Well what could have been a tremendous mess, putting all of these superheroes four of which had their own lead film(s) together, actually turned out to be all we’ve been hoping for. Marvel fans will dig the fact that the story is based on the very first issue of the comic book “The Avengers,” almost 50 years ago where it was Loki, Thor’s brother, who was causing the trouble that brought all the Avengers together for the first time to defeat him.

The Avengers is a delightful and entertaining superhero extravaganza that really doesn’t fail to please. Director Joss Whedon skillfully balances the screen time of all the leads, staying true to their respective personality. From Tony Stark’s witty narcissism to Captain America’s infallible sense of dutytheir arguing aboard the shield helicarrier almost rivals them taking on an alien army in the midst of New York or - when tempers flare - each other.

Temper is what brings out the Hulk and this guy actually steals the movie. Even though he doesn’t appear until the second half of the film the Hulk makes his screen time count. Gone are the days where some lame digital animation tries to sell us on the green menace which - let’s be honest - never actually worked. Not only is he technically well executed, but the Hulk has some of the funniest moments in the film bearing comic animation yet still believable.

Aside from Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor who all skillfully reprise their roles Scarlett Johansson really fleshed out her role as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow since her Iron Man 2 days. Being the only female hero and without superpowers she manages to hold her own in the light of her male heroic companions.Highly skilled both mentally and physically she packs plenty of deadly force.During her scenes with another highly skilled S.H.I.E.L.D. operative, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), the audience will be let in on some of their backstory and get a glimpse of their longtime working relationship.

At 142 minutes the film does take some time to build, after all the characters need to be introduced, but thanks to the jokey dialogue the rather basic story works surprisingly well. The Avengers is definitely a summer movie not to be missed, far better than Battleship in my opinion. Unfortunately since Iron Man 3 is still in the stage of preproduction, there’s no teaser at the end this time.

About The Author: Harold Schossman is our International News Corespondent and our resident Expert Videographer. He has worked in the entertainment industry for almost two decades. Be sure to check out his outstanding video work on his YouTube account.

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