Assembled

Well here it is at last - my 'Avengers' review!

Where to start? Well first of all let's sum up what's going on - after four years of run ups with five films (Iron Man I & II, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America) it's finally time for the ensemble film of geek heaven. Add in Hawkeye and the Black Widow as the non-superpowered members of the team and Earth's mightiest heroes have finally been assembled! Also let's not forget Nick Fury and Agent Phil Coulson as S.H.I.E.LD.'s commander and agent of awesome respectively.

The plot, in brief, concerns the return of Loki, last seen plummeting to his death (unless you watched the post-credits sequence in 'Thor') in a black hole maelstrom, but no good villain ever dies! Aided by the alien cyborg race the Chitauri he's out to conquer Earth, making a very eloquent case at times for why we're better off being ruled than having free will. Well Nick Fury is having none of that so he sets out re-assembling the disassembled Avengers initiative to take on the crazed demi-god, ultimately leading to a fight for Earth's freedom in New York that will see each Avenger pushed to the limit of their abilities.

And that's all I'm going to say story-wise, or I will geekily spoil the heck out of this review!

First of all, hats off to Joss Whedon. The master of awesome TV series that get canned too soon (Firefly, Dollhouse) and only one other film (Serenity) is also the writer behind Marvel's 'Runaways' and 'Astonishing X-Men' so is no stranger to the universe, thus ideally placed to handle the task. And handle it ideally he does - each Avenger, including the relatively obscure Hawkeye and Black Widow (in terms of previous film appearances*), is given a proper character, not just chucked forward and into the fray without consideration. The scenes where the Hulk isn't smashing up the screen are given their moment too, with some of the interplay between the characters upstaging the grand-stand fight at the end (and I have to say that's not something I mind!). And best of all, throughout the whole thing, at no point does it feel like it was beyond his control, he keeps his focus tight or expands it as needed and, a few mucky fight edits aside, it's a awesomely woven bundle of awesome.

And let's move onto the Avengers themselves - all of them played by actors with films under their belts except the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo taking over for Ed Norton) and knowing exactly what they need to do to keep the fans happy, and that they have done. Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) is the most recognisable with two films to his name, but happily he's a lot fresher here than in the second one. Easily stealing the show with his presence and the best lines (see 'Shakespeare in the Park' reference) it's nice to see he can also expand on the role, drawing on Captain America's criticism of his self-preservation and becoming a full part of the team. Captain America (Chris Evans) has the most unique role to play, as the man of the past brought into a future where some things have changed but not always in the way you expect. The leader of the team he's the one they look to for guidance and wisdom and luckily, echoing back to the reason he was chosen to be the first super soldier, he gives it all to the team - highlights are any scenes between him and Stark and his commanding role in the big fight finale.

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is back and much the same as he was at the end of the first film, a wiser version of the Asgardian warrior, seeking to stop his brother (who he still thinks of as his brother) and protect the world he came to love in his exile - key scenes for him involve the Hulk, in several ways (no more, it's spoilery!). Speaking of the Hulk I have to say hats off to Mark Ruffalo, stepping into the oversized shoes he brings both sides of the Hulk out excellently (he's the first actor to be both as well) - his Dr. Banner is the quiet genius he should be, with the right underlying threat in 'the other guy', and his Hulk is finally the Hulk we deserve - the giant green rage monster who is also able, to some degree, recognise friend from foe and fight against what he knows is wrong.

This leaves us with the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), the two Avengers who have cameoed in previous films but not really featured. And once again it's a moment where both the actors, and the parts Joss Whedon has written for them, shine. Scarlett Johansson is brilliant as the Widow, kicking butt and taking names in the fight scenes (including one where she's tied to a chair for most of it) but also facing off to Loki in one of the best scenes of the film, with a reversal you won't see coming. Jeremy Renner has a trickier job, his story in the film is equally as challenging and it's left until the end for him to make his hero shine through which he does as excellently as the rest - I don't want to say more as his story is very, very spoilery!

A couple more folks to discuss and I'll wind this up - Nick Fury (Samuel L. Motherf**kin' Jackson) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) are the commanders if you will - yes Cap' leads the Avengers but it's Nick Fury who calls them together. It's not the best role I've seen Jackson in but he does make it his own, even bringing in use of 'stupid-ass' which utterly suits his Fury but probably not the usual way he's portrayed! Hiddleston as Loki is a great villain in this, from his first appearance with an evil smile that looks nothing like the dashing actor behind him to the final battle when he unleashes all his power and... well I'll stop there to avoid spoilers again. Final nods go to Cobie Smulders and Clark Gregg, playing S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Maria Hill and Phil** Coulson - there's not a lot for them to do, although Coulson's lines are all classic, especially his scenes with Captain America, but they play the parts as needed - and Hill gets a great chase sequence in the beginning.

Right, I think that's just a bit of a long review and all I've got time for. Needless to say that if you haven't gathered it from it I absolutely bloody love this movie and I throughly recommend it to all. As my friend Simon put it: Filmgoers! ASSEMBLE!

*he added hastily to avoid any rabid fan-hate!
**"Phil? His first name is Agent."