Pretty Friggin' Awesome.

Rating: 8/10 (14 May 2012)

I was lucky enough to score tickets to a prescreening of The Avengers in my city. I'd loved all the other Marvel movies leading up to it, so I was really stoked.
The Avengers is the superhero movie we've been waiting for. Don't get me wrong, I love the darkness of other superhero movies, like The Dark Knight, but as Nick Fury aptly puts it: "maybe we need a little old-fashioned". And this movie is exactly that. Joss Whedon gives us precisely what superheroes used to be - extraordinary people fighting their flaws to become the saviors of the human race.
In all fairness, The Avengers is not a film that requires much thought. It's a beautiful spectacle, but it definitely does not possess Oscar-worthy performances. It's slightly campy and tongue-in-cheek, which is oddly refreshing. The Avengers never takes itself too seriously, which I think a lot of people aren't getting (hence some extremely scathing reviews on here!)
With the exception of Mark Ruffalo, every actor has gotten a chance to explore their characters in a previous movie, which adds to the "easy-breezy feel" of the movie. That being said, I thought Mark Ruffalo was a wonderful Bruce Banner -- I'd love to see him in his own movie.
The action is non-stop and the CGI is phenomenal. However, this is another case of unnecessary 3D. It's didn't add anything to the effects, except muddle them up on occasion when there was a lot going on. This movie could be shown normally and it would almost be better.
Believe the hype. This is an awesome movie. Joss Whedon did an fantastic job with the movie. I can't wait for The Avengers 2.