Avengers Assemble

After years of build up through several movies, Marvel's Avengers movie (now called Avengers Assemble which is almost inviting the sequel in the title) is finally here. It arrives carrying a weight of expectation that few films could live up to.

Marvel have made a few smart choices in their recruiting for this film. Firstly, in Joss Whedon they have a director and screenwriter who is used to managing large ensemble casts (Buffy/Angel and Serenity/Firefly) and giving each character their own arcs and moments to shine. He manages all the characters who've capably led their own films well as well as incorporating the newer characters (Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye and Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow). So Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man is allowed to steal all the limelight (or even all the best lines) and this feels like a true ensemble piece - even Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury and Clark Gregg's Agent Coulson are given their share.

The socond success is Mark Ruffalo as the third recent big screen attempt at the Hulk. Following Eric Bana's interesting attempt and Edward Norton's largely unsuccessful, Ruffalo is a great fit for Bruce Banner and finally makes the big green monster work for the big screen (plus he gets one of the best lines in the film).

The villain also works well with Tom Hiddleston's Loki returning from Thor to provide menace combined with wit and intelligence. If there's a disappointment it's that his much vaunted army of aliens are rather unimpressive - some of the visuals are good, but overall they're a bit characterless and end up as rather anonymous cannon fodder. The other main weakness is that there's maybe just a wee bit too much of the ego-clashing and fighting each other from the good guys before they actually gel - maybe one or two punch-ups too many. It does however produce a beautiful pay off in the closing battle with one particular Thor-Hulk moment.

Otherwise watch for some entertaining action, witty dialogue, a strong ensemble cast, some interesting interrrogation techniques by Black Widow and surprise early exit for one of more minor, but loved, characters. 

The Avengers has been an interesting cinematic experiment - building up over several years with different characters in separate films. The build-up has been mixed, ranging from the surprisingly impressive (Iron Man) to the disappointingly messy (The Incredible Hulk). The payoff is well worth it though- a thoroughly entertaining spectacle that comes very close to meeting expectations.

Overall - 8/10 With new offerings on the horizon from the big three superheroes (Superman, Batman, Spiderman), Marvel's team effort has set the bar quite high.