(Warning - there is a tiny spoiler that has been marked in a separate paragraph, nothing too revealing but i suggest that you skip that if you have not seen the movie yet, you would not be expecting it!)
I will begin my review by brushing over Marvel's last few Avenger Relate films. There's not denying that Marvel are on the (relatively) right track with their movie franchises. All of the movie adaptations of these superhuman characters have been a success. When watching them for the first time, I personally wished that Thor could have been more "norse/raw" and Captain America: The First Avenger had it's heavily cheesy moments that reduced my credibility in the plot and Steve Rogers himself. I re-watched these two films in anticipation of Avengers Assemble and, I must admit, they kind of grew on me a little more.
I found it challenging to try and imagine all the different heroes interacting together on the same screen after staring in three very different films; Tech-Heavy Suit Battles / Man on the Run / Norse God / Patriot.
However, Whedon masterfully succeeded in bringing these characters together in a balanced manner.
The plot, though simple - alien invasion masterfully conducted by Loki - was pretty solid. Considering that this is the first time that Iron Man, Cap, Banner, Thor and Black Widow, the simple alien invasion plot left enough time to learn about the characters rather than spend most of the run time learning who these invaders are, what they do, what is the hidden meaning behind Loki's actions, etc. I left out Hawkeye on purpose, I'll briefly explain why later**. I am not an avid comic book reader, but the films structure reminded me of the "older" standard storyline comic books.
One of the film's weak points, however, is the opening scene. Yes, Joss literally throws you into the story - which is a good thing. No slow (possibly narrated by Fury) introduction with a montage of images and scenes that feels cliche or irrelevant. I just think that we could have been introduced to the scene slightly slower, which would have given "standard movie goer" (people who are not really into comics) a better introduction to the scene.
A criticism I have is the way Loki arrives back to earth. I wont go into the details of how and when that occurs, but it all happened a little bit too fast for my tastes.
Oh, speaking about happening too fast. Despite the story arc being pretty simple, A LOT of things happen during the film. Granted, they are generally character-driven conflicts that are "secondary" story arcs, and there didnt seem to be any loose ends, but I felt that things could have gone just a little bit slower so that one could absorb and fully understand what was going on.
There isnt much new stuff to say about the characters. I was particularly surprised by Black Widow's role - she had some great scenes - I think she was more "active" in the movie than Cap or Thor...
Now HULK was brilliant. Both as Banner and as the Hulk, believe the reviews when they say that he stole the show. The character manages to be edgy and humorous at the same time. Not to mention that Hulk cracked the theatre up most of the time. I doubt Hulk will ever work well as a single character. The great thing about him is the way he interacts with others, given the "fragile" nature of the character. The transformation scenes were crafted well, without being too over the top yet still feel believable.
[MINOR SPOLER] slamming loki around like that was genius. Whedon truly seems to know how to balance out the more serious scenes with some physical humour [/MINOR SPOILER]
** Hawkeye, however, did not really seem like one of the Avengers. As a character, he has never been properly introduced and we only get to know his relationships with the SHIELD crew in the second half of the film. Mind you, he serves his purpose well. Had his role (in the first half of the movie) been fulfilled by another "generic" SHIELD agent, the "threat" would have been far less dramatic I believe. However, he only seems to successfully team up with the rest of the Avengers in the final battle, which (to me) makes him feel like part of the Avengers 1.1 rather than the "original 1.0."
Visual effects were superb. The hulk is BEAUTIFULLY rendered and animated, the aliens looked great. The only effect that i found fell short of the very high standard of the other effects was Loki's "armour transformation." I'm not a very big fan of the "tv-quality-like" light ray effects on the appearing/disappearing armour. I wish that they could have come up with a more intelligent way for him to change his costumes. Well... in actual fact... did he *really* need to change?
When it comes to 3D, this is probably one of the better 3D films out there. It's not over done, in fact the added depth feels "natural." Though the film could have done without it, having glasses over my glasses kind of tends to pull me out of the film.
The final scene does a good job of "teaming up two particular characters" that i'm almost sure will be seen together very very soon. I mean, this film shows that these characters DO work well together. I can't wait to see "him" "cameo" or play a minor role in one of the upcoming films.
Well, now for a spoiler free post credit scene review. It does a good job of setting the villain for the next Avengers film, though i cant say i was "shocked" at the reveal. I would have rather seen part of the characters costume rather than a brief glimpse of the face, but i guess it's down to personal preference.
In conclusion, Avengers Assemble is a great experience. I'll definitely watch this in theaters again, preferably in 2D this time - not a big fan of 3D. I definitely can't wait for the next three years to pass, till marvel moves on with Iron Man 3, Thor and Cap 2 and Ant Man. Considering that we had 5 films before Avengers I wouldnt be surprised if they intend to release another solo film, possibly another sequel or a new un-introduced character, but I can't wait till the next Avengers goes into production!
I give this film an 8.5/10!