As someone who has not read Marvel comics, has not seen the films "Captain America," "The Hulk," "Thor," or "Iron Man II," this film failed to pull me in. As a standalone movie, "The Avengers" feels like a mishmash of rapid surface-level character introduction and way too much action. Little attention is given to character development, as it seems viewers are expected to come into the film with a degree of knowledge.

However, this is not to say that I think the film would be great if I did have some knowledge of the backstory. There's little in the way of a moral here or a deeper meaning, as this is just a good-GUY-saves-world plot. It's one that (like many superhero movies before) makes me ask if character development or THOUGHT, for that matter, really are being extinguished by money-driven action. I wouldn't even call this a "popcorn movie," as I found few laughs and absolutely no connection to the characters in my experience.

I like action movies, but I need to be drawn in to the characters in order to CARE about the action. "The Avengers" didn't even try to draw me in, it just said "here are the heroes, now watch them fight!" If the first hour had established some human element for the heroes, I might have liked the action. As it stands, the audience is thrown into the arena with the invincible combatants, and expected to immediately feel for them despite their inherent invincibility. I must ask - why should I care about action when one side can't lose and I haven't been told otherwise? Why should I root for the Yankees? (The only reason I can see is because the "bad guy" Loki wears a ridiculous looking costume).

I keep attempting to find redemption in society's reception of this movie. Maybe that's why I hope that I'm just missing a big part of the backstory. I'm a big Whedon fan, and came into "The Avengers" hoping to see some more of his magic. I was rewarded with a two-and-a-half hour snooze fest of CG action. My only sincere hope is that the millions he makes off of this movie funds "real" projects of his in the future.