A bunch of cartoon characters making a lot a noise and fuss for reasons that remain a mystery. There's a lot of fighting and mayhem, along with the usual dose of high-tech special effects. The problem is that the story is so shallow as to render it almost nonexistent. Good guys fighting good guys for reasons that are so contrived that even for comic-book characters it simply is not enough to justify all the mayhem. Would be like the Lone Ranger fighting Tonto over politics. Who cares? The formula just does not work. Plus, the movie has a lot of silly dialog, which provoked unintended laughter. There is little attempt at character development. Soon it becomes apparent that there are no good guys or bad guys, just a bunch of guys flexing their high-tech muscles. The use of flashbacks just adds to the confusion. The Spiderman character is incredibly mushy, even for a comic book story. The only character that has some depth is Iron Man, played by Robert Downey Jr. It seems that much of the plot centers around him. But he does not carry the story. The movie failed to engage the audience's attention. Even a story based on comic book characters has to have some dramatic content. Otherwise, as in the case of this movie, the entire story becomes stagy, shallow and noisy. Noise is no substitute for drama. The audience wants characters they can care about, not laugh at. Listen Hollywood: people want heroes, not laughing stocks. Have Captain America fighting Nazis, not his friends. Have Tony Stark save people in distress. Have the beautiful Black Widow show the world that she is great. Have these super heroes do superb things that win them real acclaim. If it wants to, Hollywood can write those kinds of stories.