While the embargo is expected to be lifted sometime tomorrow, here are the first reviews of The Avengers! Needless to say the reaction is so far very positive:
"Four disparate main characters, all with specific personalities, abilities and back stories that need to be wrangled into a cohesive fighting force. It’s a job that only Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, with the backing of S.H.I.E.L.D., is suited to, but it’s the one that Buffy creator Joss Whedon has taken on in bringing Marvel’s Avengers together at last. You don’t envy him the task at hand, but then, it’s not every day that a writer-director is handed what is essentially a massive comic franchise toy box and told to go have some fun. And fun is certainly had here. For Whedon has taken the various threads of the Marvel universe and weaved an impressive tapestry filled with action, humour, charm and heart. There was always the danger that this could become The Tony Stark Hour (Featuring His Costumed Chums), but Whedon is canny enough to realise that he’s got a well-balanced cast, and everyone shoulders their respective portion of the storyline with ease. It’s not really surprising coming from the man who handled a large, charismatic set of characters in the undervalued Serenity, and it’s even more satisfying to see him pull off the same trick twice.
- 4/5, Empire Magazine.
"Under the direction of Joss Whedon the film sails along, switching effortlessly between well-handled drama, carefully-crafted action, and perfectly-timed humour. The director has made his name pulling out great performances from ensemble casts, and Avengers Assemble is no different. Each character gets a chance to shine, without any one outstaying their welcome, or taking over the film. More importantly, the dynamic between the characters – the tension between Stark and Rodgers, the trust between Hawkeye and Black Widow, the respect for Banner, and the fear of the Hulk – feel totally appropriate, and entirely natural. There are a few flaws – the compositing of some shots is ropey (OK, one flaw) – but after a five film build-up, it exceeds every expectation, and is also, to my mind at least, the closest a movie has come to putting the experience of reading a comic on screen. Avengers Assemble is utterly joyous. I challenge anyone to not chuckle and cheer throughout.
- 5/5, Hey U Guys.
"The Avengers suffers from some of the plausibility problems that plague the genre, but when it’s doing either of the two things it does best (making its farfetched characters as believable as you can without going down the gritty Dark Knight route, and breaking into some great action sequences), it lives up to its immense potential. It’s also the first Marvel film to capture the epic scale, excitement and humour of its source material, best captured in the Rampage-style carnage of the film’s huge final conflagration in which the audience is dazzled rather than bewildered by the way Whedon stages his action and uses CGI and alternately teased into bouts of laughter and applause. Superhero fan or not, The Avengers dares you to not leave delighted."
- 4/5, Flicks.
"When kids run around pretending to be Thor and Iron Man, this is what plays out in their heads. At the same time, there's a heft and weight to it, because you care about the characters. And this all adds to perhaps the most surprising thing about "The Avengers." Like fellow T.V. legend J.J. Abrams on "Mission Impossible 3," Whedon's big-screen debut "Serenity" had its moments, but felt more like television than a movie. But like Abrams did on "Star Trek," 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. "The Avengers" should never have worked. Too many characters, too many egos, an inexperienced director, an interference-happy studio. That it works as well as it does -- that it's as satisfying a tentpole movie as you could hope for -- is something close to a miracle."
- A-, The Playlist.
The Avengers hits theaters May 4th!
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