this is why I love movies

Rating: 9/10 (29 April 2012)

Finally the Avengers have hit our screens. It's taken a long time to put this movie together. This idea is apparently 15 years in the making. I collected Marvel comics back in school. And the idea of having some of my favourite superheroes in one film was a celluloid dream I wanted to become realised. 20 years later that dream has been realised. I am more than happy to report that Marvel has surpassed my expectations with this Goliath of a superhero film. The Avengers is an excellent movie. One I recommend you see more than once (if you can afford it) in the cinema.
Each of our heroes has their own introduction. From Black Widow beating up her captors after an interrogation to Thor surrounded by lightning hijacking a plane to take his imprisoned brother Loki. We more or less know who the heroes are, but it would help to watch the previous Marvel films to avoid confusion regarding the story behind the antagonists and protagonists. When the team finally assembles as the title suggests. They don't all get on with each other. Cap has an issue with Iron Man, Bruce Banner does his best to restrain the power of the Hulk, Nick Fury has a hidden agenda and Thor thinks everyone is petty as well as tiny. It takes an attack on the S.H.I.E.L.D HQ and a major tragedy before they decide they must band together to fight Loki and the Chitauri.
So where do I start? From start to finish every one of the heroes gets their moment in the sun. But If I were to list my 3 favourites, it would be Hulk, Iron Man and Captain America. Hulk for starters is just classic Hulk. 'HULK CRASH' and 'HULK SMASH'. Everything we saw do in The Hulk in the first two films and more as the Hulk is given full reign to let loose on the bad guys. One scene in particular where the Hulk takes on Loki will have you laughing out of your chair. Mark Ruffalo does a great job as Banner. He shows a wittier side to the character than any of the other actors in the previous Hulk films. In fact he's more reminiscent of how Bill Bixby played Banner in the TV series. Robert Downey Jr continues to affirm why he was chosen as Iron Man/Tony Stark. He's naturally a funny man and I'm sure Joss Whedon allowed him to improvise some of his scenes. Just great in every scene, funny, charismatic and handles the dramatic scenes with such ease. Chris Evans as Captain America is perfect casting. Brought a natural leadership quality to his character, but at the same time he makes clearly evident that Cap is still learning and adjusting to the new world he lives in. Evans is growing as an actor and his performance in this won't do his CV any harm at all.
Chris Hemsworth owns Thor. His walk the way he talks and how he interacts with his team. Again Hemsworth like the rest showing his was the best choice to play his character. Jeremy Renner and Scarlett Johansson get a lot of screen time. Hawkeye and Black Widow are the only non powered heroes but are very good at what they do. In this interpretation they are agents for S.H.I.E.L.D who have a history together. The chemistry between the two is great without there being any sexual tension. They two work well together and really brought depth to their characters. Samuel L Jackson (my favourite actor) just owns the Nick Fury character and has such presence it's a shame he misses out on the grand finale. The grand finale is just awesome. I'm talking first Transformers movie awesome. Almost the whole of New York gets decimated whilst the Avengers battle the Chitauri. This is where you see the team finally come to together and bring the fight to Loki. Who by the way is played brilliantly by Tom Hiddleston. A really nasty piece of work and quite mischievous too, especially with the way he plays with Avengers like rooks on a chess board. A great villain played by a gifted actor. The set pieces are just well filmed and well executed. Joss Whedon the man behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly has just outdone himself here. Avengers has a good story and such a wonderful well balanced script and it's also very funny. You'll probably find that this is one of the funniest films of the year. Zak Penn's writing just works well with the story and Joss Whedon's direction is perfect for a film such as this. Even in scenes where you might sense a little drag. The dialogue is good enough to carry those scenes. No shaky cam scenes, bizarre off tone moments or any Ang Lee story board action scenes like the first HULK movie. It focuses on the characters, their personal battles and the jobs they have to do to keep the world safe.
There's nothing I didn't like. Apart from one corny cringe-worthy scene involving Iron Man, but everything else was fine, just fine. All in all The Avengers is the superhero movie I've been waiting for 20 years to happen. Marvel has done an amazing job with all these films. And the scene mid credits just made me want even more. So I really hope the sequel happens and I hope Joss Whedon returns to film it. I can't praise this movie enough and I recommend highly. For Fan Boys and those who love movies in general. Films like the Avengers Assemble are why I go to the movies and why I love films. GO SEE THIS NOW! Also love the Soundgarden song at the end.