Film news: 'Avengers Assemble' wins critics' praise

Joss Whedon's Avengers Assemble was always expected to succeed commercially, but judging by early reviews of the superhero film, it is set to earn alarming critical praise also. Despite being almost two and a half hours in length, the flick currently holds a 96% fresh rating on critcal aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.

It seemed that the film might awkwardly shoehorn its large cast into the narrative to bolster its appeal, but it appears they receive an equally satisfying time on screen. Hollywood Reporter critic Todd McCarthy has commended the balance struck by Whedon: "As enormous as the production is, though, the appeal of the ensemble cast makes a crucial difference; you get enough but not too much of each of them, and they all get multiple scenes to themselves to shine."

The Daily Telegraph's Robbie Collin's praise is equally as glowing, writing: "[Avengers Assemble] is an assemblage of everything that's good about contemporary popcorn cinema; just as importantly, it's a rejection of everything that isn't," while Henry Barnes at the Guardian reserves his praise for Mark Ruffalo and his "beautifully honed performance...He plays Bruce Banner - the brilliant scientist who turns into the uncontrollable Hulk when angered - as a man afraid of himself."

'The Dark Knight Rises', the last in Christopher Nolan's Batman series, is released this summer, as is the Spiderman reboot 'The Amazing Spider-Man', starring Brit actor Andrew Garfield.