The Plot

After nearly a decade of anticipation and groundwork in other Marvel films;  superheroes Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Nick Fury team up to take on mischievous demi-god Loki who has a plan to use a mystical all-powerful energy cube to unleash an evil alien army on earth.

The Good

Marvel fans will be delighted to finally see this film become a reality and appreciative of how closely it has stuck to the original comicbook material.

With TV shows like Buffy and Firefly, Director Joss Whedon has always demonstrated a great skill for handling ensemble casts. Once again, he gets the balance pretty much right between the formulaic demands of action adventure storytelling and well placed comedic relief. The bickering banter between our heroes keeps audiences entertained between the more explosive sequences.

Avengers has a glittering array of all-star Hollywood talent to draw on with the likes of Robert Downey Jr, Samuel L Jackson, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Chris Hemsworth all jostling for the chance to showcase their costume clad charisma. Combined with glossy production values this ensures it’s always easy on the eyes.

Tom Hiddleston’s effectively malevolent turn as Loki is another major asset for the film, as is Mark Ruffalo’s performance as the not so jolly green giant The Incredible Hulk. Ruffalo in particular deserves credit for being the third actor to play the troubled character on the big screen but the first to truly win over audiences.

The Bad

It’s virtually impossible for any film to live up to the weight of unprecedented hype and expectation heaped upon Avengers Assemble.

With so many characters and plot points to juggle it’s perhaps unsurprising that the film suffers a little from a slow moving first half. Despite a sluggish start, those unfamiliar with all the other Marvel films may still struggle to follow things.

This film confidently assumes its audience is fully aware of all its iconic characters and their recent adventures. If you haven’t already seen Iron Man, Captain America or Thor it’s probably worth investing the time before you see Avengers. With so many heroes sharing the limelight in this film there’s little time for any real depth to their individual stories.

In sharp contrast to the grounded realism of Christopher Nolan’s flawless Dark Knight Saga, Avengers is also unapologetically cartoonish. Our heroes fly around on an invisible airship doing explosion packed CGI battle with bad guys. The action, dialogue and special effects are all geared towards a younger blockbuster audience.

Though Loki is a great villain, unfortunately his army of non-descript alien baddies seemingly aren’t much of a threat to our impervious and all powerful team of good guys. Even Scarlett Johansson can easily pummel them into submission armed only with her fists, thighs, and a skin tight catsuit. A more convincing sense of menace and danger might have given all the enthusiastic 3D action scenes another dimension.

The Ugly Truth –

Avengers took nearly £16million in just its first four days at the UK Box office and has already taken a hulk sized $642 million worldwide. Success and popularity alone aren’t sufficient reason to watch any film, but ‘event’ movies of such impressive scale don’t come around that often. Avengers does deserve to be seen on the biggest screen you can find.

If you have been left uninspired or disappointed by past Marvel films you might have a similar reaction to Avengers, but existing fans and most newcomers should be left thoroughly satisfied.

* Stick around during the end credits for a few quick glimpses of what’s in store for the inevitable sequel.