So did you like The Avengers movie?
I thought it was fine for a big action ensemble flick. Decent balance of roles. Well, maybe Thor got a tick less then he might have, but Scarlett J had a real nice role to play, a mix of action and personal stuff. Black Widow and Hawkeye as... friends.
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But I did find myself shifting in my seat a bit. I would go to see a movie about the BW/Hawkeye relationship.
Loved that the Hulk actually looked like Mark Ruffalo and that they remembered that Banner's actually a competent scientist, Cap was a cornball, there was an actual ending (something Whedon struggles with at times), loved the unabashed embracing of the whole thing as a great action movie without being too self-referential (something I don't really like in my comics/books/movies)...just a lot of fun.
The now-standard Marvel after-credit scenes (there were two) were great. And next paycheck, a donation to match my ticket cost is going to Hero Initiative.
John Carter of course is already out. Avengers looks poised to do bigger box office, and without getting back into the reasons (marketing etc) do you think Avengers was "better" than John Carter? Avengers had bigger and louder set piece action, and decent characterization, but diffused by being a group story. John Carter had the more traditional focus on a single protagonist, and so for me,a more appealing focus. I think I liked it better...
but I give Whedon serious credit for achieving a well balanced approach to multiple leads.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/04/movies/robert-downey-jr-in-the-avengers-directed-by-joss-whedon.html?_r=2&ref=movies
For me, the key line is this:
The light, amusing bits cannot overcome the grinding, hectic emptiness,
the bloated cynicism that is less a shortcoming of this particular film
than a feature of the genre.
It is in the end, a superhero movie, and your tolerance and excitement for it may reflect your tolerance and excitement over super heroes in general, and Marvel in particular.
On a side note:
I also heard how much money it made over the weekend. That's some serious coin... but they have promoted the he'll out of it and I'm sure that also cost a few pennies.
The flick was entertaining throughout, with some great character interactions. I loved when Thor said Loki was his brother, then someone pointed out he killed 82 people, and Thor immediately shoots back "He was adopted."
Hilarious.
Hulk had some of the best scenes in this flick, I think. Especially at the end. Ruffalo had a big role to fill, having to play a character with two previous "less than stellar films" - but I think he did it well, playing off the other characters and building upon the groundwork Norton had laid with the previous flick.
All in all, it was the way these characters played off each other and the larger than life action pieces that really made this movie for me. Really enjoyed it.
But seriously, I'm a huge mark for The-Avengers-as-a-concept-and-done-well, and I thought it was a blast. Seeing it in a packed theater was nice too; the audience almost burst something when Hulk and Loki had that little scene in Stark's apartment.
Misc. thoughts:
- Ruffalo was terrific, with the kind of weird, haunted affability that I always dig in depictions of Banner.
- Tom Hiddleston was slightly better in Thor, but he had more meat to work with there (seriously, rewatch Thor, watch his almost-sincere "no, guys, stop fighting" face during the initial Thor/Odin tension in the vault, and the way he tells you everything you need to know about Loki by the way he walks out from behind a pillar when Thor's throwing a hissy fit.). As is, he chewed the scenery like it was delicious in this.
- The Hulk-as-horror-movie-monster scene was fantastic; also, the way that the otherwise unmesswithable Black Widow clearly had a special fear of the Hulk in every scene she had with Banner was an interesting wrinkle.
- Maybe it's just me, but I'd prefer a completely unrelated plot to the next film, instead of what the first post-credits scene set up. I like the character in question, but...enh.
- Stellan Skarsgård was understatedly great as a victim of Totally-Not-The-Anti-Life-Equation.
Seeing it again tonight with two folks who've not seen it yet.
Most of my problems stem from wishing the dynamic of "why we fight" had a bit more "Serenity"-style elegance, bizarre camera continuity (my god, the hair changes throughout), and SHIELD just being vaguely uninteresting... but I'll take what we got.
Above all, though, Mark Ruffalo / motion-captured Hulk just steals the show for me. Every scene. Absolutely amazing, chills-inducing, laughter-igniting, cheer-eliciting perfection. So much sadness, joy, and anger wrapped into a fantastic character that is pulled off with a real emotional heft and arc. There's so much amazing stuff going on with the way Stark approaches and believes in Banner... true heroes with feet of clay.
He's like, half Drama Club, half...I wanna say steampunk, but is there, like, a thing instead where people dress up like faux Tolkeinesque gentlemen-adventurers instead and swan about? Not the Renn Faire.
It wasn't perfect: The attempt to justify the name of the team so long after they'd been calling them "Avengers" was touching, but really really contrived. The film also suffered a little from Batman In The JLA Syndrome, requiring a threat to all humanity... that a guy with a bow and a woman who kicks people were somehow useful against.
But other than the clunky solutions to the Stuff That Goes With The Assignment, they got it right. The right actors reprising their parts, none of which took over the movie, well-written dialog, enough action scenes to satisfy the popcorn munchers, etc. When/if Warner ever puts together a Justice League film, in addition to the same STGWTA problems, and recasting Batman, they'll have the added burden of living up to the example of this film. Bummer for them.
I enjoyed the second epilog more than the first. But then, I like shawarma more than I like Thanos.
Loki repeatedly reminded me of Brent Spiner playing Data's evil twin.
Though that may change in the unlikely event that I ever get around to seeing it.
Jason - what are STGWTA problems?
As I said (elsewhere I think) Master Assassin IS a superpower.
They're just normal people with fast reflexes and unique weapons. But Cap's super powered! Shouldn't he be fairing a bit better than the normies?
http://twitpic.com/9i8dcn