And to cut a long-winded review short, it's good. Boy, is it good. More than that, as Bruce Almighty would say, it's GOOOOOOOOD. But let's backtrack a bit, shall we?
Assembling the Avengers on the big screen has been something of a labour of love for Marvel in the last decade, not to mention, the biggest gamble the comic book movie genre has ever witnessed. The concept of putting Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America and Thor in one movie, with all their baggage and egos seemed like one of those things that seemed sure to induce geekgasms in nerds everywhere but yet, seemed like a pitch that wouldn't get any Hollywood suits turning their heads any time soon. Indeed, when an Avengers movie was first mooted, just after the first Iron Man jetted onto screens, most of the Avengers team hadn't even been introduced onscreen at that point. But I completely love the strategy that Marvel have adopted in the leadup to AA, a strategy that Marvel's chief rival DC would be wise to adopt if they ever want to get that Justice League of America movie off the ground. In a word, continuity. By introducing the principal players, one by one in their own movies to familiarise themselves with audiences and then, have interaction between these separate franchises to tease the Avengers concept and establish a shared cinematic universe. Hence, Samuel L. Jackson unexpectedly crashing the end of the first Iron Man film.In doing so, Marvel have built up a surge of popular enthusiasm for this movie, belying its dense, often inaccessible comic book origins, just in time for its release. The proof of the pudding was evident earlier tonight when, arriving at the tiny St Andrews New Picture House, twenty minutes early for the film - I found the queue stretched outside and around the block. All I can say is, I felt really bad for anyone planning to watch Salmon Fishing In The Yemen tonight.
So, how does the final product match up? Well, "Marvel Avengers Assemble", to give it its full title is simply a barnstorming, endlessly fun ride that, for once in the comic book movie genre, actually feels like the experience of reading the source material happen on the big screen. All of the Avengers are given space to breathe and develop, preventing the movie from sliding into The Robert Downey Jr. Show. This is in large part due to the masterstroke hiring of Buffy/Dr Horrible wunderkind and nerd's Messiah, Joss Whedon as director and screenwriter, successfully toeing the line between epic fistfights, human drama, the best tooling up montages since Evil Dead 2 and of course, the Hulk taking down a steel snake of Brobdingnagian proportions.
There also a perfectly pitched level of funny in AA as well that was especially crowd-pleasing - largely stemming, unsurprisingly, from RDJ's zingers. The character who benefits most from this approach is pleasingly, the Hulk, finally getting to full-on smash, ensuring Mark Ruffalo's portrayal of Dr. Bruce Banner and his purple stretchy pants-wearing alter-ego was an undeniable audience favourite. Sam Jackson also gets a meatier role this go-around, getting to do more than handing Tony Stark paperwork as in his previous Marvel cameos.
As for criticisms, they're really the same as those expressed elsewhere. The score, including Soundgarden's first new song in about a decade, is a tad forgettable, with no identifiable hum-along theme akin to John Williams' Superman theme tune or Hans Zimmer's honking BRAP! BRAP!s on the Dark Knight franchise. Tom Hiddleston's Loki, again is a deliciously snarling villain (I think "You mewling quim!" is going to be my insult of choice for the foreseeable future) but unluckily is saddled with a shit McGuffin left over from "Captain America: The First Avenger".
Joss Whedon continues his penchant for [MINOR SPOILER ALERT] killing off fan-favourite characters and for someone with experience writing for powerful female characters, why is it only Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow who gets a look-in, while Nick Fury's second-in-command, Maria Hill's, played by Robin from "How I Met Your Mother", role is reduced to staring gravely at computer screens? There is also a worrying lack of Nathan Fillion for this Whedon joint.
But these are minor quibbles overshadowed by the dizzying thrill of seeing this supergang do their thang. "Avengers Assemble" could have come across as "Team America in Armour", but instead comes across as the perfect antidote to Hollywood's current approach to comic book movies in the wake of Christopher Nolan's peerless work on the Dark Knight trilogy. It was kind of ironic, in a way, that the trailer for Nolan's franchise-wrapup, The Dark Knight Rises was shown in front of The Avengers. This film wasn't trying in any way to mimic Nolan, Bale etc. Avengers is a bright, fantastical, sugar rush of a movie with just the right amount of self-awareness, humour and vim that will ensure assembling of audiences.
CONDENSED REVIEW: Nerdvana.
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