The Bar has been raised!!

Rating: 8/10 (7 May 2012)

Finally, after 5 years of waiting the Avengers have finally assembled! That means no more teasing from that bold, black guy with an eye patch and having to wait through the end credits but more importantly we get see Earths mightiest heroes join forces for the first time. Should you and your friends assemble to the cinema to see it? The plot is simple and straightforward which involves Loki, the God of mischief entering Earth through a portal using the tesseract which is a glowing cube of doom, along with Loki's glowing staff of doom he possesses the minds of Clint Barton and Dr Erik Selvis. In response to this takeover Nick Fury decides to reinstate the avengers initiative to recruit Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and my favourite of the bunch Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) who we are all reintroduced to before the team finally mobilizes. Everyone is present and correct accept for Spiderman, Aunt May was ill at the time you see. The Story is as silly as it sounds with the villain's diabolical plan but director Joss Whedon managers to pull it off with the story's memorable and iconic characters rubbing shoulders. The Avengers is also about the clash of egos which must be overcome if they want to succeed against Loki. Whedon is self aware of how silly a team of colourful superheroes coming from vastly different backgrounds' coming together really is with these characters mocking and taunting ways each other in playful and witty ways being the highlight of the movie offering some hilarious moments such as Tony's confrontation with Thor and Steve Rogers having to adjust to modern day tech no babble. As good as the script writing is there are moments where the dialogue feels over the top such as the Chitauri's conversations with Loki. There are also moments which are needed to be taken more seriously that weren't and mixed both tragedy and comedy. What really makes the Avengers great was the banter which ensued by putting these characters together. Banner and Stark get along well because of their intellect however Stark is put off by Rogers who he thinks as "a lab experiment" Watching these personalities collide is almost like watching a reality T.V show. This makes the ark the characters go through more prevailing as they gradually come to accept the responsibility of being a team and finding common ground with their vendetta against Loki. This brings us to our villain Loki (Tom Hiddleston) who I thought would be a generic villain took me by surprise. I was expecting an over the top clichéd performance just like the loud and lacklustre Red Skull from "Captain America" but I was wrong Loki has versatility and depth being the God of mischief he has a sense of humour to go along with his slimy and crafty attitude. His motivation maybe mad but he gets it across with such conviction making this the best on screen villain since Heath Ledgers Joker from "The Dark Knight". The action scenes are brilliantly shot and handled the final action scene is just the right length however there is little suspense with our heroes being immune to every knock, explosion and everything else that is thrown at them however the spectacle is amazing to behold the action and the special effects also have substance behind them giving it more significance thanks to the brilliant ensemble cast of likable personalities. Who doesn't like the fact of the ego manic Tony Stark taking on a massive metal space worm? Michael Bay will probably be in a huff that Joss Whedon can destroy New York better then Chicago. The camera work is also very creative with a scene panning across everyone bickering but as they bicker the camera shows Loki's staff activating behind them. I don't know how Marvel has done it but "The Avengers" lives up to the hype. It redefines the fun and frantic comic book movie which proves you don't have to have a superhero movie be dark and brooding for it to be well received critically. It definitely is a breath of fresh air for a summer blockbuster to have substance behind its crazy style. The Avengers maybe silly and predictable but silly and predictable can be good sometimes thanks to its likable characters and entertaining story to create a thrilling experience. 8/10 Memorable moments It's hard to pick just one so I will pick one for each of my favourite Avengers Captain America-Taking control and leading the team in the final battle despite being dressed up like a blueberry Thor- Face off with Iron man in the woods Iron Man-Confronting Loki in Stark tower The Hulk-Giving Loki the old fashioned comic book Thwack and Thwomp.