Avengers (2012)

Rating: 3/4

The first hour and half of this movie packs some pretty sleek stunts and CGI. Pity... it will be forgotten by the end of the movie - the sheer spectacle of the final act overshadows everything that was done before in comic-book superhero movies. This is by far the best superhero movie made, replete with despicable villains, unending action and more than requisite laughs. Director Joss Whedon has attempted and surmounted the near-impossible -  Avengers is more than the sum of its superheros.
(I exclude Dark Knight from the comparision; it is more than just a superhero movie).

Loki, still grumpy with super-step-bro Thor and pretty much everyone else, has made plans for a hostile takeover of Earth and it takes Thor, Iron Man, Hulk and Capn. America to persuade him otherwise. As you've guessed already, it is this super-persuasion that makes the movie bottom-heavy on spectacle.
All the supers have brought their charm along from their solo outings, however, there is one who stands out. Hint: Its not Stark or his stylish Iron suit. Apparently writer/director Joss Whedon believes in six impossible things before breakfast; Hulk having a sense of humor being one on the top. Sure, the audience were chuckling at Stark's wise-cracks but they guffawed when Hulk gets even with Thor and Loki. When Hulk smashes, he does it with a certain 'take em head-on' rawness that appeals to our basest senses. Audience cheered... not to the sophisticated superheros.

On the downside, Loki is not a particularly formidable foe. He sports horns now and then but gets beaten blue during most confrontations. Thankfully though, he does lead a nasty army.
Hawkeye, played by Jeremy Renner, is a bad plot-device and even worse is his decision to turn his cloak... he remains a nobody.

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Q: What does The Hulk offer James Bond?
A: Martini...  Smashed, not stirred.