Marvel Studio's Avengers Assemble [Blu-ray] [Region Free] [2012]

Everything that's happening, the things that are about to come to light, people might just need a little old fashioned.The Avengers (AKA: Avengers Assemble) is written and directed by Joss Whedon, with Zak Penn co-writing the story. It stars Robert Downey Junior, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddlestone, Clark Gregg, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders and Stellan Skarsgard. Music is scored by Alan Silvestri and cinematography by Seamus McGarvey.Asgardian outcast Loki (Hiddlestone) has struck a deal with the Chitauri to exchange the Tesseract for an army with which he can attack Earth and thus control it. With the Earth in mortal danger, S.H.I.E.L.D director Nick Fury (Jackson) activates the Avengers Initiative; a collection of super heroes and deadly assassins who, if they can actually come together as one united force, hold the fate of the Earth in their hands.I have no real frame of reference with The Avengers comic book world, when I was young I read a bit of Spidey, Batman and was kind of partial to The Fantastic Four, but I really don't remember story lines and gave up reading that sort of stuff once sport and exams came into my life. I love movies and as I enter the later stages of my forties I'm pleased to say I have a wide range of film genre interests. I have very much enjoyed The Avengers solo films so far, with the exception of Iron Man 2 which quite frankly is average at best, but the reality is that if The Avengers failed as a movie, that Whedon got it so wrong, then I wouldn't be foaming at the mouth or proclaiming that the director be stripped naked and whipped around the streets of Hollywood! As it is, with one or two minor irks aside, The Avengers is about as much fun as I have had with a movie in quite a few years.I wouldn't know if the makers got the essence right, or if the story is at one in the Marvel Avengers Universe, I just know that it is a right old blast and made a colossal amount of money at the box office, even trumping The Dark Knight Rises in that department. It's a film full of derring-do heroics, ripe witticisms, wonderfully staged action, simmering sexual tensions, ego collisions, charm, heart and splendid human interactions. It looks fabulous on Blu-ray, the art design, the colour photography and Silvestri's score rumbles like thunder and crackles like lightning, just as a super hero movie score should do. The cast performances are hugely enjoyable as they bounce off of one and other, feeding off the respective thespian energy with a knowing of the right tone to make this colourful comic book world be all that it can be. While Whedon, with a weight of expectation akin to Atlas holding the World on his shoulders, comes through with flying colours with astute pacing and an impressive marshaling of an acting army.Flaws? Jackson's Nick Fury could have done with more screen time and Cobie Smulders is sadly short changed as well. The Chitauri are only really a threat because of their sheer numbers, not because of any great alien design, and, well, The Hulk CGI hasn't really advanced much from the 2008 version, but really these are small itches rather than big ones. Is The Avengers the best film of 2012? It will be seen as such for many fans of the source(s) who have waited with baited breath for this coming together of their heroes, and that notion really shouldn't irk the more highbrow film fans out there. Me? No it isn't the best film of 2012, but as I found my self perched on the edge of my seat as the finale unfurls in a wave of explosive heroic energy, and I caressed my ribs from laughing out loud, I knew then that undoubtedly The Avengers is the most fun film of 2012. 9/10

From the end of the Incredible Hulk all the way back in 2008 I ahve beenwaiting for this movie. I have been to the cinema to see all the marvel movies in this franchise and proudly own them all on blu ray and went to see this movie the day it came out in glorious 3D.Lots of people are giving Avengers 1 star and I understand why. The disc is low on features. With just a gag reel a few deleted scenes and the usual one shot. Its the worst Marvel release since Hulk. But I am happy to just see the movie and the movie is worth 5 stars so if the features were better I could still only giveit 5.Onto the movie basically Loki the vilianous brother of Thor from the movie of the same name is back and steals the cube that was the feature in Captain America and plans to unleash an alien army and take over Earth just to get back at his brother. This Forces Nick Fury(Samuel L Jackson) head of shiled to take drastic measures and assemble the avengers. Enter Tony Starke A.K.A Iron Man(Robert Downey Jnr, Steve Rodgers A.K.A Captain America(Chris Evans),Bruce Banner A.K.A The Hulk(Mark Ruffalo,The Mighty Thor(Chris Hemsorth),Black Widow(Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye(Jeremy Renner). What follows is an amazing two hours of marvel magic. The cast are flawless as is the script and the on screen conflicts between Starke and Rodgers are played out brilliantly as is the Iron Man,Thor,Captain America fight. Black Widow and Hawkeye also get there time to shine as everyone seems to get an equal amount of screen time. Ruffalo is awsome as the troubled Bruce Banner the best so far in my opinion and this version of the hulk is by far the best yet. Tom Middleston plays Loki once again and is fantastic as the bad guy. The charcter has grown and is edgier stronger and seems much more capable this time around.Its very difficult to compare this movie to anything else. The only thing that comes close is the original Xmen but it really isnt a fair comparison. Xmen like all other superhero beginnings are stuck with first hour syndrome meaning the first hour is about introducing the character which always slows the plot of the first movie while this is not always a bad thing it gives the Avengers a slight edge. Each avenger has had either there own movie or played a part in a major movie so the characters are essentially established.The story of the movie keeps going at an incredible pace and literally I didnt want to miss a second of the action the final forty minutes is the best use of CGI I think I have ever seen as we pass from Iron Man to Hulk to Cap and Thor seemlessly.In closing. Yes the lack of features isnt good but when these features are released with some other blu ray release there will always be other ways of watching them without buying the feature again. The movie is fantastic and would highly recommend it to anyone.

I'll be honest, I was a bit confused by some of the other 'helpful' reviews urging me to go and get the US version because this UK release was 'rushed' and 'a huge disappointment' ... And so after spending much deliberating and weighing up whether the US version would really be worth the extra cost, and what about the supposedly edited Agent Coulson death scene, and could I live without the audio commentary, I decided just to take a punt and get the UK version.I'm glad I did. To the point that I felt compelled to write this review...I never really sit through the audio commentaries anyway. Life's too short. And this supposedly edited scene; I couldn't notice any difference from what I recalled from sitting in the cinema and seeing it the first time.In short, it's fine ... it really is!We really enjoyed the film. It isn't exactly what you'd call highbrow but it's still a really entertaining sci-fi romp, and a real credit to Joss Whedon who has stitched together some very individual characters and still managed to create a very cohesive film.And lastly, the 3D on this film was just fantastic. Done so much better than some of the other films we have, definitely worth the extra spend