Film: Marvel Avengers Assemble

There are two types of people who went to see this film. The first are those who wanted to catch the biggest film of the year, the non-stop action superhero rollercoaster that everyone would be talking about at work/school the next day. The second group are those who went to see it because it was directed by Joss Whedon.

Since this is a movie review, I won't go into too much detail as to why Whedon is such a genius except to mention a single name: Buffy. Vastly underrated, it's about time he got high profile, and must admit I felt a little vindicated as I saw one of his films break all opening weekend box office records.

Of course the main fear was always going to be whether Whedon could resist any "creative pressures" being placed on him from above. And if I'm completely honest I would say that Avengers Assemble wasn't as Whedon as I wanted it to be - for a recent example of what that means, go watch Cabin in the Woods.

But I did laugh extremely out loud at three uniquely Whedonesque gags, yes, the ones that everyone else did too - who said Whedon was just for the culty geeks? Overall though, the first half was kinda bad, with the second half very much worth the wait. Oh and for those who care Ruffalo was much better than Norton. Oh and a special raised eyebrow goes to Pepper Potts' short shorts.

So yes. As hugely enjoyable as as it was, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed at the lack of total polish and genius I've come to expect from Whedon. That's not to say that the film isn't good - on the contrary, those in the first group will go away very satisfied - so it gets nothing less than a recommendation from me.