Succeeds on star power alone

Rating: 5/10 (23 November 2015)

In a way it felt like most of Marvel's superhero films up until 2012, with the exception of Iron Man, were in part a build-up to an eventual Avengers film. This mainly being down to little details or minor plot points spread throughout the films, so with all this build-up a lot was riding on Avengers Assemble providing what was expected. I'd say that Avengers Assemble succeeds on star power alone. When you've waited for so long to see so many icon heroes all on screen together and when you have such an entertaining cast pulling the strings it's hard not to get carried away with enjoyment. It certainly has its problems, but as far as sheer entertainment is concerned it prospers.
Story: Norse God Loki returns to Earth and steals a tesseract from Shield, which he plans to use to open a portal and bring an alien army to take over the world. Head of Shield Nick Fury initiates a plan to form a superhero team made up of those he's previously contacted and they become the only hope in stopping the invasion. As far as the plot is concerned it is equally absurd and predictable, there's no big twists and a lot of it does stick to some already well-worn clichés. With that said it is a blast to see all the heroes together at last, there squabbles are frequently very funny and seeing them fighting side by side always is exciting.
Heroes: The film manages to balance out all the big personalities rather well, yet there are two standouts. Robert Downey Jr. is once again a magnetic and hilarious screen presence, offering many brilliant lines and that well placed sardonic attitude. Mark Ruffalo is simply fantastic as an awkward and edgy Bruce Banner, balancing out all aspects of the character excellently and as the Hulk he manages to get some unexpected laughs. Though both underused, Chris Evans is solid as the stern Captain America and Chris Hemsworth gets enough to do as a slightly more conflicted Thor.
Villains: Tom Hiddleston returns as Loki and brings more energy to the role than previously. Loki certainly seems more weary and ruthless than before which works well in making him seem like a major threat, while Hiddleston manages to makes the character even more volatile and his delivery makes each line imposing.
Support: Black Widow and Hawkeye act more as back-up to the team, with both being decent enough. Scarlett Johansson looks fantastic in the part and convinces as an all action heroine, but she struggles with some of the weightier dialogue. Jeremy Renner is simply okay as expert archer Hawkeye and he does look the part, but he is given little development and comes off as a bit boring. Samuel L. Jackson is great as usual with more to do this time around as Fury, always believable as a commanding presence and giving the dialogue a spark.
Action: The action sequences are all very entertaining in a larger than life kind of way. The Avengers physically fight amongst themselves with the fights between the Hulk and Thor being as well as the Hulk and Iron Man being a lot of fun. The large scale fight on the aircraft carrier is exciting as well as varied and it's nice to see all the Avengers in battle. The climax is as extravagant as you would expect with lots of immense action set pieces and it is thrilling to see all the characters work together, though it definitely drags on a little too much and at times feels like action overload.
Music: Alan Silvestri provides an effective and suitably upbeat score. The main theme itself is simply superb in managing to create a sense of importance and excitement. Elsewhere Silvestri gives the action scenes a pounding backdrop and crafts some good melodies.
Production: On a certain level Joss Whedon does a successful job given the amount of work he had to do fitting in all the characters and making it work. He knows how to keep the action gripping and when to simply give the actors some room to breathe, while the visuals are injected with enough style and energy to make it work. On the other hand I don't think the dialogue is that great unless its Downey Jr. saying it or it's used for comedic purposes. Most of the important lines feel forced, simplified or just clichéd which is credit to the actors for making it plausible. I think that most of the problems lie with the story, in that it's too straight-forward as to what's going to happen and how thing will pan out. Of course this lets the characters drive the plot a bit more, yet many of them just aren't given sufficient things to do. There is definitely an over-reliance on CGI here as well. Though you'd expect that given the massive action scenes and most of it looks good, it does take you out of the film and that is very apparent during the climax.
Conclusion: On a purely entertainment based scale Avengers Assemble succeeds thanks to sheer excitement, big thrills and funny interactions between our heroes. The lighter tone works greatly in the films favour, while we also have plenty of cool fight scenes, an enjoyable villain and good performances, especially those of Downey Jr. and Ruffalo. However once you start thinking about the plot it's the predictability that harms the film and I'd have enjoyed more risks even if they weren't fully realised, whilst there is too much action on the whole. So at a surface level Avengers Assemble is easy to enjoy and have fun watching, just don't think about it for too long.