'The Avengers' Review

The Avengers is easily one of the most ambitious blockbusters ever made. Never before has one movie connected the stories of four separate characters from different movies together so effectively.

The four characters assembled in this movie are Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and the Hulk. Two master assassins, Hawkeye and Black Widow also help out the team. The Avengers are called together by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to defeat Thor's maniacal brother Loki and to contain and protect the energy of a powerful cube.

If this plot sounds somewhat complex or confusing, it isn't. What the movie boils down to is a standard good guys versus bad guys routine, but this is not to say it is bad. The Avengers is just not a plot-heavy movie. It is a fairly straightforward action movie that was made by people who clearly cared about the original comics and knew the characters so well.

The movie takes about 45 minutes or so to get rolling, but once it does it delivers beyond what I even expected it to deliver. My unreasonably high expectations were not only met, but they were surpassed.

Writer-director Joss Whedon infuses The Avengers with snappy dialogue and wit, as well as brilliantly choreographed and designed action sequences. Whedon clearly took the time to map out the final battle of the film, as well as subtle character traits of the superheroes.

Because Joss Whedon knows these characters so well, he is able to provide us with some seriously well-written comedy scenes. Whedon understands what we superhero nerds come to see these movies for- a good time. We want a good story, great action and quick humor.

Whedon also nails certain subtleties and physics of the Avengers' superpowers. For example, as strong and powerful as the Hulk is, he cannot lift Thor's hammer.

Besides Whedon's engrossing script and expertly staged action scenes, the other strength of the movie is the cast. The great Robert Downey Jr. just about steals the show as the narcisstic, self-obsessed billionaire Tony Stark (Iron Man). Mark Ruffalo also gives an understated performance as Dr. Bruce Banner, the man fighting off his anger, desperately trying not to unleash the Hulk.

Tom Hiddleston also shines as Loki, the film's main villain. Hiddleston is effectively creepy and gives us a memorable screen villain. The entire cast is uniformly excellent and each actor captures the persona of their character near perfectly.

The film is not flawless, but my complaints are mainly just quibbles. As I said, the film starts out slowly and is a little lean on plot, but that's not the kind of film I expected to see anyway.

In the end, I would gladly wait in line to see this movie again and I urge people to go out to the theater to experience this one, especially comic book fans. Also, it is important to stay all the way through the credits, as there are two scenes you may miss if you leave early.

And be sure to keep an eye out for Stan Lee, the creator of The Avengers comic books.

The Avengers reaches new heights for Marvel entertainment, providing the biggest laughs, the most consistent thrills and the most accurate character depictions of any Marvel movie to date.