Turns out this “Avengers” movie really was as good as its hype.

I was also considering, “HULK SMASH PUNY BOX OFFICE RECORDS!”  That seemed more appropriate for a weekend write-up of “The Avengers’” box-office achievements as it’s currently on track to set another record for biggest second weekend ever.  Unless “Battleship” surprises everyone by not being absolutely terrible, then we could see more records fall this coming weekend.  The best thing is that this film deserves all of its success.  When Marvel announced their plans for “The Avengers,” coming after “Iron Man 2” and which would include separate films for “Thor” and “Captain America,” it was easy to be skeptical.  No one had ever tried to launch a franchise crossover this big before, and getting the stars of each movie to clear their schedules for it seemed like it would be the least of the movie’s problems.  Toss in the fact that it was slated to have no less than seven principal characters, a main villain, and a few supporting roles and the endeavor started to sound like an overburdened mess — a disaster waiting to happen.

Then they announced that Joss Whedon would be writing and directing it.  Looking at the final product, that seems like the smartest decision anyone involved with it made.

Whedon has been a beloved fixture in geekdom for his work on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Firefly.”  While those that are unmitigated classics, just about everything else he has been involved with has been entertaining on some level, from his “Buffy”-related comics work and his run on “Astonishing X-Men.”  I even heard that “Dollhouse” got better as it went along, and though he only co-wrote and produced “The Cabin in the Woods” other films should be lucky to suffer a fate like being less than the sum of their parts.  As anyone and they’ll tell you that the man has been long overdue for the kind of mainstream success that he’s experiencing now.  It’s very well deserved as his touch is all over the film from the sharply developed characters, witty dialogue, and expertly timed flashes of humor throughout.  

That being said, if there’s one criticism that can be leveled against the movie it’s that there’s not a whole lot of depth to it.  The plot can essentially be summed up by saying that Loki shows up, steals the cosmic cube, and unleashes an alien invasion on Manhattan.  “The Dark Knight” this is not.  However, Whedon wisely keeps the focus on the characters and packs most of the film’s nearly two-and-a-half-hour running time with so many great moments that involve them just talking to each other that you won’t mind.  Hell, I didn’t want to get up in the middle of the movie to use the bathroom for fear that I’d miss something great.

As for the actors, they continued to own their roles.  You may have expected that Robert Downey Jr. would walk away with the movie as his portrayal of Tony Stark has been the most entertaining and definitive take on any of these characters.  The fact that he doesn’t try to do so is to his credit, and the fact that the rest of the cast is interesting enough that it doesn’t matter is to theirs.

Though the film doesn’t adapt any specific story, its streamlined take on the mythos of these characters and alien invasion plot does recall Mark Millar’s “Ultimates” run.  Of course, the fact that the aliens here are the “Chitauri” (read:  Ultimate Skrulls) could’ve just put me in that mindset from the beginning.  If Whedon was inspired by Millar’s work, then just imagine how much better those comics would’ve been if they were written by someone who wasn’t completely awful at writing dialogue.

In the end, “The Avengers” is everything a summer movie should be.  Fun, fast-paced, with lots of humor, and a lot of things blowing up that don’t cause an affront to your intelligence.  Unless you absolutely don’t like superheroes, then you will be entertained by this movie.  (Of course, if you absolutely don’t like superheroes, you’re probably not reading this right now.)  Oh, and about the villain from the end credits… After what I said on Friday, my money is now on seeing the cosmic characters brought out of mothballs sooner rather than later.