MOVIE REVIEW: Marvel Assembles Its Avengers For a Fun, Fantastic Ride

"The Avengers" represents the culmination of a series of very profitable, yet well-done superhero films, proving that if studios show a little patience and foresight, (and let the cash roll in from a bunch of other films first) it can result in a fun, character-driven action movie with heart. Suck on that, Transformers.

Of course, it helps that the movie seems to have found just the right people for the job. Writer and director (and creator of "Buffy" and "Firefly" big geek in general) Joss Whedon brings just the right touch to a film that could have easily been an overblown mess.

The titular Avengers are brought together by Nick Fury when Loki appears on the scene looking to cause some serious damage. Whedon gleefully takes his time setting things up and getting to know the larger than life characters, both superpowered and not.

Running time is over two and a half hours, but you'll barely notice. You'll be too absorbed in the characters onscreen, and laughing at the various one-liners. In less capable hands, one character would most likely overshadow the others, but the perfectly cast ensemble holds their own (not an easy thing to do with so much talent onscreen; Robert Downey Jr. alone can carry a film by himself), bolstered by a magnificent script.

The non-superpowered characters are also all forces to be reckoned with. Samuel L. Jackson brings menace and gravitas to Nick Fury, while Jeremy Renner actually makes a guy who runs around shooting arrows a formidable opponent. True to his trademark, the (also non-superpowered) one female of the group, Natasha Romanoff, aka The Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), is not merely the Token Girl, but an uncondescending force to be reckoned with.

But of course, the most important element is always the villain. And after succeeding on so many other fronts, the film doesn't falter here. Tom Hiddleston makes Loki cocky, intelligent, and menacing, who is just as fun to watch as the protagonists. He makes him a villain formidable enough to require Thor, Iron Man, The Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain America, and The Hulk to take him down.

I have seldom seen such a well-paced, funny movie, with such great action scenes. In the same way “Source Code” showed that action movies don't have to be dumbed down, “Avengers” proves that a superhero movie can have it all: action, laughs, character, and heart. It'll be the most fun you'll have in the theater.

Grade: A-