The Avengers

The Avengers is a secret initiative. As is the delivery of the preview disc for the movie, which arrived on my desk under tight security brandishing only the phrase "Come Together" on a single silver disc. For an entire day, I thought I was going home to review a Beatles doco... how wrong I was.

The moment of truth has arrived! Is it possible to make a viable ensemble epic action movie starring some of the biggest blockbuster characters of the last five years? The answer : a resounding yes!

Marvel Studios' The Avengers (or Avengers Assemble as it's known overseas) is the Super Hero team-up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. 

It's the story all five Marvel films since Iron Man have been leading too, with each individual leaving a little trail of crumbs. It kicks off when an unexpected enemy emerges (a familiar face from the Thor universe) that threatens global safety and security.

The Avengers

Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson), Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D, finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

And so The Avengers assemble : Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Captain America (Chris Evans), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner).

What is so startling about director Joss Whedon's film is that it manages to mix the incredible number of different Universe's logic and varied tones into one consistent mood (without ever betraying the style of each individual film which came before it). 

It's quite possibly one of the most marvously handled ensemble films ever, easily beating out the X-Men and Oceans franchises, in that it never feels like anyone gets more screen time than another. Everyone feels like the main character and at no point does it feel like a character has been short changed or shoe horned in.

There is plenty of Wheadon trademarks on offer to : from its laugh out loud humour, perfectly scultpted pop culture references, to the impressive action, well rounded characters and natural dialogue during unnatural situations. It's all sorts of wonderful.

Even The Hulk somehow comes out looking better and more interesting than he did after both Hulk and The Incredible Hulk combined.

Rewatching the film with some friends, who hadn't seen the other Marvel films, I was astounded to see them despise the flick. In fact they made me turn the DVD off mid way through due to the "incredibly camp nature" of the whole affair. But that's part of it's charm, it's unashamedly "superhero".

If there was to be one fault to pick, it's perhaps the lack of one, big "HOLY CRAP!" moment of pure surprise and cheer worthy importance. The "game changing" moment a cinematic experiment like this not only needs in order to pave the way for the future - but also the one it deserves.

But that, dear reader, is me being incredibly picky! Belive the hype The Avengers is the movie comic book fans, movie fans and superhero fans have been waiting for.

Extras on the DVD and Blu Ray editions will vary. The preview disc we recieved only had a simple "Behind the Scenes" featurette, however, nerds should get very excited that there is PLENTY of extras on their way. And considering this is one of the highest grossing movies of all time, expect plenty more DVD and Blu Ray special editions and variations over the next few months.

Conclusion: Movie 85% Extras: N/A