Too many cooks didn't spoil the broth! :)

Rating: 9/10 (24 April 2012)

I went to the premiere quite apprehensive on several counts: a.) Will Robert Downey Jr. ever get back to the brilliance of Iron Man 1 or have cocky dialogs won over a cool plot? b.) Mark Ruffalo as the hulk? Why not Edward Norton? c.) Hawkeye – not a superhero but just a guy with good aim. Black Widow – no powers again.is she just for eye-candy? d.) Will Hemsworth get more screen time and a better plot than what Thor offered him? e.) Loki the main villain – is this going to be yet another Thor vs Loki battle with the others just chipping in? f.) Will too many superheroes dilute the plot & will they be eating up each other's screen time? g.) Is technology going to win against a good storyline once again? (Ref: All the other Transformer films except the 1st!) h.) So many of them..will Iron Man hold fort in the "team"?
Honestly I didn't even care for Evans and Captain America as much as I did for Thor & Iron Man. And I must say with the runtime being 145 minutes, I wondered if it would be a drag.
THE VERDICT
The movie takes time to settle into the plot & setting up the characters, unlike Thor were I felt the movie just rushed through and could have been so much more.
The film IS LARGER THAN LIFE. Unlike Iron Man 2 or Captain America which left me wishing they had done more.
Loki does a great job of portraying the villain. Thor delivers, Black Widow & Hawkeye are manageable. But nothing can compare to the fact that Ruffalo actually fits this version of Hulk way better than Norton could have done. And of course, Iron Man rocks. Rocks like he never did.
By the time you reach the second half, the story has built in enough punch to make you wish there was an epic battle to follow and not a lame effort. And it does deliver. Great action, lot of mayhem, every superhero getting his screen time.
Hulk & Iron Man indeed steal the show. Good dialogs & well timed comic quips here and therea perfect start to the 2012-13 tent-pole league. Now if only The Hobbit & Dark Knight Rises keep up to this level, its gonna be a great year! :)