Almost as good as the Dark Knight

Rating: 9/10 (15 July 2012)

I admit it's been a while since I have seen this film but I have yet to give a proper review. Hopefully, this review can trigger the awesome feelings you had when watching The Avengers.
This is what the Marvel movies have been leading up to, that is, every Marvel movie excluding the Spider-Man trilogy. The amount of hype behind this movie was tremendous; while waiting in line for The Avengers, the usher at the theater tells us that "this is the best movie I have seen in 5 years". That being said, it's extremely hard to go into this film without any expectations.
So the question then is, was The Avengers good? If I can, I would call it Marvel-ous.
Let's start with what I really enjoyed.
The two strongest parts of The Avengers are the beginning and the end. When the film opens, we get to see the heros in their respective environments. And the opening scene with Black Widow stands out as one of the best. After Loki threatens Earth, the Avengers team has to assemble. Watching the team finally come together after waiting so many years, is a special moment. Now, the end was good because we finally get to see The Avengers work together as a team. While it took the entire movie for the Marvel heros to figure out that they are stronger as a unit than as individuals, it's worth the wait. How the camera panned across each hero who was doing something that effected the next person was stunning. To me, this felt the most like an actual comic book of video game.
The humor and writing really stand out as good. I found myself laughing a lot more than I thought at this movie (and that works for this film). The Marvel movies have always been bright and very light hearted at times, and the script really made that aspect shine through.
The two sides of the Hulk.
The hulk was one of the best parts of this movie along with the relationship between Captain America and Iron man (I hope they set up the Civil War story). However, if I had one flaw with The Avengers, it would be Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner . Honestly, I thought both previous actors (Bana and Norton) played the part better.
I know there is a ton more content to this film, but I should save that for when I get the film again on Blu Ray and have a fresh viewing.
Overall, The Avengers is a superhero film done right. Everything just seemed to mesh and fall right into place. However, I am not giving it a 10 just yet, because The Dark Knight Rises is coming out soon and I believe that it will be better than The Avengers.
9.0out of 10
"Better clench up, Legolas"