Avengers is great fun

Rating: 8/10 (18 May 2012)

They have prepared us for this movie for years. The characters have been in their own movies and now the Marvel Comics gang all fight evil as a team. (Well, sort of.) If you have been hiding under the "marketing hype rock," I will fill you in. After Loki (Thor's little brother) pops in for an earthly visit, Nick Fury, the director of an international peace keeping agency, rounds up Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. Their object, of course, is to save the world from Loki's very nasty army.
And that is what happens. This movie is just what you'd expect, and you get 142 minutes of escapist fun. As this film approached opening day, I was concerned that it would not live up to its hype and that there might be too many characters to follow. I realized about five minutes into it that this was not the case. This film has a good script, good (but not great) special effects and an all-star cast that managed to work together very well. There are funny one liners, lots of action and great direction from Joss Whedon.
Robert Downey Jr. is a standout as Ironman, and Chris Hemsworth is great as Thor. While Chris Evans is back as Captain America, he seemed much more understated than he did in his debut move. Maybe he was tired from being frozen for all those years. I felt the same about Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner (The Hulk.) Tom Hiddleston gets lots of extra creepy points as the demented Loki, and Scarlett Johansson will amaze you as Natasha Romanoff (aka Black Widow).
And let's not forget Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury (I want his coat) and Gwyneth Paltrow as the sexy Pepper Potts.
We all know Stan Lee has a cameo in every "Marvel Movie." In this one look for him when he appears during a "news" segment, ranting about superheroes. And also listen for Lou Ferrigno as the voice of the Hulk.
Wrap all that fun up and "Avengers" gets a very good 3 out of Fordyce. Get your tickets and enjoy the first of the summer 2012 blockbusters.
Credit Check:
DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL THE CREDITS ARE DONE. THERE IS A SCENE AT THE VERY END THAT WILL LEAVE YOU LAUGHING.