I saw the Avengers with no real knowledge of the comic book series or any of the characters beforehand. However it took me only 10 minutes of reading IMDb reviews to realise that the waters are clearly divided between Avengers fans and Dark Knight fans. For me I was disappointed after seeing The Avengers however I can largely attribute that to my backgrounds in reading, understanding and writing about complex ideas, something Christopher Nolan's films have drawn out of me. With that said though, the Avengers is a different kind of comic book film. If you're looking for a fun, action based movie for kids then the Avengers is for you. However if you have desires for films with grand ideas, deep characters and complex plots as well as the Batman factor, then the Dark Knight Rises is definitely for you. One thing is certain though, you cannot compare both films against each other. Joss Whedon uses the core elements of the comic series that brought out a very Michael Bay representation while Chrisopher Nolan transforms the comic book ideas into grander social commentaries on moral and philosophical issues while still giving the Dark Knight the attention it deserves. I found the Avengers to be a typical clichè heroes win, predictable, static film something which really takes the sting out of a film for me. I sat through the film realising that the Avengers would come through and win by the way the film was constructed. With the Dark Knight, no one could have predicted the Jokers complex schemes involving Harvey Dent and the way that Batman still beat the joker yet lost the most in the end. That is in my opinion where the Avengers falls short. It's use of poorly developed characters such as Loki, predictable story line and plot, overuse of CG and cliché's give it his rating. Sorry Avengers fans it might be hard to understand but trust me, people who write bad reviews for the Avengers criticizing plot and story are well read and any movie needs a good and dynamic plot regardless of the genre.