This is what a summer blockbuster is supposed to be. Very funny, lots of action. Very much a crowd-pleaser. Enthusiastic applause at the end of the movie. This will get a lot of good WOM and should get a lot of people coming back to see it again. Hulk definitely stole the show IMHO

A-

THE AVENGERS

Initial thoughts.

Most of the film leading up to fight in the city - A
During the fight it was turning into visual overkill - B
Some point during that fight, maybe when the Hulk arrived - A

Grade - A

It met expectations. It's what a big visual fx blockbuster should be unlike the last two Transformers crap festivals. Iron Man one liners were great and the Hulk was so good it makes me want to see Ruffalo in yet another Hulk (at least in my current state of 2.5 hrs sleep).

Seriously, this movie is the best reason to try another standalone Hulk-film.

The first hour of this film is pretty bad but then the Hulk rapes asses and it becomes quite good.

I pretty much agree with Magnus. It's a tremendous amount of fun, but oh so stupid at many times.

Hiddleson really plays Loki so incredibly well and makes you want to see his comeuppance, which makes THAT one moment so fucking awesome.

This is def. a movie which was meant to be seen in a crowd, with an enthusiastic audience.

many of the jokes will fall flat on their own, and I think many will begin to see the movie as dumb/too campy over time.

It's just like Transformers: Dark of the Moon but more focus on characters and their group dynamics. The ride is awesome - the subtext is a small step above execrable.
A

I wish I saw it with an enthused crowd. I felt bad for the one guy that was clapping throughout.

I agree that the first hour was kinda meh, last hour is fun.

It's so good! It's so good!

I have a few tiny problems, like how Black Widow and Hawkeye's relationship could've been fleshed out more, and the first half is a little...off, but once they all get on the airship the movie takes off (pun not intended).

And they finally got Hulk right! FINALLY!

So good.

****½ (A)

This is also the first time, in quite some time, where I went to an afternoon showing (4pm), the crowd was pretty much full, and were enthusiastically cheering throughout the last 30 minutes, especially when Hulk turned Loki into a "Puny God", a line that was almost missed by everyone because of the applause.

I loved it obviously. Not quite an A+ but an easy A. Hulk steals the show. Action/comedy is clearly where Hulk 3 should aim.

We're getting a Hulk sequel. There's no way Marvel ignores the awesome response the character is getting in this flick.

"You mewling quim" made me .



This is in no way a stupid film. It's silly, but silly ain't stupid.

Through the expert guidance of Joss Whedon and as a culmination of the various Marvel films of the past few years, The Avengers ends up being the best of them all. Simply a great time at the movies. A-

Shame for not helping him

AWESOME.

Hulk was so, so good in this movie. His beat-down of Loki near the end was hilariously perfect.

A great film? No, but a sound and solid one. It could use its two-and-a-half-hour length in more interesting ways, though. The first 70 minutes are a long sit and might be unbearable upon repeat viewings. At times it seems to extend itself for no good reason. Consider Iron Man and Thor's violent rumble in the forest right after the Norse god has returned to earth and before they later, of course, join forces. This scene exists simply to exist. Cash is flowing, the actors have been well compensated, so why not? It says and does nothing. Such nonsense is even more frustrating when more interesting avenues, such as the nuances of Captain America's mental state after rousing from decades of frozen slumber to find an unfamiliar and even more hostile world, are left unexplored. Perhaps this is to be explored in the Captain America sequel proper. There is a sense character arcs and storylines are on pause here. Why doesn't Don Cheadle's Iron Man 2 character (War Machine, right?) help in the final battle? When Iron Man 3 comes, how come Captain America and Thor and the rest won't be there to help? They share this world now, yet only when the franchise powers deem it so. A strange dynamic.

Joss Whedon is intelligent, though, and delivers several Big, Fan-Pleasing Moments. Enough to distract from the fairly flimsy specifics of the plot. His relative inexperience as a film director almost enhances the final, Manhattan-destroying action sequence. His clean, earnest, straightforward compositions linger on the stunts and pyrotechnics in ways a jaded, raging Michael Bay would not. Whedon also puts his actors to good use. He understands the energetic cynicism of Downey, the square-jawed charisma of Evans, the sex-infused mystery of Scarlett Johansson, etc. and lets them play, and they create an entertaining atmosphere. Best is Tom Hiddleston. With his intense eyes, wide grin, and playful malevolence, he steals scenes as Thor's villainous sibling.

Whedon does perhaps go too far with the comic relief. Every other line is a one-liner. The tragic gravity of a Christopher Nolan Batman picture is not expected or desired, but the writer/director's insistence on light humor, on displaying his wit and charm, tends to let the air out of scenes which could have been heavier and more consequential.

B

I was disappointed Hayley Atwell's Captain America character wasn't mentioned in any meaningful way. Could've been so poignant to see Steve inquiring as to her fate during those lost years.

They only had so much time. Besides, it'd feel more at home in a Cap sequel. The movie is about the team and not so much the individual characters.

At least we found out Natalie Portman's character is safe. WHEW! Relief, sweet relief.

I was shocked she didn't appear. Didn't Marvel sign her to a 9 film contract?

They just signed Ruffalo to a seventeen-film contract, I believe. With an option for 48 more.

I'm not sure why they felt the need to even bring her up considering she was hardly important in Thor.

I liked that Gwyneth actually appeared briefly. Her chemistry with RDJ is one of the best things about the Iron Man movies.

It's good, not amazing. The fun part about it is seeing all the Avengers on screen, whether it's bantering or fighting (each other and the enemy). In terms of the actual plot and character work it's right in line with Thor, Iron Man 2, etc. as reasonable but nothing exceptional.

It was really good. A few too many one liners... all. the. time. But the action was really good.

That first act where they gather everyone piece by piece is so boring it would put that woman who wrote all the Merchant Ivory movies to sleep.

It gets better/funnier after that even if there's absolutely no story and even though Joss Whedon doesn't know how to direct a big movie (1:85? huh?). Hes probably the right guy for the job anyway because he keeps it light and funny and quippy and there wouldn't really be time for a story anyway since he's servicing like 98 characters