The Avengers Review

     Well, all of the years of buildup have finally come to a head. After the absolute success of Iron man, the slight disappointment of The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2, and the pure entertainment value of Thor and Captain America expectations were high for "The Avengers" which brought them all together. The question remained, however, could Joss Whedon, mastermind of Buffy and Firefly, actually pull of this impossible mission? The answer: Yes

     Joss Whedon achieves this by focusing on one thing above all others: fun. These movies are meant to be entertaining. They are not intended to bring up moral ambiguities, they are intended to serve as an escape for a few hours. That is something that this film does very well. It keeps its tone lighthearted enough so that it can be enjoyed for what it is, but it does take itself seriously enough that we actually care about what happens and feel that there is some danger. 

     The writing is also integral. It should come as no surprise to fans of Joss Whedon, but the dialogue here is top notch. The characters are witty, and there banter works well, simultaneously being funny and moving the story forward. There is also a great sense of pacing at play that moves the story along at a good pace, ratcheting up the tension at the right times to have the greatest effect on the audience. It also manages to give almost all of the characters a chance to shine, no small feat with a cast this big. Iron Man definitely gets the biggest role, with Hawkeye and Thor somewhat shafted, but for the most part the characters coexist as an ensemble without a true main character.

     The performances are also great. Mark Ruffalo makes the best Bruce Banner yet, though admittedly there isn't much competition on that part. As far as the rest of the Avengers go, they were well cast in their own films, so that doesn't change here. Their performances are all good, and mesh well together, without anyone really trying to hog the spotlight. (even Robert Downey Jr. avoids hogging it. mostly) The real surprise, though, is Scarlett  Johansson. Though she existed merely as the sexy butt-kicker in Iron Man 2, here she is a fleshed out character. Sure, much of that can be attributed to Joss Whedon's talent at writing strong female roles, but it can't be denied that Scarlett takes what she's given in stride, and creates something very pleasantly surprising.

     And of course the film doesn't drop the ball when it comes to its visuals. The effects are wonderful, the editing adds to the film and the music and sound are very up to par. "The Avengers" is all around a perfect summer film. Sure, it's not as weighty as something like "The Dark Knight" but it's as much fun as one can have on the movies, and is a truly great experience, which is really all that one can ask for.

Grade: A