The ultimate super-hero movie

Rating: 9/10 (9 May 2012)

It all led to this. Back story after back story of super heroes that included a billionaire- playboy-genius-arms merchant who invented a powered suit, a physicist whose accidental exposure to gamma radiation created a monster, a Norse God of Thunder who landed upon Earth and a patriotic soldier who froze through a generation after fighting a World War. These Marvel characters were approached by Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D in post credit scenes to join him in an initiative that would form a team of superheroes who would protect the Earth from its nemesis. Director Joss Whedon manages to Assemble this team of distinct, combative and snappy heroes who pounce upon the opportunity to take each other down. So far, undermining the threat from Asgard.....
Essentially, as a sequel to 'Thor', The 'Avengers' revolves around the Tesseract, a cosmic cube that opens up portals and possesses unlimited energy. Evil brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) arrives through the portal and steals the cube from S.H.I.E.L.D's headquarters, leaving trails of destruction and havoc. In a desperate attempt, Fury summons the Superheroes to save the day from Loki's malicious plans of dominance. It is then upon the film's most spectacular visual effect, (S.H.I.E.L.D's Aerial Aircraft carrier Base) where the Avengers Assemble. Within its confines is Loki's looming threat of destruction with an alien army, Doctor Banner's anger-management issue and the ever-confrontational Superheroes who yet have to come to terms with sharing a room and an objective. No sooner had they settled their issues, does the Alien army arrive through the portal opened by Loki over the Manhattan skies. The Avengers will need leadership, team-work and relentless power to overcome their countless enemies and hereon begins the absolute Mayhem that one would expect from such an assembly of heroes.
Reminiscent of the carnage of cities as seen in the 'Transformers' movies, Manhattan gets bombed, shot, smashed and almost nuked in the climax battle. But what makes Whedon's destruction unique is that it has our superheroes having fun while doing it. Stark's humor and Hulk's raw awesomeness will overpower the usual exploding and flying.
Captain America's disciplined, mature understanding also makes him an efficient leader. Chris Evans provides the composure to the Avengers' leader and while his gun-fist-shield defense is mediocre in comparison to the likes of his contemporaries, he does well in his stunts and brings credibility to his powers. Black Widow is played by the stunning Scarlett Johansson whose stealthy moves as a gymnast and effective use of martial arts give her a deceiving advantage. Hawkeye spends half his time on screen on Loki's side after he was hypnotized in the beginning. In the climactic battle, Jeremy Renner looks better when he is a part of the team and his Hawk-like precision with arrows is fun to watch in the midst of bigger powers. Chris Hemsworth was impressive as the Norse God of Thunder and he returns to correct his evil brother Loki. His confrontations with Ironman and The Hulk provide enormous entertainment while his place in the team with the inseparable Mjolinor is vital when combating the immortal villains. Mark Ruffalo proves to be an edgy, anxious yet intellectual Doctor Banner whose angry side is the film's most enjoyable action star. The Hulk smashes his way through his team-mates, through buildings, aliens, their transports and in what was perhaps the best scene of the film, through Loki's condescending remarks. Robert Downey Jr. makes a mega action movie fun to watch.
It's not that Ironman's screen time dominated The Avengers but if you've just had a hearty laugh, it was because Tony Stark said something. Beyond the entertainment value, Ironman delivers the awesomeness with his suit's super-cool evolution. The most striking feature too, is that Stark embraces the idea of the Avengers Initiative and understands the power their combined forces possess. Even with his ego, he values team-work to execute any plan. With such a mighty force to defend the planet, the villain had to be more powerful, cunning and deceiving in order to make the movie work. Tom Hiddleston does just that as Loki. With the malicious smile and unsympathetic attitude towards humans, he makes a villain we want to hate. Even though his staff is a separable weapon, it is his immortality that makes him formidable. Loki had to be ambitious, conniving and audacious to overcome the Earth in presence of the Avengers and Hiddleston adds that credibility to the Asgardian.
Joss Whedon takes his time in bringing the characters and plot together before heading into a full-blown battle. His other big achievement is balancing the screen times for each of the characters. Because of that, we realize that we are watching the Avengers and not just another superhero movie. Action and entertainment are abundant especially when these superheroes are confronting each other. Just as he builds up the tension, he introduces a character in heroic fashion thus giving us those cheering moments.
Certainly there are aspects that can see improvisation in future but for all the build-up, effort, time and big-budget that went into making the ultimate Super-Hero movie, The Avengers was well worth the wait and it smashes the hype in true Hulk style. No matter what format you watch it in, there's just a lot going on to notice technical details so be prepared for repeat viewing. One can't help but admire the initiative taken by Marvel a few years ago. With one idea of the Avengers, they created a gargantuan ecosystem in movies that will garner Billions of dollars for decades to come. Each of the super-heroes will have sequels and The Avengers of course, will return to save mankind from foes too powerful for our measly human forces. If that's a lot of sci-fi fantasy, we will gladly take all of it.
9.18 on a scale of 1-10.