Avengers Assemble

There is no question that Joss Whedon has delivered one of the years and perhaps the decades best films. It can easily stand side by side with Nolan's Batman trilogy and the other Marvel movies as being almost flawless. It would be pointless to give a detailed account of plot because almost everybody will know it already but here it is (in short) for those who don't know. Nick Fury assembles an elite group of heroes (Hulk aka Bruce Banner, Iron Man aka Tony Stark, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye and Black Widow) to oppose the impending threat of Loki who has been given command of an army from another world. Now, for a review of the film itself. Joss Whedon, who most associate with Buffy, Angel, Firefly has taken the helm of this demanding film and delivered an absolutely perfect job of it. Not only does he give each of the avengers ample and equal amount of time to develop and do their thing but he also makes sure that its not only about the action (which he does very well) but also about the relationship between the characters, and considering how disastrous the film could have been, he has proven that he is more than capable of and hopefully will, direct later, inevitable installments, in this chain of the Marvel world. The plot is great, engaging and not overly complicated that it detracts from the most important aspects: the avengers themselves. As ever, Downey Jr is dry and witty as Stark, Chris Hemsworth is great as Thor, likewise is Chris Evans as Captain America. But perhaps the best characters are Loki with Tom Hiddelston pitch perfect as the villian; Mark Ruffalo is the best Bruce Banner so far, surpassing Erica Bana and Edward Norton's efforts easily. Other brilliant additions to the cast are Nick Fury, who has popped up in nearly all the marvel films and here gets to flesh out his role which Samuel L Jackson does with his trademark wit and knack for one liners. Scarlett Johannsen and Jeremey Renner are too great additions as Black Widow and Hawkeye. But it is Whedon's script that allows the actors to show off their talent as it culminates everything that is great about these kind of movies: humour, action, emotion. All this culminates in a thrilling, action packed climax in New York that is truly one of the best directed, acted and written pieces of superhero cinema ever. The showdown never feels drawn out and will leave you awe inspired. The special effects are among the best i have ever seen in a film, in particular the hulk and iron man, industrial light and magic have outdone themselves here. There are thrilling set pieces at every turn, from a fight between Thor and Hulk (very cool) and some great comedy (a moment between Hulk and loki is a highlight). There really is something for everyone on offer in Avengers Assemble. As a director he is, as mentioned before, more than capable his eye for action and drawing viewers into the enthralling set pieces is outstanding and its impossible not to be caught up in this film. By the end of the film you'll be cheering for the next installment and heres hoping it will be as good, if not better. In the meantime there will be Thor 2, Captain America 2 and Iron Man 3 to keep us all sated. However, there is a negative side to this review and that is the woeful dvd release for those who don't want the blu ray or dont want to have to wait for the feature packed US edition. If you are looking for just the film then this is the perfect dvd, its a great price and delivers stunning picture and sound quality. On the other hand if you are a fan or are looking for in depth featurettes, interviews, commentaries etc then you will be sorely dissapointed. This release has a single, solitary featturette, that whilst interesting, should have legions of extras to go alongside it. Buy if you want just the film, if you want extras i'd wait until the ultimate, two disc, collectors etc etc edition is released. But please don't let the lack of extras put you off this film because it truly is one of the best ever made, i personally count it in my top ten films of all time!

