The Avengers - 2012

Marvel Studios, Paramount Pictures, Albuquerque Studios

Directed by Joss Whedon

Cast:

• Tony Stark / Iron Man – Robert Downey Jr.
• Steve Rogers / Captain America – Chris Evans
• Thor – Chris Hemsworth
• Bruce Banner / Hulk – Mark Ruffalo
• Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow – Scarlett Johansson
• Clint Barton / Hawkeye – Jeremy Renner
• Loki – Tom Hiddleston
• Nick Fury – Samuel L. Jackson
• Agent Phil Coulson – Clark Gregg
• Agent Maria Hill – Cobie Smulders
• Pepper Potts – Gwyneth Paltrow
• Professor Eric Selvig – Stellan Skarsgard
• Jarvis – Paul Bettany (voice)

Story: Loki, the half-brother of Thor, has teamed up with an alien race to conquer and enslave the Earth. In exchange, he must provide the aliens with the Tesseract, the ancient cube of power once hidden on Earth by Odin, later discovered by the Red Skull to power his evil weapons, and now in the hands of SHIELD, thanks to the efforts of Howard Stark, Tony's father. He steals the Tesseract, and uses its power to gain control of Professor Selvig, who is experimenting with it, and Hawkeye, who is assigned to protect it. When Loki steals the Tesseract, Nick Fury reaches out to assemble the team of superheroes to retrieve it, but he faces an uphill battle from the Commission and the Superheroes themselves. Will the Avengers Initiative fail, or will the superheroes conquer the aliens?

Review: Yahoo! The legacy lives on and the story is great! I know there were some concerns out there regarding the former creator of Buffy and Angel doing the screenplay and directing, and there were also a few eyebrows raised when Disney took over the Marvel brand. But everyone can relax, because this flag is up the pole, and everyone is saluting.
Robert Downey Jr. is especially his arrogant self as Tony Stark, and I loved the scenes where he and Gwyneth Paltrow are acting like a couple. His interactions with Chris Evans and Mark Ruffalo set the stage for the internal conflicts with each other and Samuel L. Jackson. The dynamics of the characters could not have been any better.
And speaking of the newest member of the Marvel character crew, hats off to Mark Ruffalo who took a role once played, poorly, by Eric Bana, and somewhat better by Ed Norton, and not only made it his own, but made Bruce Banner come to life in realistic ways. His persona as the more aggressive scientist with self control and determination lends to the idea such a being might be controlled, or at least directed.
Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston play beautifully off one another, which gives us the impression of the Asgardian egos and the depths to which they extend. Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner are perfect as the bodyguards nee assassins who are as courageous as they are talented. And Clark Gregg reprises his role from Iron Man and Thor to remind us there are always dedicated men who are simply trying to do their job, in spite of extraordinary circumstances.
The story is fast paced, and wastes little time in exposition, with smidgens of personal lives and assignments interspersed in the film. Overall, the cinematography is exceptional, the graphics are phenomenal, and the entire film has the flow and character of the Comic Books (okay, Graphic Novels) of our misspent youth. I went in expecting an epic, and was not disappointed. Rated PG-13 for violence and a mild reference to drugs, anyone who ever read the stories and those of us who love the prequels (let's face it, folks, Iron Man, Thor, etc. were all prequels to this event) will love this film. I've already reserved a copy for my collection, and you should, too.