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Perhaps not as good as the original, but then, how could it be? Maybe the weight of expectations holds it down a little too, but nonetheless it is a thoroughly enjoyable, action blockbuster of the highest order. It both stands alone as its own movie and acts as a bridge to the next chapter in the massive overarching Marvel storyline – I must admit I found myself thinking ahead to what’s next and wondering what was being implied for the future more than I should have.
This movie seemed like it would be the perfect match made in heaven. Marvel, in proper control of their own property, carefully shaping a superhero team movie having used a series of previous films to flesh out the world and the characters. The cherry on top being the masterstroke of having Joss Whedon, a perennial underperformer, as the director.
It all worked out PERFECTLY. The Avengers is the pinnacle of comic book superhero move making. It has an authentic feel about it in terms of truly realising the spirit of a comic book superhero, but appropriately adapting it to movie form. It grounds it enough to make it palatable in the big screen format, but does not lose sight of it’s fantastical foundations.
Everything came together well. It is not a perfect film, the villain coud have been stronger, but in the context of a long arc, which it seems apparent Marvel are going for, this may not work out to be an issue at all. This is a great movie, and I only wish more of Marvel’s properties were back in their control – particularly anything that Fox owns.
All my childhood fantasies are coming true with Marvel movies. Brilliant.
Sequels to blockbusters always come with big expectations. Iron Man 2 delivers in a really satisfying way. It’s still amazing that a B grade superhero like this should achieve such high level status putting it probably on par with the big ones (Spider-Man, Batman and Superman). This can be put down to Robert Downey Jr in a large way, but also to Jon Favreau for not being afraid to pander to the fanboys. The movie is laden with good stuff that must surely have comic geeks drooling.
War Machine, Black Widow, Nick Fury, and what the hell, Thor’s hammer?? Lots of ‘splosions and lots of heart. More Iron Man can only be a good thing. Bring on Avengers!
Four stars.