I didn’t think it was possible. There, I admit it. I didn’t think it would be possible to put together a movie on Marvel’s “The Avengers”.

How could filmmakers possibly tell the story of an entire team of superheroes being assembled to fight a menace from another world, keep it true to the original comic and get it all done within two hours and thirty minutes without it being terrible?

But they did it. The Avengers is an action packed thrill ride you absolutely must experience.

I was the comic book connoisseur as a child, having made my parents shell out plenty of hard earned money for subscriptions to Spider-Man, Iron-Man and Captain America.

I’ve been there for Thor and The Hulk and have spent plenty of rainy Saturday afternoons in the 80’s catching up with Hawkeye and Black Widow. I know what I’m talking about.

My only regret is that this movie wasn’t made thirty years ago.

The Avengers are a team of super-heroes brought together by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) who must over come their own personal egos and agendas to defeat the menace of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and his alien army.

The Avengers stars Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Mark Ruffalo  (The Hulk), Chris Hemsworth (Thor) Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) and Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye).

If you care to read my thoughts on the movie please continue on. I try hard not to divulge anything regarding the plot but will still post a SPOILER ALERT:

What I Liked:

The Assumption: My biggest concern going in was how the characters would be developed. It was the biggest thing I thought might be the demise of the film: not enough time to do everything. These were things that I hated in movies like “The Dark Knight” and “Spiderman 3”. Too much to tell in too little time.

In the case of The Avengers, most everything is assumed. Its assumed you already know about all of the characters and their powers (and if you’ve read the comics or have been following the prior movies from Marvel, you already do know about them). It worked.

The Ride: I am a huge comic book fan from way back. I grew up reading Marvel comics and especially loved it when the heroes teamed up. My favorite part always being when their own egos get in the way and they’d wind up doing battle with each other before taking on the real threat. The Avengers sticks to this premise perfectly.

AC/DC: Maybe it’s just the metal head in me, but when ever Iron Man shows up and they play AC/DC’s “Shoot To Thrill” I get goose bumps. Awesome.

The Hulk: They’ve tried to use the Hulk several times in other movies but failed every time. This Hulk sticks perfectly to the raging monster he was in the comics.

One Liners: There are several good ones through out the movie.

What I didn’t like:

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury: I’ve gotta be honest and perhaps its because I’ve been inundated with Jackson in the roles of expletive wielding bad-asses over the years (“Pulp Fiction”, “Lakeview Terrace”, “Snakes on A Plane”) but I half expected a few “F” bombs to fly.

Gwyneth Paltrow: Loved her as Pepper Potts (Tony Stark’s love interest in Iron Man) but for some reason it seemed like she just “phoned it in” for this one. Answer the damn phone when it rings Pepper!

I think you get the point. It may be my inner child telling you this but quite honestly this one was a fun ride. 

Oh and one last thing: if you’re a fan of the comics you MUST stay for the credits. Trust me.