The most anticipated superhero movie of the year is here! Marvel’s The Avengers has received plenty of hype ahead of its release and the bottom line is that it won’t disappoint… much. This superheroes-on-steroids spectacle manages to do the near-impossible, containing several of the world’s biggest superheroes and Hollywood egos in one literal blockbuster.

Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America (Chris Evans), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Loki (Tom Hiddleston)… it’s quite amazing how writer-director Joss Whedon has managed to preserve this team effort without overshadowing any of the characters.

Whedon’s script gives each of the players a balanced amount of screen time and if you had to pick a favourite, it would have to be the big green guy. The Hulk steals the show, despite the fact that Mark Ruffalo picks up the problematic live-action character where Eric Bana and Edward Norton left off. Ruffalo’s take on Bruce Bana under new anger management is refreshing and Whedon cleverly delays The Hulk’s grand reveal, unleashing him to super-size the action.

The Avengers has three climactic scenarios that match, bubble and then outgrow their predecessor. We’re thrown into climax one as Loki touches down on earth, assembling his henchmen and hatching his subversive scheme to divide and conquer before taking over the world. The second climax builds as an X-Men style air assault ensues and finally the city becomes the playground for a bit of urban “restructuring”.

“…and thanks for making me sooo HOT! Amen.”

Whedon has brought each of the superheroes back story threads to life as the team assembles under Nick Fury. The characters are given a seamless transition from their worlds into the environment of The Avengers going through the typical group forming stages to demonstrate their powers before uniting against a common enemy.

There are plenty of funny references, one-liners and physical jokes along the way to temper the masquerade of heroes in fancy suits. The only problem with having so many superheroes in one movie is that their daring and extraordinary feats become a little ordinary. There are a few near-human super assassins for contrast and vulnerability, but the frailty and middling component of humankind is missing.

Ordinarily, there would be enough supporting human characters to give the superheroes a contrasting dimension. Since the majority of the cast are experiments-gone-wrong, battery-powered, elite government operatives or from another planet this wow factor gets lost in all the explosive action. The film lacks the grounding that an ordinary non-hero would offer amid all the larger-than-life mayhem.

“O Captain, my Captain!”

Too many superheroes in the laboratory ruins the experiment. The Avengers may be electric entertainment, but there’s no downtime or space for us to go deeper with any of the characters or engage our brains. It’s an all-out action adventure that jet powers us from one climax build-up to the next with a few brief moments to catch our breath and snag some plot pointers.

The CGI action set pieces are breathtaking, culminating in a city mash-up that is reminiscent of Transformers: Dark of the Moon for theme and sheer annihilation. We’ve already been introduced to each of the superheroes and it helps to have seen their respective origins films, so all that’s left to do is lock horns, gather momentum and then show-off as a team with each character learning there’s no I in Avengers.

All in all, The Avengers lives up to the movie trailers and preserves the dignity and respect of each character within the Marvel universe. The film would make a worthy companion to any X-Men adventure and blends the mix of Marvel superheroes into one cataclysmic science-fiction comic book action explosion of epic proportions.

The bottom line: Pulsating

Release Date: 26 April, 2012

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