I understand some people are upset at the lack of extras but the main point of this review is about the movie itself and not what could or should have been included. Being a Marvel fan from the mid 1960's onwards the recent spate of films leading up to The Avengers from the first Iron Man onwards was like a stairway to the ultimate comic movie heaven. The movies that led up to this featuring Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and Captain America dropped heavy hints as to what to expect with their SHIELD cameos, particularly Nick Fury and with the announcement that Hawkeye (my favourite of old) and Black Widow were also to appear it was a must see for me to see at the first showing on the first day of general release. Having Loki as the main villain was an extra bonus as it fittingly harks back to the first appearance of the Avengers. The movie itself is a fantastic success, yes it's an action movie with some superb set pieces including a couple of great battles between Iron Man and Thor and later Thor and Hulk before the movie gets into its stride but Joss Whedon's script and direction also brings many of the character traits we have loved from the team to life. Instead of the old Hawkeye/Captain America face-offs we have Cap and Iron Man, there's hints to the past of Hawkeye and Natasha, great interaction between Stark and Banner, Nick Fury's often cynical playing of the team to achieve his aims and some throwaway moments like Cap's allusion to the Wizard of Oz, The Hulk's thrashing of Loki and Stan Lee's obligatory cameo. There's also the SHIELD heli-carrier brilliantly re-imagined from the old massive bulk of early SHIELD days to a stream-lined futuristic base of operations. When Loki's allies, the alien Chitauri, explode onto the scene with their massive flying fighting beasts the action ratchets up a few more pegs leading to a superb finale and the mid-end credit appearance of hopefully the next villain. Yes it would have been nice to have a 2 disc version with lots of extras and there is no reason as to why it wasn't done. The US version isn't due out till next week and their single disc version has a commentary from Joss Whedon and an extra featurette and their 2 disc and 4 disc versions have a whole host of extras, deleted scenes and gag reels in comparison to the poor relation we have over here. Disney management have managed to disengage their brains en masse and missed a real trick here ensuring that for one of the most eagerly awaited releases of all time a very large section of fans will not buy this release by skimping on the extras. There's no commentary and just one actual extra - a brief 6 minute pseudo documentery, but don't let that monumental piece of corporate stupidity stop you from watching this excellent movie. It's inane decisions like this that play into the hands of pirates, for a blockbuster movie like this get your release right the first time at a reasonable price with all the extras you can muster. That said, after waiting almost 50 years to see The Avengers hit the big screen I'm not going to let some Mickey Mouse company's antics ruin the day as I will be playing this (and the movies leading up to it) time and time again. PS you also get a 2 for 1 voucher for Madame Tussaud's, London.

It's not often that a film lives up to the fan-boy reviews of it posted on amazon. Admit it, people usually only post reviews here of things they like. In this case though, the praise is merited. This is a really, really enjoyable movie. A lot of the fun stems from Robert Downey Jr's portrayal of Tony Stark/Iron Man. Marvel acknowledge that Downey is by far the most sparkling jewel in their cinematic crown. He owns the part of Tony Stark, playing it with an endearing insouciance and engaging sense of humour that it's almost impossible not to love. Plus it entirely suits the character as originally conceived in the comic books. However, this is far from being a one-man show. The other most important man is director, Joss Whedon, who pulls off the seemingly impossible by producing an on-screen Incredible Hulk who is actually believable and likeable, as opposed to his previous two cinematic incarnations who were neither. Add in Chris Hemsworth's heroically loveable beach boy, Thor, and Chris Evans' unerringly noble Captain America, and you're well on the way to a winner. OK, even great characters, well-acted, aren't always enough to guarantee a good movie. You also need a good basic story and a well-written script. Avengers Assemble has both of these. In short, there's scarcely a box left un-ticked. In fact, if there is one, I can;t think what it is. Oh, and then there's Agent Coulson, star of the currently playing 'Marvel's Agents of SHIELD' tv show. Other reviewers have complained about an edit made in the UK release of Avengers Assemble in a crucial scene involving Agent Coulson. While I agree with them that the edit is pointless and entirely unnecessary, I don't think it actually detracts from the movie as a whole or even from that particular scene. In short then, great film, my sons and I love it, and we're all looking forward to Avengers 2.

If I had gotten around to reviewing this film when the DVD first came out I would probably have given it a five star rating without any hesitation but now, a year and a half, later I would say that it is probably worth a high four. While I still greatly enjoy the film, and consider it to be one of the better instalments of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I am noticing the flaws of the film a little more allowing subsequent films, such as 'Winter Soldier' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy', to supersede 'Avengers Assemble' in my mind. On the positive side, the film is very entertaining with the excellent mixture of action and humour that Joss Whedon is known for. The special effects in the film still generally look amazing with the main action set pieces being truly stunning (the final battle in New York is still probably my favourite single fight in the Marvel Cinematic Universe). Robert Downey Jr. is as great as always playing Tony Stark, as are Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg as Nick Fury and Agent Coulson. Tom Hiddleston also does his usual brilliant work as Loki. While I feel he was a little off at times, I think Mark Ruffalo does a far better job playing Bruce Banner than either Edward Norton or Eric Bana. On the downside, some of the other performances in the film feel a little weak at times, such as Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye and some of the conflict between the Avengers themselves feels a little forced at times. As well as this the first part of the film feels a little lacklustre at times and it isn't until Thor turns up that things begin to get going. As for the DVD itself, there is very little in the way of special features with the only thing being a short 'A Visual Journey' featurette. The version of the film is also apparently six minutes shorter than the theatrical release (due to a mistake about regions according to Wikipedia) but personally I didn't notice much different when I came to watch the film. Overall, while the film is still a very entertaining watch and is a good benchmark for the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that any fan of the series should greatly enjoy.

