First Reviews for THE AVENGERS Are In
The first reviews for Joss Whedon’s THE AVENGERS are finally in and they’re overwhelmingly positive. While the film doesn’t hit theaters for another few weeks, Marvel has allowed several outlets to publish their reviews and I’ve rounded some of them up for you to check out after the jump.
THE PLAYLIST: Whedon has stepped up his game in a major way: the action is clear and coherent, the pacing is tight (it’s 140 minutes long, but flies by) and the technical contributions are top-notch across the board, from the Bond-movie production design of James Chinlund(“The Fountain”) and the razor-sharp cutting of Jeffrey Ford (“Public Enemies”) and Lisa Lassek (“Cabin In The Woods”) to Seamus McGarvey’s bright cinematography and Alan Silvestri’s firmly listenable score (although the latter could, it should be said, use a more distinctive theme). And it’s funny. Did we mention it’s funny? God, it’s funny. – Oliver Lyttelton
BLEEDING COOL: The plot of Avengers is closer to the game of chess being played by Stan Lee at the end and I wonder if that is an acknowledgement of the film’s limitations. But if its a game of chess, it’s one with beautifully realised, emotionally complex pieces. You’re going to love this film. So many great scenes that will burn into your retina (in 3D, natch), such great dialogue, so many moments that will live with you and and that you’ll be quoting at length afterwards. Avengers 2, however? It needs to be about something much bigger than itself. – Rich Johnston
IGN: The Avengers is a damn fun, entertaining and satisfying superhero spectacle. We’ve waited a long time to see Iron Man and Captain America fight alongside each other or to witness The Hulk and Thor in battle together and The Avengers continually delivers the goods, with well-orchestrated, appropriately bigger than life moments…While this is a male-dominated cast, Whedon’s strength with female characters serves him well when it comes to Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), who makes a much stronger and better impression here than how the character was handled in Iron Man 2 – coming off as both incredibly physically and mentally adept. – Eric Goldman
VARIETY: However questionable an idea it may have seemed initially, and at times along the way, Marvel’s cinematic master plan for its comicbook all-stars pays off in extravagant fashion with “The Avengers.” Like a superior, state-of-the-art model built from reconstituted parts, Joss Whedon’s buoyant, witty and robustly entertaining superhero smash-up is escapism of a sophisticated order, boasting a tonal assurance and rich reserves of humor that offset the potentially lumbering and unavoidably formulaic aspects of this 143-minute team-origin story. – Justin Chang
THR: As creatively variable and predictably formulaic as the Marvel films have been, this one will not only make the core geek audience feel like it’s died and gone to Asgard but has so much going for it that many non-fans will be disarmed and charmed. This is effects-driven, mass appeal summer fare par excellence, that sought-after rare bird that hits all the quadrants, as marketing mavens like to say. As enormous as the production is, though, the appeal of the ensemble cast makes a crucial difference; you get enough but not too much of each of them and they all get multiple scenes to themselves to shine. – Todd McCarthy