While DC descends into plausibility, Marvel stands to prove comics are just fun

Rating: 10/10 (6 May 2012)

This is a basic comic book film handled with style and finesse in the hands of Joss Whedon. I've always been a fan of his, and I'm glad to see he finally got his chance to shine on. The premise of the film is Loki, brother of Thor, steals the Tesseract, from last summer's "Captain America" and uses it to unleash his own army upon the world, and claim it as his Kingdom. However, this is the weakest point in the film. In reaction to these events, Nick Fury calls upon his most wonderful of agents, and assembles them, somewhat, to deal with this. Here is where Joss Whedon shines. He is a man who knows characters, and has a skill for witty and well-placed dialog, but also of great vision. He understands the ego of all those involved, and plays them off of one another, including a fantastic scene of Iron Man and Thor going toe to toe for the sole sake of their arrogance. Captain America stands as the voice of reason, but his naivety is blatant; his was a simpler time. Black Widow stands in the background as a seminal character, but obviously one unused to the limelight. Hulk, played perfectly by Mark Ruffalo, is the humble doctor, always subdued for the sake of safety. These are people who are used to having the spotlight their own, and so they must learn to play well with others, but it isn't until the death of Phil Coulson do they realize the necessity to their alliance, which Joss Whedon displays masterfully in a continuous shot of the group fighting Loki's army in Manhattan. This is not a compelling film, but it respects its characters and uses their own energy to drive the plot in a fun and controlled manner. It's a spectacle to see, and the dawn of the Superhero Epic.
TL;DR It's "Seven Samurai" with superheroes. Go watch it.