Assembly Kit

Generally, I like to think I'm immune to hype. Sure, there's things I look forward to and on a couple of occasions I've bought games on opening day - Mass Effect 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV being the last two.

Despite that, I've been in a pant-moistening state of excitement about seeing Avengers Assemble and I finally got round to it yesterday. If, like me, you always state that Marvel kicks DC's dicks into the dust when it comes to having the best characters. I mean, OK, Batman is great, but Superman has always been dull and the most interesting characters they have - Green Arrow and the Question - are unlikely to get on the big screen.

Right - over the course of five films (Iron Man plus sequel, Captain America, Thor and The Incredible Hulk) it's been established that Nick Fury, agent of SHIELD, has been trying to put together a team to face any problems that may be beyond even his coping levels. Given he's played by Samuel L. Jackson, you best believe that would make it a very big problem indeed.

Which comes in the form of Loki, Thor's troublesome adopted brother, who has plans on taking over the world on behalf of some nasty alien folk. Some people, eh? The story follows a predictable path of recruiting all the team, but it works because we're not expecting Tolstoy here. We want action and a few jokes: and we get them in spades, including some top showdowns involving Thor against Iron Man and the Hulk.

Though I was never a Buffy fan, Joss Whedon obviously knows his stuff and puts in some pauses between all the smashing up. Captain America, being all about sacrifice and honour, isn't initially taken by the wisecracking rich boy that is Iron Man while Bruce Banner is a bag of nerves from knowing what happens if he gets a bit upset. Playing Banner, Mark Ruffalo has taken a lot of plaudits and rightly so - he even gets one of the best scenes that features a wonderful cameo from Harry Dean Stanton.

When his character does decide to go to town with his alter-ego, he does get a couple of the best moments. Including at least two where I thought the cinema audience I was part of was going to burst into applause. It helps, of course, that Tom Hiddlestone, who plays Loki, makes an ace baddie - hamming it up to great effect. Evoking the trope of "English accent = evil" too.

I'm sure there's plenty out there who have picked holes in the plot or certain aspects of the heroes. Maybe if the film hadn't worked on every other level, they'd have a point. But the only thing on my mind when I walked out was "man, I really want to see that again". It also made me want to go back and watch all the individual "prequel" flicks again and play through the Marvel Ultimate Alliance games as the Avengers.

If I had to pick one tiny flaw, and it's not a flaw as such, it's that I would have liked to have heard some references to Hank Pym, and maybe a passing reference to Spider-Man during the climatic battle in New York. But no matter - you should see this if you have any passing interest in the characters. I've been reliably informed that you don't even need to have seen the previous films in the series to enjoy it.

The amount of wedge the film has brought in, Joss Whedon may well be the hottest director in pop cinema at the moment. Where he goes next will be interesting, as will where they take this particular franchise next. Top marks to the bods at Marvel then - but can you please let Ryan Reynolds make the Deadpool film he really wants to? Also, will DC have the balls to do a Justice League film in answer, instead of yet another Superman reboot?