Simon Dillon reviews the film

Superhero movies are enjoying something of a golden era at present, and certainly Avengers Assemble is a very good, possibly even great continuation of the high standard set by previous Marvel movies such as Thor, Iron Man and Captain America. For casual viewers, it is a first rate bit of summer blockbuster fun, with plenty of action and humour. For fans of the comics however, prepare to have a new favourite film.

Director Joss Whedon is clearly one such fan, and his love for the characters and material is very evident. His trademark one-liners and fine attention to characterisation are as apparent here as they have been in his previous works (most notably TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer). The plot is overblown nonsense of course (something about a cube of unlimited power enabling rogue Norse god Loki to ally himself with an alien race and take over the Earth), but that is exactly what is expected in something as ludicrously over-the-top as the Avengers.

The eponymous Avengers - led by uber-secret agent Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) - are recruited by the mysterious SHIELD organisation to deal with Loki (played incidentally, by the excellent Tom Hiddleston). True to the comics at first these superheroes fight each other before fighting the villain. Plot threads left hanging from previous movies are drawn together as Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), and Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) join Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlet Johannson) and Alint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) under Nick Fury's command, and the resultant brawls and banter are very amusing indeed.

Whedon manages to traverse that immensely tricky tightrope of ensuring each Avenger gets his or her moment to shine. In particular Steve Rogers' struggle to adjust in the modern world is highlighted, along with his personality clash with Tony Stark. Thor has to wrestle with the fact that his brother has turned evil (again), but with a somewhat different focus from what happened in his previous adventure. Incidentally, making Loki the bad guy was an excellent choice as he was by far the best villain of the previous films; having been given proper, three-dimensional motivations. Bruce Banner's role is well-judged in a way that previous Hulk instalments failed to nail, and the character of Black Widow is developed in a way that ensures she isn't merely eye candy. Even Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) is given more to do this time ("His first name is Agent", Stark quips). Admittedly fans of Hawkeye may feel a little short changed, but he does have a very active role in the spectacular finale.

And boy is it spectacular. The special effects are truly astonishing; with swooping, eye-popping vistas of destruction as the alien menace is unleashed upon New York (does any city get more attacked in the movies?). The melee of aliens, monsters, exploding vehicles, collapsing buildings and obviously the Avengers finally fighting the enemy instead of each other is almost overwhelming, though thankfully it never descends into Michael Bay-style tedium.

On a technical level, everything is top notch - from the afore-mentioned visuals to the cinematography and sound effects, as well as Alan Silvestri's appropriately heroic music score. There's also a mid-credits scene that sets up a sequel, though it will probably only make sense to fans of the comics.

Avengers Assemble is very silly if you think about it for even one second, but it's got wit and action to spare. It's also worth saying that seeing the previous films isn't strictly necessary, although some references will no doubt go over the heads of newcomers. Despite a slightly over-inflated running time, Avengers Assemble really delivers the entertainment in spades. My inner seven-year-old (and my actual seven-year-old) both loved it.