The Avengers!

I have been DYING to see Marvel's newest superhero film, The Avengers, and I got to see it on Friday (the day it was released). It was amazing! It was 173 minutes of pure awesomeness!! AHHHHH!!! For those of you who have no idea what it's about, here is a summary:

   Loki (from the 2011 movie Thor, which I also reviewed) is back, and this time, he's got an army and is ready to conquer the Earth. Beginning when he uses an ethereal blue cube called the Tesseract to teleport into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s (an agency committed to protecting the world from extraterrestrial threats) headquarters, he begins to get everything lined up so that he can rule the world as their king. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director, Nick Fury, and his team are nearly blown to bits when Loki effectively destroys their headquarters, and Fury realising that Loki is a serious threat leads him to assemble a group of 'special' people to combat Loki and his alien forces. Enter the Avengers. Consisting of six superheros (four of which have had their own movies), the Avengers are a volatile, self-proclaimed time-bomb that has little chance of overcoming their differences and working together effectively. You have Thor, Loki's older brother and prince of the far-off world of Asgard (who also wants nothing more than to take Loki home); Ironman (Tony Stark), a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist who's about as selfish as they come; Captain America (Steve Rogers), a WWII soldier enhanced by a serum that's turned him into a supersoldier and is about as selfless as they come; the Hulk (Dr. Bruce Banner), who was exposed to gamma radiation and turns into a giant green rage monster when enraged or excited; the Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff), a Russian spy who is a skilled fighter and gunwoman; and Hawkeye (Cliff Barton), the 'world's greatest markman.' See how this could go downhill pretty quickly? While the Avengers are struggling to work together, Loki's power only grows, and soon the entire world faces total destruction - unless they can somehow manage to work together to fend off Loki's otherworldly forces. 

     The Avengers is packed with breathtaking action, beautiful special effects, hilarious humour, wonderfully refreshing values, excellent characterisations, and a great plot. I give The Avengers 5/5 stars and recommend it to everyone over the age of about 11 (there is some violence and scary creatures, and a few bad words).
    Well done, Marvel. Well done.