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(Rating: 12A, 143 mins) Written by Zen Terrelonge

Starring – Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr,Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg.

Its been a long time coming, but The Avengers big screen adaptation has been assembled, following an original mention back in 2005.

If you haven’t seen Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger – in that order – what you’re about to read will probably make very little sense and be riddled with spoilers. You’ve been warned. Flee, I tell you!

Iron Man’s Jon Favreau allegedly declined to direct, believing it would be too taxing to combine all of the aforementioned heroes into one harmonious melting pot. This left the door open for Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator and comic lover Joss Whedon to fill the hot seat, while also busying himself with writing the film’s script.

Despite all of the many colourful characters involved – not a Hulk pun – Avengers Assemble somehow manages to give them all a fair share of screen time, which still leaves you hungry ravenous for more. It says a lot, given that the big four characters have already had a respective film of their own.

The story opens with the return of Asgardian god of mischief, Loki (Hiddleston), who is in the midst of a discussion with an unknown being, bartering over the terms of an oh so familiar plot to enslave all of humanity.

The next destination is a S.H.I.E.L.D operations site. You’re perhaps wondering what the hell S.H.I.E.L.D is? It’s the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate, think the Men In Black with more budget.

Picking up where Thor left off, Dr Erik Selvig continues his partnership with S.H.I.E.L.D director Nick Fury (Jackson), as the duo aim to achieve unlimited energy from godly power source, the Tesseract. Regrettably for the one-eyed gunman, Loki also desires the power to release his new co-workers.

It’s here that Hawkeye (Renner) becomes the first on-screen Avenger. Strictly speaking, it’s also Renner’s first starring role in the Marvel world, unless you count his two minute cameo in Thor, and I do not.

As Fury finds himself hopelessly outmanned and outgunned, he begins a recruitment drive of super proportions, bringing in his most valued colleagues Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Johansson) and Agent Coulson (Gregg) to entice some of the most powerful players in the game to unite.

For those unaware, The Avengers team is comprised of: super soldier Steve Rogers/Captain America (Evans), god of thunder Thor (Hemsworth), billionaire genius playboy philanthropist Tony Stark/Iron Man (Downey Jr), scientist Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk (Ruffalo) and S.H.I.E.L.D assassins Hawkeye and Black Widow.

That’s quite a lot of handsome flavours blended up there, but just because chicken and chocolate both taste good individually doesn’t mean combining them will be an enjoyable recipe. To clarify, that’s my analogy of the team because in the words of Stark, they don’t play well with others.

The Avengers initiative hangs in the balance as discord and animosity run through the ‘team’, which allows Loki to gain the high ground in the oncoming war.

I desperately tried not get too overexcited ahead of the film. Its happened with too many titles of late, with me leaving the theatre with a weary head, but Whedon has produced something very special indeed.

Seeing all of the A-Listers together on screen is one thing, but seeing their comic book counterparts in action makes for incredible viewing, so much so that the kid in me was bursting to get out and squeal.

It’s not just incredible fight scenes that keep you hooked though, the script is very tightly sewn, caked with jokes and repartee which are all executed brilliantly. Whedon has made this work because first and foremost this is a ‘comic’, which he has brought to life.

While the film isn’t dark at all, I couldn’t help but notice that Thor and Loki’s twisted relationship is similar to that of Batman and The Joker’s. Hiddleston’s performance is engaging, Evans’ is endearing, while new entrant Ruffalo puts his own stamp on Banner, following in the footsteps of Eric Bana and Edward Norton.

If you like action, aliens, dysfunctional families, the colour green or have ever picked up a comic book, go and see this.

I’m chucking it out there now, anyone up for a sequel called Avengers Assembled?

Superb 10/10

Avengers Assemble is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.