was executed. The thought pattern I detected was, "You damn well can't have an Avengers movie without this happening, and this, and..." The result of this is that this "quota" took the focus and actually enticing filmmaking was put on the backburner. He was simply showing things happening with entirely no flair or style of direction whatsoever. Oh look, here's Iron Man coming in to save the day! He's going to say something funny, don't we know it! Nothing stylish, unexpected or cinematic happens in this entire film. It left a dry taste in my mouth, despite all the cool effects and fighting.
The story, along with the direction, was very milquetoast and forgettable. To briefly summarize: Loki, an alien, comes down to Earth to wreak havoc; the Avengers team up and stop him and all the aliens he summons through a giant portal as well. You'd think Nick Fury, being the leader of the Avengers, would take on a more interesting storyline role, but he really doesn't. I was maniacally uninterested in every single scene with him talking to the heads of S.H.I.E.L.D., and beyond that his storyline doesn't really go many places in this film. In fact all the other individual character storylines didn't really go anywhere either, which is okay since this film was a group effort, but the overall group storyline was not very interesting either, basically another rendition of saving the planet. Therefore neither the overarching group storyline nor the individual storylines were very fulfilling, leaving the story as a whole lacking.
The script was also extremely dry and poorly written. I feel this was another item that went on the backburner to give the aforementioned "quota" more focus. Most of the lines were very uninteresting and without character. One example that stuck out in my mind is Nick Fury saying, "I'll bet you $10 you're wrong". People may say this phrase in reality; it's not the realism about it I attack but the character and flair of it. This is a movie; when characters speak they should be saying things that are somewhat relevant, interesting, mysterious, gripping, funny, or any combination thereof. Something that delivers, something with edge or character. Most of the lines in the entire film I have completely forgotten already except ones like the above that I remembered just to point out how uninteresting they are. Just like with the direction, I felt as if the script, too, just had people saying things to move the story along. Very sparsely was any extra style or flair or character added in.
Last but entirely not least is the acting, and overall I was disappointed. I'll start with the good: Robert Downey Jr. was his usual funny smartass self, and I have no complaints, nor was he exceptional. I also actually quite enjoyed Chris Evans as Captain America; I find him a talented actor who works well in various kinds of films. Also Scarlett Johansson did a great job as usual. I love Stellan Skarsgård; he's a great actor, but I have to admit his placement in the film felt awkward and every time he came on screen I chose to express it through hysterical laughter. Samuel L. Jackson did a decent job as Nick Fury but I wasn't very impressed, but I blame that on the script. Now for the bad: The main villain of the film, Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston, was a terrible choice for the main villain of any film. I mostly laughed at his scenes, because of how bad his acting was, when laughter was unintended. The guy who plays Thor, Chris Hemsworth, was not very good either in this film. Also Mark Ruffalo was a disappointment to see. I don't mind his acting normally but it was just so noticeably inferior to Edward Norton's Hulk that it has to count as a negative.
To sum up, good pacing, special effects and some interesting encounters between certain characters do not save a film when it has weak direction, a weak script, a weak storyline, mostly weak acting, and most glaring of all it seemed very cold, calculated, and without style. However, I was at least mildly entertained.