Now preferred TDKR and I prefer Batman, but I'm not here to talk about that today. This is great action packed film with some of the greatest superheros. I really enjoyed this film, there was enough action especially with the last battle. The superheros all played at there very best in this film and I can't wait to see there next films especially Iron Man 3. When I first seen the trailer last year before it hit cinemas I couldn't believe this was actually happening. When it hit cinemas and I seen it, the film became my favourite until TDKR. The storyline was very basic and I hope that when The Avengers 2 comes out in 2015, there is a much more interesting story. Maybe something that can relate to the comics more. This is a great film, action, acting, a bit of humour now and again. Worth seeing if you like Marvel and superheros. Finally I would like the talk about the DVD product. Now I am pleased with this DVD just I kind of wish I got it on Blu-Ray as when I was in HMV one day they had it playing on Blu-Ray and the picture looked a lot better. Not like some films where you cant's tell the difference that much but with this film it is better. Now if you don't have a Blu-Ray player then don't be put off of buying this product as you still get a decent picture. I just wish they had made a double or triple play copy but they didn't so it's Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray 3D or DVD. The DVD was in perfect condition though so there was no problem with that.

This is one of the best films I have ever seen, Joss Wheedon is a master of script writing and direction and shines in this latest foray into comic book heroes. The banter is superb and feels fresh, the storyline is fantastic, but believable based on what we have previously seen. Things are cohesive, the plot flows smoothly, everything is well paced and the action sequences are superb. I seriously cannot find fault with this film, it is truly superb. To follow that, I cannot believe the nerve of the distributors, I was FORCED to watch adverts for Avengers toys, Avengers Facebook pages and then a movie trailer before I even got the menu! This was after finding that this DVD will NOT PLAY on either a windows or mac laptop using the built in software or VLC media player. It only worked in my Linux machine which I use for watching films. Then it came to trying to make my usual back up of the film onto the PC that is connected to my television - the copy protection prevents even that, so the distributor has made sure you cannot copy the disc - I will find a way as is my legitimate right, but if they want to encourage people to PAY for things then they must make them easy to use and NOT force you to do things before you get to the film. Pay=forced adverts, forced trailers, forced copyright notices Pirate=play the film Hmm, I know which I would rather do ;)

great dvd

After the triumph of Iron Man 1 & 2, Thor and Captain America films comes the movie most of us have been waiting for Avengers Assemble. After Loki (Tom Hiddleston) re-appears on planet earth he steals energy source The Tesseract from S.H.I.E.L.D. and uses mind control on Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) in order to escape. To track Loki down S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) assembles the combined might of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jnr), Captain America (Chris Evan's), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo and Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson). Climaxing in a truly epic finale in New York City The Avengers face off against Loki and the invading Alien army of Chitauri. The film has a tremendously talented cast, a hilarious and clever script and the visual effects are literally out of this world. If you enjoy a good story told well with charismatic characters or just want two and a half hours of pure escapism then Avengers Assemble is for you. The Avenger's is in my opinion is without doubt the best superhero movie to date.

もう通常箱仕様になっていました。がっくり。でも日本版よりデザインはかっこいいです。 ホークさんのファンなんですが、やっぱり声も英語で聞きたいですよね。 再生は安いコンパクトDVDでなぜか再生できました。

こちらの確認不足もあったのかもしれません。残念ながらスマホで見ることはできませんでした。

観られなかった。パソコン持っている誰かに譲るしかない！

外国盤の為、普通のプレーヤーだと再生が出来ない、残念です星は無いですけど

ne pas pouvoir le regarder en français