...Not Fantastic

Rating: 3/10 (21 July 2013)

I'm generally a Joss Whedon fan, but this film is truly awful.
Now, before I'm pilloried by the Marvel fanboys, let me explain why:
1.) The first hour of the film is spent gradually (very gradually, at points) reintroducing characters from the previous Marvel character films. Which this is to be expected, it happens not in any organic way, but in a very perfunctory, forced manner by introducing the crisis immediately as the film begins.
This is disconcerting for a number of reasons, not the least of which is because it leaves you very little room to go "up" from there. There's no build up to the introduction of the enemy...it's just there.
2.) For all of this often needless exposition, there is little, if any, character development within the first half of the film, which left me feeling cold towards any of the main characters - I just don't care if they die. Kill 'em all.
3.) Because the "action" starts at the beginning and doesn't really stop, every moment of exposition feels like it takes a year just to get going. What is often intended to be humorous, springy dialogue is delivered in scenes that are utilitarian, at best, and just leaden mill stones, at worst.
The script is well-written, and the actors do very serviceable jobs delivering their well-written lines, but the truth is that, because the movie started with action and kept going, no one really cares what they have to say.
Will it entertain some people? Yes. But...frankly, it's just not worth paying a monthly subscription to watch on Netflix, much less purchase it to own.