Miami.com review quote

Rating: 5/10 (7 May 2012)

Only Scarlett Johansson (as Black Widow) and Jeremy Renner (as Hawkeye) come off as actors playing dress-up.
But despite the assured performances, The Avengers is unconvincing: The illusion doesn't stick. The story ties itself into knots to rationalize why these disparate superheroes would ever band together, under the supervision of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), to thwart the villainous Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Right from the opening scene, a belabored set piece boasting one of the most listless car chases ever filmed, the movie feels off. Everyone talks too much. The pace lumbers. Extraneous characters eat up screen time. You hunker down in your seat and shrug it off, patiently waiting for the film to kick into gear. By the end, you're still waiting.