The latest superhero movie, The Avengers, was released into theatres May 4, 2012. Joss Whedon brings the classic Marvel Avengers to life in an action-packed film starring Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), and Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow).

The plot is a continuation off the past movies, Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). In the movie, Thor’s brother, Loki, has come to Earth with plans of taking it over using the Tesseract. Nick Fury, the leader of a secret government organization, must stop Loki before he can find the Tesseract and use it’s power to become unstoppable. The beginning of the film focuses on building the storyline, including the re-assembly of the Avenger team while the rest of the plot unfolds in the team’s attempts to capture and stop Loki. The movie is mainly action/adventure although Whedon attempts some romance between the Black Widow and Hawkeye. The final battle scene is intense and is guaranteed to hold the audiences attention and keep them on the edge of their seats!

Overall, the movie deserved 3.7/5 stars. The movie was well done and made use of it’s big budget. It was a full 143 minutes (Two and a half hours) so those who pay extra to see it in 3D will get their money’s worth. The acting was what is expected of a superhero movie where most characters are characterized icons and therefore, very two-dimensional. The plot was good but not great, never making it clear why Loki needed the Tesseract and other similar plot holes. Also, since the movie is a continuation, it can be quite confusing to an audience unfamiliar with the previous 5 movies or the storyline of the Avengers although Whedon does an excellent job of catching up confused viewers, without being too tedious for the Marvel-experienced audience member. Another possible downfall for some audience members is the lack of a romantic subplot. There is a slight hinting of a romantic relationship between Black Widow and Haweye, but it is very, very slight and unfulfilling. Overall, the movie was enjoyable, entertaining and certainly didn’t lack excitement. It is 100% an action/adventure film and a good one at that. Most audiences will be very pleased with this latest Marvel installment as long as they know what to expect.