True to its Origins

Rating: 8/10 (21 May 2012)

It almost seems superfluous to add more to the mountain of reviews for this movie but that never stopped me before.
When I was a boy I used to go to market stalls and buy Marvel comics (if only I'd kept them I could retire a rich man). So far so normal but this was in the UK where comics meant the Beano and Dandy. You couldn't rely on collecting a whole series of a particular title in the 1960s – it was just a matter of luck what had been imported and was up for sale. It was pretty much a minority interest in the UK. I say this much just to make the point that I have been a fan of Marvel characters for more years then I would like to admit to and so I fit that dreadful fan boy demographic from an earlier generation. I feel I know the characters and I know how they should be treated.
Avengers Assemble, as it is known in the UK to distinguish it from a beloved TV series of a different nature, is a film that I was able to enjoy as a fan. The characters were well developed and the interaction between them was particularly well handled and affectionate. The action scenes were well handled, though I have some reservations about the not-always impressive CGI that slipped through in places. I thought it would be too long at 143 minutes but I was never aware of the passing of time whilst watching it and it did not feel like the marathon that some 90 minute movies can sometimes be.
Some people have criticised it on the grounds that the plot is too simple and obvious or that the dialogue is too jokey but it fits the requirements for this type of film based on this type of material and what a joy it is to have Whedon's turn of phrase and playfulness. If you want to look at the underlying machinery, then it follows the hero's journey template like many (most?) other successful movies, except it has to fit all the characters into the journey.
It's not the world's greatest movie and it's not art house but then it was never intended to be. It's good fun and delivers as much as a fan could want. Mark Ruffalo's Hulk was a stand out for me. The two previous Hulk outings have been pretty awful in my estimation but this was pitch perfect and the Hulk delivered the best laughs in the movie.
I don't really know how you compare an art-house movie with a blockbuster fun movie. It probably can't be done. This was great entertainment and I'd sooner have that any day than worthy but dull.