The Avengers

This is why Marvel got its own movie studio. This is why Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk , Thor and Captain America made it to the big screen in the past few years. And now, Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) has assembled The Avengers. And the end result is greater than the sum of its parts.

Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the Asgardian villain of Thor, survived his descent into oblivion in that film. He comes to Earth, seeking the Cosmic Cube (from Captain America) for his new alien pals, the Chitauri. In return, the Chitauri will subjugate the Earth for him.

In response, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) assembles the aforementioned Marvels back to the big screen. Also aboard are Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), supporting characters from Iron Man 2 and Thor. But their conflicting personalities aren't so marvelous, especially the Hulk's (Mark Ruffalo, replacing Edward Norton). They'll just have to work it out if they expect to stomp the bad guys.

While it does refer to its predecessors, the film's plot is so straightforward that the references don't render it incomprehensible. It's a real feet considering the cultural pedigree assembled here. 

On both 3D and Flatscreen formats, there's no shortage of big action scenes. But thanks to having Joss Whedon as a co-writer, there's no shortage of fun either. A lot of the fun comes from the quips and banter of such characters as Iron Man and The Hulk. A few of those moments got the loudest laughs and applause from my audience.

At around two and a half hours, the film spends its time wisely in the pursuit of entertainment. In its mission to remind its audience why superheroes are fun, it succeeds. And whatever Marvel and its new distributor, Disney, have in store, they'll all be eagerly anticipated.