"The Avengers" is easily the best "superhero" film that I have
ever seen. After wading through, what seemed to be, an endless ocean of poor to decent films, I was beginning to wonder if there was even any dry land to be found. Gladly, there was, and the hand that pulled me out of the water was Joss Whedon's.
His unique style of action, humor, and engaging storytelling was exactly what this film needed. Though, I'd have to say, the great triumph of Whedon's handling of this film was in the way he was able to balance the importance and contributions of all the characters. Many of us, read "most of us," believed that this film would just be Robert Downey Jr.'s "Tony Stark" acting circles around the rest of the cast. As most of you know, by now, this was not the case. Every character had their place and every character had their chance to shine.
Some of the most common complaints about the film have been about the length, but I honestly can't imagine it being even 10 minutes shorter. This is definitely one of those films where you go in, sit down, are constantly engaged, and stand up about two and a half hours later, wallet in hand, ready to see it again.
Five stars out of five. Brilliant movie. Let's hope the upcoming Marvel sequels can keep up the momentum.
