The Avengers

Take away the gargantuan budget and high-volume special effects, and The Avengers feels like a little movie made among friends.

Well, maybe not, but writer-director Joss Whedon’s affection for the comic-book superheroes that provide the source material is evident in every frame of his ambitious big-screen adaptation. In other words, he’s not just a filmmaker, but he’s also a fan.

So while The Avengers is an extreme exercise in spectacle over story, Whedon delivers what legions of fanboys want — plenty of fast-paced, high-octane fight sequences leading up to a spectacular final showdown. It’s the equivalent of a superhero all-star game.

The narrative centers on the theft of a top-secret energy source by a villain (Tom Hiddleston) who heads up a scheme for world domination. The threat reaches the office of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), the head of an international peacekeeping agency who jump-starts a controversial plan to unite a handful of the world’s superheroes as a method of counterattack.

Among those recruited for the effort are Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Bruce Banner a.k.a. the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). But before they can save the planet, they must learn to put their egos aside and cooperate, which isn’t as easy as it seems.

Whedon’s plentiful 3D action sequences are visually inventive and technically dazzling, offering a glimpse into modern technological advances in computer-generated special effects.

Trying to squeeze six characters, four of which already have had films of their own, into a single storyline doesn’t prove that difficult. The structure of the story is predictable, with Whedon giving each of the heroes a big introduction, practically allowing time for audience applause, as well as multiple moments in the spotlight to showcase their unique powers.

The plot — which borrows some ideas from Thor and Iron Man 2, among others — functions only to fill in the gaps between fight scenes, or to set up the next confrontation. The script touches on such issues as renewable energy, international diplomacy and weapons of mass destruction, but at least Whedon has the sense to know that none of that matters when it comes down to old-fashioned tail-whipping. And it’s consistently funny to boot.

The climactic showdown might be incoherent, but it’s also a technical tour de force that shows everything both right and wrong with The Avengers, a true blockbuster of a movie that’s a crowd-pleaser above all else.

Rated PG-13, 142 minutes.