Damn near perfect

Rating: 8/10 (26 April 2012)

The movie starts off slow while the plot takes shape and everyone is brought up to speed on the threat the Earth will soon face. A little too much time is spent with the 'peripheral' characters; black widow, Hawkman and Fury but from the moment that one of the key protagonists first goes toe to toe with Loki, the film picks up pace. What follows is entertaining but I think keener fans of the marvel universe will feel the middle of the film comes just short of delivering expectations. For example a fight match-up that was mean't for the big-screen including two of the most powerful of the entourage left me asking for more. All is forgiven though as the action gets better and better throughout and by then end when you think you've seen the finale it just keeps going. The last 30 minutes of the film is the best of any superhero flick to date though I do wonder if the budget for CGI could have been spread across the earlier parts of the film less thinly. The humor throughout is hilarious though at moments it risks taking the material not seriously enough as though the cameras stopped rolling and everyone can stop pretending to be superheroes. One of the heroes is the butt of the joke more often than fair and doesn't get so many memorable lines or opportunities to show off like the others so if you happened to pick this one as a favorite you might be a little disappointed if not for the fact that the others in the entourage do kick so much ass.