TITLE: The Avengers
STARRING: Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner
DIRECTOR: Joss Whedon
STUDIO: Paramount, Marvel Studios
RATED: PG-13
RUN TIME: 142 minutes
RELEASED: May 4, 2012

By Seth Miller
Staff Writer, Part-Time Ninja

The year of Whedon has finally come to its zenith, with a film that millions of comic book fans and myself have been waiting for the past four years in reality and god knows how long in our minds. This has been the culmination of years of work that seemed logistically impossible but has somehow come together. Given all the work that has gone into making this film, does The Avengers deliver? Oh hell yes it does; in fact, what the fuck are you doing still reading this review?! Get out of your home and go see this movie!

After he was banished from Asgard, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) returns with an army from another world and plans to conquer Earth. Outgunned by this new threat, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) decides it’s time to build his team consisting of Captain America (Evans), Iron Man (Downey, Jr.), Thor (Hemsworth), the Hulk (Ruffalo), Black Widow (Johansson), and Hawkeye (Renner).  Together, they must save the world, provided they don’t kill each other first.

Normally, I’d tell you what I like about the film, what I didn’t like, and then wrap the whole thing up. Well, I’ll save you some time; there is virtually nothing I didn’t like and anything that might come up when I step back from the whole experience will do nothing to dim my love for it. Issues with the score, which was pretty good but didn’t fit as well in some sections and wanting a few more scenes from certain characters doesn’t change the facts this was one of the best times I have had at the movies in a long time.

Joss Whedon had the unenviable task of trying to pull this film off, and he not only delivered but also hit it out of the park in so many ways. Whedon knows both mediums of comic books and cinema very well and was able to craft a quality film that pays respect to the comics that they are based on without trying to hide the fact but instead wears that distinction proudly. He is able to juggle all the characters to not only make sure they don’t devote screen time to just one or two characters, but also give each one some form of individual storyline that gives the overall film substance that has been lacking from a lot of summer movies and is part of what has made the Marvel movies so great. And I can’t even cover all the ways he has been able to take everything I dreamed a movie like this could be since I was a kid to now and surpass those dreams.

All of the cast members in this film do a great job, but Johansson, Ruffalo, and Renner really stand out in this film. This is the first film where they really get show off to the audience for first time and they make their mark in a big way with Ruffalo’s Hulk providing some of the best moments in the film. The first half is filled with great humor and little scenes between characters that really flesh out the Marvel universe and all the favorite characters. While the second half has the same amount of humor and so much brain shattering action that it hardly seems possible that it was put into this single film.

Even if you know nothing about Marvel movies there is still something to love about this film that makes it spectacular. So if you have read this review all the way to the end, you are wasting time that could be spent seeing The Avengers multiple times, so get out of your home and prepare to have over 2 hours of purified awesome projected onto a screen.

RATING: 10/10