"The Avengers" Review

    Four years, five movies and millions of dollars later, it's finally here. This is The Avengers!

    I really hope I don't have to introduce this one. The Avengers is a culmination of the past four years of buildup in five separate films, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. All of the storylines and easier eggs hinted at in those film fully comes to light as Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Captain America (Chris Evans), along with Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) are called to arms by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in order to stop Loki (Tom Hiddleston) from unleashing an alien army from taking over the world. And hopefully, that's where the spoilers end (No promises).
    Directed by nerd god Joss Whedon, The Avengers stands for a lot more than just a big summer crossover. If the movies is both a critical and commercial success, then it would become the film that proved that a comic-book-like universe with shared characters and continuity has ever been genuinely recreated on the big screen. The pressure on this film is huge, more than even this summer's fellow blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises. Thankfully, it's good. Very good.



Begin your tears on joy now.

    Whedon has effectively done the impossible. Not surprising, seeing as how his past experience with large casts with big personalities has turned out so well (Firefly, anyone?). FIrst off, the cast is all great. Iron Man does not hog the screen time, acting as both the comic relief and the guy who explains all the science stuff. His chemistry with the new Hulk, Mark Ruffalo, is surprisingly good, with Ruffalo playing the best Hulk yet. In fact, if any character steals the show, it's the Hulk. Captain America deals nicely with his time-displacement and leads the team as Balck Widow and Hawkeye both prove that they could hold their own movie. Loki is the best choice for the villain and Hiddleston does a fine job in the role.
    The cast is balanced and never feels as if one gets more to do than another (If anyone gets the short end of the stick, it's Colbie Sumlders Maria Hill). As with most of the Marvel movies, the characters interact well and the humor is often fast and funny. The first half of the film has the characters all get introduced and develop their relationships while the second half features all the crazy awesome New York City destroying action. Every movie has that one moment that makes everyone in the audience go "Holy crap that was awesome!" The Avengers has so many of those moments it kinda becomes the whole movie. Every characters gets a moment where they get to do domething so insanely cool that it will stick in your head long after the movie is finished.
    It's really hard coming up with anything to fault this movie for. Whedon still shows his TV stylings sometimes, though usually the film does seems cinematic. Some of the question left hanging in the characters individual films go unanswered, at least until their own personal next film. And the movie can get to feel a bit rushed at points.

Hulk wins.

    Against all odds, The Avengers manages to be everything we've dreamed of and more. Joss Whedon blends together all the characters into one big awesome team. No character feels left out, no moment feels bland. The movie has the most "Holy crap that was awesome" moment than most other film have in their entire series. While it may be a while before we can decide if it is the greatest superhero movie ever made, there is one thing we can know for sure. The Avengers is freaking awesome. The Avengers gets a full 6 stars out of 6.