I'm not usually much of a shipper (in the fanfic sense) . . . but I want ALL THE HAWKEYE/BLACK WIDOW FIC NOW.
Ahem. Apart from me loving those two and wanting them to get their own movie, I thought The Avengers was quite excellent. Once I have it on DVD, I may well sit down and try to pick apart just how the writers managed to balance their script. Superhero movies have foundered before on the "too many heroes/villains" problem, but this one did a remarkable job of giving each character a meaningful role, without letting the pacing bog down in side tangents. It's helped, of course, by the fact that they're operating off a whole slew of individual movies -- but that doesn't account for all of it, because you can do that and still have a terrible team-up (just look to comic books for proof). This one handled things very deftly, I thought, and I'd love to dig into how.
And now, I crash. Because I survived my first kobudo seminar today (though I'm not sure my feet did), and have earned my rest. :-)
Ah, well at least we only have to wait until August for more Renner in Bourne.
Several Reasons Why Avengers Kicks Ass That You Haven't Already Heard:
http://io9.com/5907585/several-reas
What's In Store For Black Widow After The Avengers:
http://io9.com/5906870/whats-in-store-f
Joss Whedon Dissects the Family Dynamic of the Avengers
http://io9.com/5906755/joss-whedon-diss
A Guide To The Avengers For The Extremely Confused
http://io9.com/5905354/a-guide-to-the-a
and, for shits and giggles, Why Hawkeye Is The World's Worst Archer.
http://io9.com/5893693/is-hawkeye-f
Such a geek, I know.
pretty sure its the magic of Whedon. :P Too much awesome in one man!!
My favourite part was how badass Black Widow was. I knew Whedon wouldn't let us (re: his obsessive fanbase) down in that regard. In the hands of another director, her character would have been just the T+A 'romantic' sap who always needed saving. But instead we got this total badass of a woman who was so strong and competent and confident and integral to the narrative. She was given a backstory, flaws, etc. The whole package. And! aside from Hawkeye, she was the only basic-human Avenger with no special tools or toys and yet she held her own against all these superpowered male characters.
So much awesome.
And ScoJo did a great job.
(also Loki was spectacular...that scene with him and Thor on the cliff kinda made me cry. Oh those two, so much angsty-goodness. I'm a sucker for sibling relationships.).
I also agree with your sentiment about every character getting a significant role; it was a complete team effort, every character getting space to grow and show off and interact with one another. (warning: more Whedon waxing: but thats a thing Whedon does best, these hodge-podge families made up of complex individuals who all manage to get a chance to shine in the narrative.
also....the explosions were awesome :P
Now. :)