"The Avengers"

Okay, so I've go to be honest about something; this movie was kind of awesome. The best decision, and the best thing Marvel could have done, was getting Joss Whedon to write and direct this film. Is that to say this movie is perfect? The best super-hero film of all time? No. Let's not get carried away from the anticipation and excitement of it all. But it was quite good and very fun. What works best for this movie, and why I think Joss Whedon was the perfect match, is the ensemble cast and how Joss is able to direct the group dynamic. Perhaps it's his roots in television which allow him to do this so well, but he excelled in this capacity. Perhaps my favorite aspect was the relationship between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner and how brilliant they are and how much they really are alike. And whilst they meshed in one way, Bruce Banner was able to relate to Thor through his alter-ego Hulk and their strength and power. Thor and Captain America with their sense of good. Captain America with Hawkeye and Black Widow as lesser beings among apparent gods, and in one case an actual god. The clashing of these characters was fun to watch as they argue and fight one another. The meshing of these characters was fun to watch as they banter and fight with one another. I give all the credit for this to Joss Whedon. Now it would be easy to dismiss this movie with Loki as the main villian, seeing that Thor defeated him by himself, but Loki has seen things and become more ambitious and has a little more help than just him, though he himself is quite the adversary and another reason why I liked this movie, one of the reasons I liked "Thor" so much. Now this being Marvel, they do like to go with style over substance, but I thought Joss did a great job of giving that style substance when he could. But yes, there are times when its just style. Luckily there are times when it's all substance to try and balance it out. There are a few minor things that I didn't like. Thor seemed to be dumbed down a bit in his power, or at least inconsistent with it. The catalyst for the Avengers finally coming together was slightly cliche and lacking, but at the same time understandable and not surprising. Sam Jackson sometimes is just Sam Jackson. And just because this is based in a fictional universe, it doesn't mean your normal average human should gain super human abilities, especially when it's not their power. But overall, I really liked this movie. It's what a summer blockbuster should be, and I think more. Just make sure you stay after the credits (as if that needed to be said for a Marvel movie these days), both the animated credits and scrolling credits.

Oh, and postscript, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner was fantastic. Better than Eric Bana and Ed Norton.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0848228/