The Avengers did some serious justice to comic book filmmaking

A) these WILL contain spoilers

B) these are NOT in any particular order (aside from "the order in which i remember and choose to write them")

0. the previews:

• The Dark Knight Rises - I'd already seen it, and it's cool... these trailers aren't enticing me any more to see the film than my love for all things Christopher Nolan and Batman... if anything, they're hurting my desire a little.
• The Amazing Spider-Man - FINALLY convinced me that I'll WANT tos see it.  It all hinged on a small number of things, but they showed that Garfield CAN play a wittier Spidey, and therefore he will almost certainly trump Maguire without even trying.
• ParaNormaN looks creepy and pretty awesome
• Brave also sold itself to me, though Pixar certainly doesn't need help, either

k, now onto the film at hand...

1. Stark was ON his game: calling Hawkeye "Legolas" was a brilliant achievement in writing

2a. Mark Ruffalo/Joss Whedon/Jon Favreau/etc. REDEEMED Bruce Banner and The Hulk.  period.  Ruffalo was the perfect fit and makes me with I could go back in time and convince Ang Lee NOT to make his film and convince Leterrier to go with Ruffalo over Norton (sorry Girl, if you're reading).

2b. the Hulk seemed really inconsistent... was Banner in total control of him the whole time?  when he first turns into the not-so-jolly green giant, he seems to be on an uncontrolled rampage, then later seems totally in charge to help the team... did he undergo some unexplained metamorphesis when he crashed to earth that we were supposed to assume changed him?  i hope to hear some explanation from Whedon or something.

3. Scarlett was perfect in the expanded role as Black Widow, though the names certain characters called her were a bit confusing (seemed like Hawkeye called her "Tess" and something else at least a couple times)

4. Hawkeye's character was as cool as I remember, and that was vital to my enjoyment.

5. near the end when Hulk assists Thor and then they both are left standing there, and Hulk just extends his arm to punch Thor offscreen.  great touch.

6. they did a decent job of covering their bases with why Foster wasn't there, getting Pepper Potts onscreen enough (and in her Daisy Dukes, haha, so out of character) and not favoring any particular Avenger too much (Iron Man, due to some certain abilities demands much camera time, but he's clearly the coolest character anyway). . . BUT WHERE THE HECK IS WAR MACHINE!?!?!  missed opportunity there, i think.

7. not yet seeing it in "2D," I did think the 3D was worth it

8. Agent (that IS his first name, according to Stark) Coulson was great, and it was too bad to see him go at the hands of Loki.  his infatuation with Captain America and Clark Gregg's amazing ability to be confident-yet-awkward is so fitting for that character.  and he provided the needed personal motivation, as Fury pointed out, to spark the Avengers into... well, avenging :)

9. speaking of Loki, i read a review that mentioned him as on par with Joker in TDK as far as being pure evil... not so fast, i say.  i think Hiddleston is fabulous as the villian, but he's nowhere near the talent that Ledger was and the menacing, maniacal Joker is virtually untouchable right now.

10. favorite two lines: "You were buck-ass nude" - guy who gives Banner clothes after he falls to the earth

"To challenge them would be to court death." - Thamos, setting the scene for a sequel

so yeah, all in all, the casting was SUPERB in this and the lead-in films (Thor, Iron Man, Captain America), the writing was clever and awesome, the tech was INCREDIBLE, and the characters had the required amount of chemistry (both negative and positive) to make the ensemble work.

A+, and rank in my still unpublished list of comic book adaptation films is still being debated...  but it's way up there.