First things first, I'm going to have a spoiler ridden section in this review, but I'll label it so I don't accidentally ruin the movie for the people who haven't seen it yet. Second thing's second, the movie is awesome. Hands down pure enjoyment for any Marvel/Avengers/Comic fan. I have a few problems with it on a more intellectual level, but I'll address that at the end of the review.
The Avengers brings together the characters introduced in the five other Marvel Cinematic Universe films. So it's sort of like Iron Man 3/Thor2/Incredible Hulk 2/ Captain America 2 (even though those movies have all been annouced). I think a lot of people were worried that it would just be Iron Man 3 and the other characters would take a back seat. I think this movie connects up with Iron Man 1 or 2 the least of all of the other movies. It picks up after Captain America is woken up. They have to explain how Thor gets back to Earth. They find Bruce Banner (The Hulk) and discuss where he's been and how SHIELD was keeping the military off of his back. They don't discuss the events of the Iron Man movies, other than the bits that had to do with the Avengers directly (Tony being on as a consultant). Pepper Potts is in the movie, while the supporting ladies in the other franchises do not make an appearance (Jane Foster is mentioned). Cap's love interest isn't touched on and Betty Ross is doing who knows what.
The movie moves really fast. It starts out running and it continues to run until you feel exhausted and then it runs some more. There's a decent amount of dialogue and character interaction, which is all done really well, but a lot less than in any of the other movies. This is about The Avengers working as a team and their relationship to each other in this regard. Tony, Thor, and Cap spar verbally (and physically) and come to an understanding on the fly.
The story is that Loki is back trying to take over the world. His motivations seem simple, but you find out that this is laid out by someone other than Loki, and he is more of a means to an end than a partner. The Chitari had found Loki after the events in Thor and outfitted him with some tech and sent him to take the Cosmic Cube (called the Tesseract now). The cube will power a machine that will open a portal up that will allow the alien race known as the Chitari (they are sort of the Skrulls of the Ultimate Universe) to bring in their army and take over the world. It's a simple set up, but I think given the team up situation, it helps that things are simplified as far as their goals go.
The special effects are good. On my previous review I said if the Hulk looks better in The Avengers, I'll believe it when I see it. I saw TIH before The Avengers in a marathon, which helped me compare the two Hulks. The Avengers looks better by and far. I mean as far as you believing he's there with the other characters. He isn't taking damage like he was in TIH, but the tectures when up against the others on screen makes it more real.
Everything else effects wise is done well. They use CG when it's needed, but use practical effects when it's not. I like that method. CG should be a tool, not a solve all (depending on the situation mind you). I don't have a ton to say on that front that's not a spoiler. Speaking of...
SPOILERS START HERE...
My problems with The Avengers are all spoilers. I'll start with my critiques that are spoilers, and then other spoilers that are positive or neutral.
My first problem is that is acts like a sequel to several of the movies, but doesn't go that extra step. Seeing Cap looking for what happened to Agent Carter. Did she die of old age? Is she really old like in the Ultimates? I know this isn't Captain America 2, and a lot of this will more than likely disappear as a critique once that movie's out, but it leaves the audience wondering. Though they directly reference Captain America being a 'man out of time'. They don't show it very often. Tony makes some jokes about it, Cap gets a Wizard of Oz reference in a delightful moment, but you never really see it in a real world sense. You don't see him being confused by a PC or any current tech, he just sort of goes with it. I like how Cap is portrayed in battle and that he adapts to a confusing situation quickly like you would expect, but I guess I'm just jonesing for Cap 2.
The second problem I have is that the Chitari are really marginalized in this movie. They are the Ultimate Skrulls originally in the UU. For those of you unfamilar with Skrulls, they're shapeshifting aliens. They nearly take over the Earth in the second arc of The Ultimates and I think were truely disturbing in their demeanor in the comics (the Chitari, not the Skrulls). In this movie they were storm troopers, they were 60's Star Trek Klingons, they were Decepticons. They didn't have a lot of motivation, and they weren't scary or creepy at all. You could say they were like old school Skrull in the way that they were cannon fodder, but that annoyed me a little bit. It might just be my love of that storyline in the Ultimates, but there it is.
The third problem I have is the how when Iron Man blows up the Chitari ship through the portal, all of the Chitari go limp. Are they dead? Are they unconscious? My theory is that without the ship supplying them with power, they don't have the strength to lift the armor. We're not really sure, and I don't recall an explaination for that. It's convenient, but confusing. It reminds me of when the control ship is destroyed in The Phantom Menance, maybe that's why it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, I would have just liked a little explaination.
Those are sort of minor in the scheme of things. The movie is still awesome. I feel like things like that made fans and critics mad at Green Lantern last year, but I feel they'll let things like that pass with The Avengers. It doesn't bring the whole experience down, but it should be noted.
One of the things I was unsure about was Coleson's death. I was actually a little shocked by it, but thought that if anyone was going to get killed off, it was Coleson. Fans of the MCU like Coleson, a lot. They knew that this would make us dislike Loki even more, and they were right. He died heroically and his death spurred the rest on to fight the good fight. I just hate to see him go. I hope that since Loki killed him, that Thor ends up in the Underworld at some point. Using Loki killing him as an excuse to send his soul to the Norse Underworld (I don't think this is in the comics, but they could easily just throw out a line referencing that), Coleson could show up in that manner in a future movie... I hope anyway.
Hawkeye was marginalized a little bit. This is the first movie with him in a full on role (instead of the cameo in Thor), but is taken control of by Loki in the first five minutes. Whether he's under Loki's control or independent, he's badass throughout. Black Widow and Hawkeye have no real powers, so they have to compensate by being awesome normal humans. Black Widow gets a decent amount of screentime and visits her relationship with Hawkeye, which makes you wish Hawkeye had been in a bigger role, but no one went to this movie to see Hawkeye. They went to see the Big 3 (I like to say the Big 4 in this case, because I heart the Hulk).
SPOILERS END...
In the end, the movie has it's flaws, but is a great ride. None of the characters are portrayed incorrectly and really just leaves you wanting more after the credits roll. See it as soon as you can.
9 out of 10 Cosmic Cubes...
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