As good as the Avengers
The first full venture of the Marvel Cinematic Universe away from planet Earth (aside from the Asgard stuff and space elves from Thor) this movie successfully transitions from the Earth based heroes to a cosmic scale. Fans of the movies that are not comic fans are going to find themselves a little lost in terms of who is what, with the only connection to the other movie being the Collector, who was only seen briefly in Thor: The Dark World. In my opinion, the Avengers was a great movie, bringing the major characters together on screen. This movie is much the same, though just like the Avengers, this is pure entertainment, not a defining cinematic experience. This movie is funny, somewhat funnier than the Avengers, but the funniness is more believable here in a way, as the humour results of characteristics endemic to certain characters, not due to heroes acting in a slightly unnatural way (which is a part of what made the Avengers so popular.) At its heart, this movie is just as good as the previous Marvel team movie, only fans might be a bit more critical, seeing as few regard these characters as favourites. This is a most necessary movie though, as it moves the MCU forward in large steps, giving us the first real look at Thanos and introducing the Infinity Gems, which are certainly going to play a part in stories down the line.
