The Avengers It's like a dream come true. Joss ('Buffy') Whedon promised so much, but could he deliver? Was the Cap uniform redesign going to work? Was the threat to the cinematic Marvel Universe going to be believable enough, and be true enough to its comic counterpart? The answer to everything is yes, yes, hell yes! This isn't the place for spoilers, and yes there's a great deal to spoil - the post-credit sequence for starters. It's a brilliant, character-driven film, note perfect for every character. Whedon promised he could deliver the ultimate Hulk and does. He explores what makes each founding member tick on their own and with each other, building on what's gone on in the prequel films with perfectly timed humour. Want to know why Cap's in charge? It's clear by the end, but it's also clear why the Black Widow is the most dangerous character of all! The acting is uniformly superb. Downey chews up literally every scene he's in, but he's far from alone in the spotlight - the film ultimately works because he, Evans and Hemsworth work so beautifully together (they look rather amazing too). Whedon knows full well that their friendship is the cornerstone of the Avengers, and plays it perfectly, perhaps a little too perfectly. Scarlet Johansson (making up for disappointments in Iron Man 2) and Jeremy Renner (redefining cool) don't get anywhere near as much screen time as Marvel's trinity, and deserve to. But every character has lines which will make fanboys (and girls) new and old alike giggle with pleasure. I'm sure I'll write a spoilerific review on Posterous in the next day or so, but for now I just wanted to feed back on what has become for me the greatest superhero film ever. I will almost certainly watch this a handful more times, perhaps in 3D again. Did I neglect to mention the CGI was superb and really did service a quite brilliant script? I don't normally rate the format at all but this was just a feast for the senses. I smiled from beginning to end. Both the Amazing Spider-Man and Dark Knight Rises now have an almost impossible mountain to climb.
