A Marvel-ous experience

Rating: 10/10 (24 April 2012)

The wait for this movie has been excruciatingly long, ever since we saw the preview that was attached to Captain America. Here's what I thought of the movie when I caught the premiere.
You get the best of Joss Whedon and that is quite a lot:
1. Black Widow is no longer just a piece of eye-candy. Did you seriously expect the creator of Buffy to just let his female characters stand around looking pretty? She kicks ass and how! (Yes, and it's about time!)
2. For all the newbies out there that haven't watched some or all of the previous movies, the rest of the characters are thoroughly fleshed out. You get a long explanation about what they have been up to since their story last ended. So, it's possible that the first half may be a tad slow for the die-hard fans, but the second half more than makes up for it. Also, for what it's worth, isn't it better to know what the characters have been doing all this while, before they get down to some serious action?
3. The post-credits scene. Oh My God! There is no point, whatsoever, in going to watch the movie if you don't wait for it. You simply HAVE to see it.
4. On a side-note, if you're relatively new to the Marvel universe, you must see The Superhero Squad Show (Yes, it's a cartoon, and no, it's not a very serious one either. But looking past all that, it's a serious refresher course in everything Marvel) before the next movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe releases, as it really helps you understand the characters. I wouldn't have understood the importance of the post- credits scene without it.
5. The fight sequences (the gist of which we all saw over and over again at Comic-Con!) finally makes it look like we are watching a superhero movie. It's not one until some old-fashioned ka-pow!
6. And yes, there are many scenes which are a fanboy's (or girl's) most awesome-est dream come alive!
You also, however, get the worst of Whedon, which I admit, I pretty much dreaded. I won't say what it is, as it will spoil it for you, but it's really very obvious if you've seen anything of Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Serenity and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (my opinion may not, however, be accurate, as some might argue that what we've seen is actually, his best) Whatever the general consensus, there is no doubt that Whedon gives his best shot at leaving his mark in the Marvel 'verse (!) and his best is pretty darn good!
If I simply HAVE to find flaws in the movie, the only one I can think of right now is that some important Avengers - Ant-Man, Wasp, Black Panther and Vision - are nowhere to be seen. Black Widow was the only token female in this all-testosterone group, so Wasp would have been a welcome addition, as the scales would not be so unbalanced.
The Avengers works because underneath all the larger-than-life heroes with their huge egos, their actions and emotions are just human enough to be believable. Things do not just fall in place - everybody does not magically get along with each other and fight away to glory - they had to work hard to make it happen. And that, is this movie's biggest USP.
All-in-all, go watch the movie, if not on the first day, then at least some other time for as long as it's on in the theaters. Your first glimpse of this movie just HAS to be on the big screen.