Charismatic and simply awesome

Rating: 9/10 (16 November 2012)

"The Avengers" was a highly anticipated film. Something as epic as an "all-star" team of superheroes would be nothing less. Many, including myself, were doubtful that it could ever meet the high expectations. Still, millions of people perched in front of the big screen to watch it for the first time, and to many viewers' surprise, it surpassed expectations.
"The Avengers" is a glance in the bright direction that Marvel is walking. This film strings "Captain America," "Thor," "The Incredible Hulk," and "Iron Man," together, along with several sequels. A fresh breathe from generic remakes and love stories. This film includes several witty remarks by self-acclaimed "genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist," Tony Stark, and the occasional physical humor that so many films attempt to do, but "The Avengers" blows out of the water.
Marvel's wide array of characters makes it hard not to relate to one. They range from the egotistical genius and the modest genius with a serious anger issue, to the old-fashioned war hero and god-alien, although the last one may not quite fall into the category "relatable," it displays the creativity and thought put into these characters.
The casting in this movie simply couldn't have been done better. One may think that Robert Downey Jr. was made to play Iron Man, but many will say Iron Man was made to play Robert Downey Jr. If that doesn't say enough itself, the hard headed Nick Fury is played by the always brilliant Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans may make you believe he is actually a WWII veteran, Mark Ruffalo plays a mean Hulk even in comparison to Edward Norton, and that's only three. The list certainly goes on.
The storyline is hard to complain about. A battle between some of our favorite superheroes and an army of aliens is pretty exciting to say the least. Selfish intentions and lack of teamwork override the team until they are provided motivation through a though loss and they rally together. The seemingly perfect squad reveals it's insecurities throughout the film, making them all the more relatable to the audience. The ending battle is incredible. First time watchers are probably going to be wide-eyed for the entire scene. A heated battle with flickers of comedy and adrenaline pumping fight scenes could not have been made any more awesome.
If I had to make one complaint of this film, I would have to say the lines from the films are hits and misses, meaning sometimes they can be quite cheesy. It is a superhero movie and that may be expected, but "We need a plan of attack" "I have a plan: attack" made me chuckle and not necessarily in a good way. Another example resides in the same scene, where Captain America says "There's only one God ma'am and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." An additional complaint that can be made is the astonishing way that The Black Widow, who has no super powers, can jump off a spacecraft flying at high speeds and land safely, while stopping in a space of maybe 5 feet. But I suppose realism is not really the most desirable factor in a movie regarding a superhero-alien battle with gods and a flying aircraft carrier.
"The Avengers" is a classic film. I would never think "The Dark Knight" would have a film of its genre even come close for quite some time. For some, this film may surpass it. "The Avengers" promises to keep you on the edge of your seat with adrenaline and laughter flowing through your body.