Well here it is, after several years of films creating the invidual characters and tone of the Marvel Studios universe, here is the culmination of all that effort: Avengers Assemble (so called in the UK so no fool confuses it with the very similar Avengers film).
Duuuuurrrrrrrrr!
I suppose the question on your lips is 'Any Good?'
The short answer is 'yes'.
The longer answer is 'Fuck me silly, that film was awesome!'
The even longer answer is:
Joss Whedon has created a witty, entertaining superhero that more than capably juggles different characters and threads all together into an unsubtle, but solid film.
It helps if you've seen the previous Marvel Studio films in the franchise before seeing this. I had personally seen Iron Man 1 and 2, Captain America and Thor although I had not seen The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton and I had a good idea of the principal characters and what was going on. There is the barest bones of back-story for each of the heroes but the majority of exposition is around the character of Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).
Speaking of which, Mark Ruffalo somehow steals the show as the Hulk, utterly removing the previously uninspiring film adaptations. He is amazing, in every way. Bruce Banner gets some quality lines and Mark Ruffalo delivers in pretty much every way, it is a lot more of a subtle performance than most of his fellow actors, who are much more brazen, brash and forward.
Robert Downey Jr once again delivers as Iron Man, a character that is as rich and as interesting two films down the line as he ever was. He gets the best lines and even though it takes a little bit of time to introduce Iron Man compared to some of the other characters, he sticks in the mind and has his own standouts moments alongside the rest of the Avengers.
Captain America (Chris Evans) is also on top form as Captain America, a character I was initially concerned would not fit well into the dynamic of the group but his character fits really nicely.
As a personal favourite, it is always nice to see Loki on the screen. His 'little brother' syndrome makes his a fascinating villain in Thor and Tom Hiddleston absolutely proves he is brilliant as this twisted, powerful trickster. In Loki, once again, Marvel Studios provide a villain that is as well fleshed out and as interesting as the heroes.
I've already mentioned Josh Whedon's outlandish ability to fuse together so many characters into a film well. When all the Avengers have assembled, each character and their traits clash in a....realistic way, the selfless with the arrogant etc etc. Whilst the film does try extremely hard to have as many Avenger on Avengers fights as possible and they are thrilling, seeing them work together as a team is frankly fantastic. Again, several stunning shots pan seamlessly from one character to the next, cutting through the large amounts of chaotic action to deliver what you wanted to see, superheroes beating on things.
Another key Whedon-ish (tm) is the humour. It is a pretty funny film too boot.
Its $220 million budget went a long way too. Apart from the actors and the not inconsiderable sums of money they would have been paid, the CGI is almost faultless. It is awesome, and always seems to make the events feel like a comic book. Again, the standout being a very realistic, physical Hulk. The best incarnation yet, for sure.
It's not without fault:
The plot is nonsense.
The script is sometimes clunky and awkward.
It is a long film (although doesn't really feel like it)
However, these are mere grains of sand on a beach of AWESOMNESS.
Watch this film!
9/10 easy.
Trailer:
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