Flawed but surprisingly successful and entertaining

Rating: 8/10 (4 July 2015)

Okay, I'll break it down into pros and cons...
Pros: 1. The characters are true to themselves. 2. It has an easy-to-follow plot. 3. There are lots of good one-liners! 4. There's good chemistry between the heroes. 5. The action and special effects are pretty cool. 6. It has good pacing. The movie continues to build momentum towards a satisfying ending. 7. It develops a nice sense of fun and excitement.
Average: 1. The acting and music were fine but nothing special.
Cons: 1. Loki is an underwhelming villain (although often amusing). 2. The movie starts slow. 3. Some of the dialogue is pretty hokey (especially Fury's). 4. It lacks emotional impact or deeper meaning. 5. There are some dodgy plot holes. 6. It's not very original.
Similarities to Transformers 3 (speaking of "not very original"): 1. There are giant alien metal monsters smashing through buildings. 2. A portal is opened to another world from a tall building. 3. An alien army swarms in through this portal. 4. The good guys desperately try to close this portal. 5. There are evil flying, shooting, futuristic things. 6. A good guy steals one of these evil flying, shooting, futuristic things and uses it for good. 7. We see New York in a mess (cars upside down or on fire, dust and shrapnel everywhere, people screaming and running).
In summary: The Avengers is impressive in the way it manages to hold itself together. Usually this many characters would be a guarantee of an awful movie. But here, somehow, all the heroes are given their chance to shine and it works pretty well. But far out, Michael Bay should probably be filing a lawsuit...