Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Robert Downey jun, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Clark Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Stellan Skarsgard, Samuel L. Jackson
Rating: (M)
3 stars (out of 5)
The normal order of things in Hollywood is you have a huge hit and any particularly entertaining side-kicks are then given their own spin-off.
That is not how Marvel Studios rolls.
Instead they have been drip-feeding us movies giving various back stories, culminating in The Avengers (Rialto and Hoyts) where all the remarkable characters come together.
So to be fully up to speed for this you need to have seen the Incredible Hulk movies, the Iron Man films, and Captain America and Thor in their solo outings, which is a hefty commitment.
The super villain who draws them together is Loki (Tom Hiddleston), a troublemaker well-known to Thor (Chris Hemsworth).
After Loki makes his bid for world domination, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) seizes the opportunity to reboot his concept of a team of superheroes.
It did not previously get the green light because Tony Stark, aka Iron Man (Robert Downey jun), was deemed too unstable to work in a team environment.
Well, it is no surprise that Nick was right all along and the Avengers - once they iron out a few niggles - are pretty much unstoppable.
Best thing: Mark Ruffalo is the fourth actor to play Bruce Banner, the guy who gets green and mean when cornered, and he aces it.
Worst thing: No matter how much they dazzle us, in the end it is still the same old story of a portal that has to be closed before the nasty things can come and get us - yawn.
See it with: Any boy aged 40 and under.
