Fans.  It’s time.  It’s time to assemble.  After years of waiting, and five films having been released, Joss Whedon delivers “Avengers.”  Not only does it deliver on the hype, it surpasses it.

I’ll keep from spoiling major plot points, but spoiler warning anyways.

The plot is fairly simple.  Loki has a secret army, and the Avengers have to stop it.  But the brilliance of Joss’ movie is that it doesn’t need to be intricate or have multiple layers.  The first film had to be about how these characters got together and how they get past their differences and become the famous team they are known for.  Joss balances the team well, giving each character enough time to shine, except Hawkeye.  Each character’s personality type and backstory and quickly recapped for anyone who hasn’t seen the previous five films.  But much like the comic books, the reader needs to read issues #1-#3 to understand what is going on in #4.  ”Avengers” recaps, but doesn’t delve to deep into things that have been established in other films already.  Each character grows as the movie goes along, which makes this movie more than just a team up movie.  As said before, Hawkeye gets the shaft, which is sad.  He is used to great effect late in the film, but he spends two-thirds of the movie on the side lines.  Black Widow gets the most amount of characterization out of the team, but it’s not surprising considering how Joss writes women.  Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) is under used, but set up well for future films.  With so many characters in this movie, someone was going to be undeveloped.  So with this being her first Marvel film, she should be in the background in the plot.

Joss Whedon’s script perfectly fits the comic book movie trope.  It should, as he has written Marvel comics in the past.  It does have many of the Joss Whedon style lines, with most of them coming from Iron Man.  If you don’t like his style of writing, you most likely won’t like the script.  Occasionally characters can be a little melodramatic, but it’s rare and doesn’t ruin the flow of the film.  Every character has their own unique voice, with no one on the team speaking out of character.  One could argue that Joss’ script spends to much time focusing on the inner workings of S.H.I.E.L.D.  Some of this time could be spent more on the characters, but it’s a small gripe.  The big feat that the script does though is make Bruce Banner/Hulk a more likable character.  ”Avengers” focuses more on how he is vulnerable, which makes Hulk a more relatable character.  After seeing “Avengers,” one will want to see a Hulk movie as soon as possible.

Joss Whedon has always been one who directs more personal movies, but he does a great job with a big action epic like “Avengers.”  There are a couple of long shots, something that Joss became known for on “Buffy” and “Angel.”  It works great in the big action sequence that takes up the last third of the movie.  Naturally the talking scenes look great, as it suits his style well.  Joss doesn’t break the mold when it comes to action movies, but makes it work well.

The special effects are spectacular, as you would expect from Industrial Light and Magic.  Some will compare the finale to Transformers 3, but is that a bad thing when we are talking about huge battles?  When Joss does his long shots, every scene is cut together well, with only keen viewers being able to see the edits together.  The army are designed well, and are a great bit of Marvel legal work.  Not going to spoil who they are, so you’ll have to see to understand what I’m talking about.

The cast excels in “Avengers.”  Tony Stark is cocky as ever, but it’s clear that he is learning fast throughout the film.  Robert Down Jr. has reinvented Tony Stark, and he does it again here.  As the events start to go sour, it’s clear on Downey’s face that everything is starting to take it’s tool, and he has to start thinking like a team and not for himself.  Chris Hemmsworth, who has worked with Joss on “Cabin in the Woods,” continues the character development from “Thor.”  He is a character who is still somewhat cocky and bull-headed, but has changed from that by the end of the movie.  Joss’ take on Captain America is normal, but slightly different, with Cap still stuck in the war.  This is evident in Chris Evans performance.  He can’t get his head out of what he saw yesterday (in his mind), and he is still in awe of the present.  Black Widow gets the most time to develop, and is kick ass, like all women written by Joss.  Scarlett Johanson becomes the kick-ass hero perfectly, straddling the line between sexy and strong well.  Much like the Hulk, Mark Ruffalo steals every scene he is in. He is vulnerable, being more relatable than misunderstood.  This makes the audience want to root for him more.  Clark Gregg, like in every Marvel movie, is a blast to watch as Agent Coulson.  He fills the Xander Harris role for Joss, and it shows with his lines.

Tom Hiddleston is an absolute blast as Loki.  He has stated in many interviews that he loves the character, and it shows.  He’s menacing, but in a subtle way.  He could easily support his own film as Loki, if Marvel decided to use his character the way Kieron Gillen uses him in Journey Into Mystery right now in the comic form.  Cobie Smulders does her best with what she is given.  She isn’t developed much, but she is only a secondary character.  When the S.H.I.E.L.D. movie comes around, she’ll be a great character.

Yes, there is a mid-credits scene, and my analysis of that is here.  There is also an after credits scene, which I have not seen as of this review.

“Avengers” is arguable the best super hero movie of all time.  It’s pure entertainment on every level.  Most viewers will leave with a huge grin on their face, because they had that much fun.  It’s worth a viewing or two.

“Avengers” gets 5/5.

MrComicBook, MrComicBook reviews "Avengers"