'The Avengers' - The Battle of New York

Since The Avengers acted as the capper to Marvel’s ambitious Phase One series of films, everyone expected big things from the grand finale. We weren’t disappointed, as Whedon and Marvel gave us everything from giant space centipedes to Hulk smashing any and everything in his path (including Thor). Things were always going to get a bit cluttered with this many moving pieces operating in the third act, but Whedon handles the action deftly by giving each character his or her moment to shine while also acknowledging the role that the Avengers are there to play: they’re there first and foremost to save the city, not destroy the enemy. Equal weight is given to the Avengers saving people as it is to the Avengers punching bad guys, and that makes this third act sequence somewhat unique in a sea of same-feeling Marvel third act battle sequences.