Great: 9.0

Rating: 9/10 (27 July 2019)

Iron Man. The Incredible Hulk. Iron Man 2. Thor. Captain America: The First Avenger. The Avengers is the ultimate culmination of all those movies, which ranged in quality from slightly above-average to excellent. In my review of the first Iron Man, I called it the pinnacle of Marvel cinema. It has now been topped. The story goes that after Captain America, the Tesseract ended up at the bottom of the ocean, and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and S.H.I.E.L.D. pulled it out. Now Loki (Tom Hiddleston) wants it, due to its inherently unlimited power, which will give him the ability to rule with an iron fist over all of Earth. Unless the Avengers can get past their differences and stop him. I have recently come to the opinion that director and screenplay heavily influence acting (this may be a bit late to realize this, but whatever). It certainly seems to be true in this case. Joss Whedon is apparently great fun to work with, and his writing talent is well-known. Both of these might be reasons why each actor performs better in this movie than in previous Marvel films. The highlights are Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo, each playing characters with hidden emotional depth that boils to the surface in the most commendable of ways (especially the latter actor, for obvious reasons). Though this trio leads the pack, said pack is composed entirely of very strong performances, something not usually seen in ensembles, but which Whedon pulls together with the greatest of ease. Joss Whedon originally signed on for this project in April of 2010. He threw out former writer Zak Penn's screenplay and replaced it with his own. No disrespect to Mr. Penn, but I sincerely doubt his version was better-written than this. Whedon's script shines brightly in nearly every conversation, each one punctuated with his trademark, never-miss humor. Another thing he is known for is the characterization he imbues his writing with. From Buffy to The Cabin in the Woods, Whedon has never created a character that is anything less than compelling, a rule that still applies, even to a cast as large and star-studded as this. Interestingly (and wisely), this doesn't feel like Joss Whedon's The Avengers. This really does feel like Marvel's The Avengers, with Joss's cherry on top. The characters still match perfectly with their prevous cinematic versions. The character development is so strong, in fact, that in battle, none of the characters feel like more superpowered thugs; they are actual people, fighting for their lives and humanity. Of course, superhero movies aren't usually known for their characters. The special effects department really outdoes itself in this film. From the nether regions of outer space to the showdown between Iron Man and Thor, visually the film never fails to dazzle. The action sequences are filmed and edited with a sort of grace, with Whedon's signature shaky-cam and midshot zooms thrown in occasionally for good measure. Unlike most movies, the action scenes are not edited in quick shots. The camera rotates around our heroes as they kick extraterrestrial ass, and various other techniques are employed to keep action shots as long as possible. Though unconventional, this ensures that the action is just as absorbing as the dialogue, and works well to this effect, allowing both of those aspects to support each other. This attribute is extremely hard to come by in movies, but where you can find it, treasure it. Upon leaving this film (which I only did after the final credits had rolled), many of those leaving with me were laughing and talking animatedly about this film, recalling various scenes and how the quality fared in relation to other comic book films. My opinion is that this is the second-greatest one of the bunch, second only to The Dark Knight (story and thematic depth beat witty banter and numerous explosions any day). However, for those simply looking to be entertained, right now, you simply can't do any better than this.