Avengers invests in its characters depth.

Rating: 9/10 (19 November 2012)

From the opening scene to the final seconds, Marvel's "The Avengers" is an action packed thrill ride that'll leave you begging for more. The overall storyline is nothing special, bad guy wants to rule the world using and alien army, but the true genius of Avengers lies in its execution. Joss Whedon moves the movie along at a pace that leaves the audience without a feeling of being rushed. The threat is quickly established, but a majority of the time is spent assembling the team. Though at first one is quick to point out that this tactic would lengthen the movie and draw things out in a bore, it is another credit to the directing/writing of Whedon. By slowly introducing each character we are better able to see each hero's personality bounce of the others in a sort of entertaining experiment that takes place right before our eyes.
A good super hero movie often hinges on its villain ("The Dark Knight's" Joker), and it isn't an easy task to make the audience doubt the heroes' ability to come out on top. Especially when there are six of them, but Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston, acts the part to perfection. And speaking of acting, it would appear that the third time is in fact the charm as no one could have predicted the show stealing performance by Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk who succeeded where Eric Bana and Edward Norton could not. His role as the cool, calculating scientist with a touch of emotional instability, "I'm always angry," was highly engaging. As for the rest of the cast, they benefited from the group dynamic. Each hero was the star of his own movie and when they come together their respective egos clash resulting in action such as the fight between Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man and Chris Hemsworth's Thor, or hilarity in the case of Iron Man calling Captain America, played by Chris Evans, "Old Man."
Amongst all the stars of the movie, there is still one more, the special effects. Delivering one the best action movies of the year could not be possible without serious CGI and Avengers delivers in outstanding fashion. From the ascension of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mother ship to the moment the alien army's arrival in New York, the art department shows it has what it takes to compete with the likes of Michael Bay and Christopher Nolan. The Hulk is brought to life in astounding realism as well as the character many forget isn't real either, Iron Man.
As a whole there is little that can be said against Whedon's new masterpiece. The expectations of every comic book fan and superhero movie buff must have hung heavy on his shoulders. The buildup to this was unlike anything ever seen in Hollywood. Whedon, in his magnum opus, reveals himself to be the true hero of "The Avengers."