They say that Revenge is a dish best served cold, so how does one serve Avenge then? We know how Marvel does; with a big can of whoop-ass! Marvel Studios have, yet-again, scooped up another massive serving of superhero action with The Avengers (or Avengers Assemble in some countries). Directed by Joss Whedon, the film supports an all-star cast which are Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Rufallo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston and Samuel L. Jackson.

For those unfamiliar with The Avengers, the cabal of heroes consists of Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Captain America – all brought together by S.H.I.E.L.D captain, Nick Furry to stop the loopy-demigod, Loki (Thor’s brother) from destroying Earth; all of this kerfuffle is caused by the Tesseract, an energy source of unknown potential.

Firsts first, if you go see this film DO NOT go and see it in 3D; there is no difference whatsoever from the 2D version and you save yourself a few bob and losing up to 30% of the screen-light (if that’s something you care deeply about?!)

Now, it’s not all that bad! There’s some cheesy dialogue throughout the two and a half hour film that’s easy to forgive. When looking at the cast, you couldn’t pick any better; ol’ Bobby Downey Jr. is on the ball as Tony Stark yet again, playing the “volatile narcissist” that we’ve grown to love from Iron Man 1 and 2. If anything, the entire cast are all pretty damn good, aside the dodgy acting and dialogue coming from Chris Hemsworth as Thor. Mark Ruffalo is another one worth mentioning, giving a top-notch performance as shy genius, Bruce Banner.

You’re pretty much in for explosions, gunshots and punch-ups right for the very star of the two and a half hour affair and the climactic ending sees The Avengers and the baddies turn New York into a massive pile of rubble and dust. Despite all this excitement, you can’t help but think, at the very back of your mind, that you’re just watching Iron Man 3 – Downey Jr. pretty much leads the show and, if anything, Tony Stark/Iron Man is definitely the coolest character in the entire film (he even plays a bit of AC/DC when zooming about fighting crime!) In the first half of the film, it’s pretty much a build up to seeing Banner rip his purple shirt and turn into the Hulk. The timing, however, is just right and it’s relieving to see the green skinned monster smash things up!

In all honesty, The Avengers wouldn’t be as good with Downey Jr. or otherwise we’d be left watching an up-tight Captain America and a permanently confused looking Thor bashing things about, whilst Scarlet Johannson flutters her eyelashes and Samuel L. Jackson polishes his eye patch. It’s a decent film – definitely better than Thor and Captain America, but not as good as the Iron Man films.