Joss does it again

Rating: 10/10 (29 April 2012)

I'm a big fan of Joss Whedon since Buffy days, love Firefly and Serenity, so when I heard he was directing an Avengers movie I started to have faith that it would be done right. Once again Joss didn't disappoint.
Leaving aside the obvious opportunity for ridiculously good action sequences that an Avengers movie can have, and this film has a lot, it was important that whoever directed this captured the different personalities that make up the team, and the way they clash. Joss has always been good at writing for his characters, which is why here he's pretty much perfectly grabbed each hero's personality. The dialogue between them is great and believable and being the fan he has been of The Avengers since the 60s, he has a good idea of their background and what drives and motivates each of them. There's some great exchanges between them as they work out their differences and when we reach the climax and they finally come together and work as a team... what a treat.
The actors that have portrayed their characters in past films are now set, you can't see anyone else playing the characters they play. They're all fantastic, work brilliantly as an ensemble and the new addition - Mark Ruffalo as Banner/Hulk is a great choice, bringing that air of a man who's come to terms with his plight and learned to be calm and relaxed, but with the temper just brimming below the surface. This is the best film featuring Hulk to date, and because Hulk this time was based on Ruffalo's movements and not entirely CGI, it's the most realistic Hulk we've received to date as well.
I'd also like to mention here that Joss is great at writing humour into his stories and this film isn't short of some truly laugh-out-loud moments. Anyone who's a fan of his work in the past will recognise his brand of humour in this film.
To sum up, anyone who's a fan of superhero movies will love this, it has everything you could've hoped for in an Avengers movie. It's great to see some of our beloved comic book heroes given their dues in some great movies lately, such as Nolan's Batman films and X-Men First Class and this film is up there with the best. I'll be looking forward to the sequel, especially after the sequence during the credits.
Highly recommended.