The Avengers - Official Trailer 2012 [HD]

So here we are now. After years of development and a few film establishing the main characters, we get to see a team of superheroes being, well, a superhero super group. My initial response was of dread as I could not see it working well but to my surprise it is one of the most entertaining films of the year.

With Earth being under attack from dastardly villain Loki and his evil plot to rule Earth and its inhabitants, it is down to Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) to pull together his group of superheroes to save the human race. Luckily for those of you who have seen all the individual films, the need for each characters origin and development is unnecessary as they have been fully established in their own stories.


The film does start off very well and establishes a plot (although very well worn) about an attempt by Loki (main villain from Thor), to take a mysterious cube (the Tesseract) which harnesses a power that can open a teleport/wormhole to allow an alien army which he commands to take over the world. Even with this simplistic and over familiar storyline the film has many entertaining moments and is littered with loads of Whedons trademark witty one liners.

The one truly great thing about this film is how well it manages all the superheroes characters and never does one character feel like it's just a film about them with a few extra superheroes tagging along. Each one of them have a similar amount of screen time and a specific purpose which drives the plot forward. Another thing is that the guy behind the film (Whedon) knows his material and creates a loving, authentic and workable story which means each character never feels like a bit character. A very balanced juggling act which allows the stars to shine and show their unique personalities.

The only minor criticism I would give is the over hype that this picture has garnered by many and judging by it's box office record breaking takings, people are going in their droves to see what all the fuss is about. Don't get me wrong, the film is good but not an all time classic. The plot is nothing new, and the alien invasion at the climax of the film is a bit reminiscent of Transformers 3, and a team that doesn't get on but eventually stand together and realize a common enemy, all very cliched.


Most impressive throughout is the dialogue. Each actor delivers and provides so many funny moments (even though Bruce Banners alter ego The Hulk only manages a couple of lines but what few lines he is given are the most hilarious lines in the whole movie!). Unfortunately with the smart lines, the tone of the film never feels quite right.  It doesn't take itself too seriously and because of this, the sense of danger never feels tangible as their is always a line to soften the blow.

A big fun movie which everyone will find something to like, thanks mainly to Whedon assured screenplay and character dynamics, a film that should have failed (and probably would have done under someone else's guidance) it is a true testament that under the right director even the impossible is possible, hopefully next time they could come up with someone a bit more menacing than Loki.

Acting: 3.5/5

Technical Merit: 4/5

Narrative: 3.5/5

Entertainment: 4.5/5

15.5/20