The Avengers Review

Plot Summary:
Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) of SHIELD recruits Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) to save the world from the disaster of Loki (Tom Hiddleston).

The Positives:
The Avengers has been in the works ever since 2008's Iron Man. Every Marvel film after that movie has teased plot details for this movie since. Does all of those small teasers and end credit scenes ultimately pay off? My answer is yes, and it does so in a very satisfying way.

One strength this film has that recent Marvel films have is its excellent casting. Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, and Chris Hemsworth all return to their characters in wonderful fashion and it's no wonder why Marvel chose these actors to choose them. However, the best performance here is Mark Ruffalo's portrayal of the Hulk. He explodes whenever he's on screen, and it was made obvious to me that this is the best on-screen portrayal of the Hulk. I highly anticipate Ruffalo's stand-alone Hulk film. Renner, Johansson, Hiddleston, and Jackson all give great performances as well.

The writing here is very well done here too. Writer and director Joss Whedon is known for making fantastic ensemble films and shows and it is evident here. All of the characters get a good amount of screen time and are developed wonderfully. I also love the fights between the heroes when the team is forming up. It shows that these superheroes can be human too, and starting up a team can be a hard process. I also enjoyed the well-placed humor this film offers, it uses its humor effectively and doesn't overshadow the film with it.

Most people will say that the action scenes are reminiscent of a Michael Bay film. While they have a lot of explosions and violence similar to Bay's films, the difference is that we care about these characters. The action scenes are very well done and will keep you entertained every time they happen on-screen. The visual effects in this scenes are also fantastic, possibly one of Marvel's better attempts at visual effects.

One thing I can commend on is its pacing. The film is two and a half hours long, and it doesn't feel like it at all. The pacing is very fast, and it feels like you've only been in there for 90 minutes. A lot of recent epics have difficulty doing this, but The Avengers does a great job with its pacing.

The Negatives:
While this film is a great summer blockbuster, it isn't perfect. One issue I had with it was while most of the characters get a lot of depth and screen time, I feel that Jeremy Renner's character gets the least amount of time and depth. I was curious to learn more about this character, but the writing prevented the audience from doing so.

Another issue I had was the fact that the visual effects and the action sequences ultimately overshadow the plot. I feel that at points, Whedon focused more on the action scenes than the characters. This only happens a few times in the film though, so it's not a big concern.

Conclusion:
While it's not Marvel's best film, The Avengers is a very well-made and entertaining summer blockbuster. With its dazzling visual effects, smart script, and fantastic performances, the summer movie season couldn't have started in a more satisfying way.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10