Really liked it.

Rating: 8/10 (16 June 2012)

The Avengers is almost the definition of good time at the movies. Not burdened with the need to spend great amounts of time on character origins, this superhero film takes a conveniently short amount of time to put the game in play, and once it does that, the game is played with flair and showmanship.
Quite frankly, the plot itself is absurd, but I guess that was bound to happen when you combine the worlds of five different Marvel heroes. In less capable hands, the Avengers may well have ended up getting muddled from trying to do too much. With Joss Whedon in the director's chair, it's actually a very strait forward two hours with a good level of focus.
While New York ends up getting the same treatment as much of Michael Bay's resume, the experience is far less superficial. the Avengers does not insult our intelligence. quite the opposite in fact, it embraces it. The Avengers' best quality is that it never ceases to wink at itself. This is a movie where even the villains the same quick fire one liners as the heroes.
A good protagonist of course is also the difference between good action movie and good movie. Simply put, these people (or rather super people) are just good fun to be around. While none of them are ever quite fully rounded, when they come together as a team, they seem far less superficial than they did in their individual movies. with the exception of Iron Man, the films of Thor, Captain America, and The Incredible Hulk, were not all that memorable when it came to characters. The Avengers makes you realize how distinctive each character is.
One thing I was a little disappointed in was Samuel L. Jackson. While he is very much at home in the role he plays, it seems pretty obvious that he's just playing himself. Perhaps, there is a hidden positive in this. As a supporting character, you don't wanna upstage the people who have top billings. Personally, I think he could've given The Avengers a little bit more love.
Last summer was a somewhat underwhelming year for superheros. It's a pleasure then to see a film like The Avengers fly in to save the day. It's a film made with love, and the work has paid off.