Simply Outstanding A New Bench mark in action Movies

Rating: 10/10 (2 May 2012)

While there's already literally hundreds on reviews of Marvel's The Avengers available on the web here's a Spoiler Free review for the thousands of US viewers yet to see the movie.
For me, May is Avengers Month. I bought my first Marvel comic, Avengers #76, in May 1970 and it was May 2010 that I was lucky enough to get my photo in Avengers #1 so although the movie opened here in New Zealand on April 25 I waited until May 1 before seeing the movie with most of my family. (I tried to get in with my Avengers ID. The cashier thought it was cool but I still had to pay. And I don't begrudge a single cent of the $10.50 entry fee.)
The premise of The Avengers as a team of fictional heroes is that the team is greater than the sum of its parts and this movie is a rare example where the same is true of the cast and crew. With this movie everyone, the director, writers, actors, special effects, designers, have all hit their mark with Hawkeye precision producing a new bench-mark in action and comic book based entertainment.
Kevin Fiege, Joss Whedon and the rest of the crew have expertly delivered an Avengers tale for today that still respectfully pays homage to the 1960 comic-book origins of Earth's Mightiest Heroes while mixing with the best elements of the Ultimate Universe version of the heroes.
For those who think they know the story from all trailers and T.V. spots, think again. There are still surprises aplenty from the very first scene through to the end and there is not a single wasted line of dialog in the whole 142 minutes.
Contrary to the speculation that there would be no room for character development with so many big name stars and characters in the room at the same time there are many introspective conversations that progress the story and the characters. Reprising his Tony Stark / Iron Man character Robert Downey Jr is clearly steals the show and his interactions with Pepper, Cap, Thor, Loki and Bruce Banner include many laugh-out-loud moments. Tim Hiddleston's Loki is even more likable as a villain than he was in Thor.
Samuel L Jackson gets the opportunity for more on-screen time and we learn more about his motivations and methods. It was very pleasing to see Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Cap), Clarke Gregg (Agent Coulson) and Stellan Skarsgard (Erik Selvig) all behave in-character with their earlier appearances in the cannon of movies that culminates in The Avengers and it was like picking up the next issue of an epic limited series.
As an aside Marvel has released a limited series Avengers Prelude: Fury's Big week that helps tie the movies together and provides some background information.
Mark Ruffulo's portrayal of Bruce Banner differs from Eric Bana and Edward Norton but it is in a way that adds to the dynamics. Newcomer Agent Maria Hill played by Cobie Smulders has a bigger role than expected and again adds to the contemporary relationship with the Avengers in the printed medium.
The battle scenes are well choreographed with a sense of panel-by-panel progress and the Thor / Iron Man / Captain America conflict pays obvious homage to "The Big Three" and elicit memories of Stand-Off and Avengers: Prime.
In fact every character has their chance to shine in solo action, pitted against each other, and eventually against the common foe that no single super-hero could withstand. Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow character comes out from the shadow of the big-guns and she and Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye earn their place on the team.
There's plenty of visual humor too especially from the Hulk and the collective gasp from the audience at the unexpected death scene is evidence of the emotional bond between characters and viewers.
I'm sure there some die-hard fans that are lamenting the lack of Hank Pym but I cannot honestly think of anything that would have made this movie better than what it was.
In short, this is the movie equivalent of The Kree-Skrull War that no Marvel or Avengers fan should miss. Truly outstanding - cannot wait for the Blu-ray for Christmas.
And then there's the mid-credit trailer  roll on Avengers 2!