After years of hidden after-credit scenes, several movies that all connected with each other for this one, and what felt like a millennium of waiting, the Avengers have finally assembled. Picking right up with where it left off at the end of Captain America, The Avengers moves at a very fast pace, picking up a new superhero at every turn. Loki, Thor's younger brother, has decided that Earth cannot handle itself as a free world, and believes that everyone should be ruled unitedly by a tyrant (himself). Thus begins the war between Loki and his alien "army" and the Avengers and their Hulk. I'm sure you can figure out who wins. The ending comes with a hint at who will be the next target of the Avengers for the next Avengers movie. Along with being extremely well paced and very entertaining, the Avengers also features some incredible performance, both individual and the group as a whole. Samuel Jackson does what he usually does as the man who assembles the Avengers, Nick Fury. The "big 3" superheroes, Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor do very well in their respective roles. The newcomers to the Avengers, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and Scarlet Johansson as Black Widow, do extremely well in their supporting roles. But the main breakout star in this film is Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk. I couldn't count the times that The Hulk got cheers and claps from the audiences of the showings I went too. Mark Ruffalo has finally gotten The Hulk right, both emotionally and physically, something that it's prior incarnates, Eric Bana and Edward Norton have failed to do. And The Hulk also has been executed perfectly in the visual and design category for the first time, with an actual plausible look instead of choppy CGI that looks like green play-doh. Tom Hiddleston also does well as the main villain, Loki. As an ensemble, it's possibly one of, if not the best, ensemble acting in recent memory, in comparison to the lovely ladies of The Help. A huge amount of credit also goes to director Joss Whedon, who quelled the fears of fanboys world wide that an Avengers movie, especially one of this size and quality, would ever happen. He has created a masterpiece, and has completely shattered box office records, squashing the opening weekend record previously held by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, grossing an unprecedented 207.4 million dollars. The Avengers is an amazing movie of the highest quality. Whedon has created an ensemble cast, that, although had the potential to be too cluttered, works perfectly. The best movie of the year so far.
Rating: A+
Loki: "I have an army."
Iron Man: "We have a Hulk."
