"The Avengers" (SPOILERS)

[ClarkKent_DC]

We've discussed when people plan to see The Avengers (here), but we haven't discussed the movie itself! So let's rectify that!

 

I went last night to a midnight 3-D showing, so I'll go first. Thus, I can't use my usual disclaimer that I'll post without reading what everyone else has posted, but what the hey.

 

To begin:

• I loved it. I loved everything about it. And so did the audience; I haven't been to too many movies where the action on the screen evinced cheers and spontaneous applause, but it happened several times with this one. A job well done!
• This is less "The Avengers" and more "The Ultimates," but I'm not complaining.
• I liked how the movie struck a balance; there are six members of the team -- you know who -- plus key supporting players Agent Coulson, Maria Hill and, of course, Nick Fury, as well as the villain, Loki, but the movie doesn't seem crowded. Some might argue that it's a bit too long; I almost always think that any given movie I'm watching could be a half-hour shorter. But this one feels right, because it had enough quiet moments to let the characters be.
• One of the best such moments was Tony Stark and Bruce Banner teaming up to track down Loki. It went like one would expect: Two brilliant minds admiring each other's prowess and striking up an easy rapport because they alone in the group understand all the technobabble they spout.
• Reinforced later when Iron Man has to fix the broken engine on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier (Hey! it's the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier!), and tells Captain America to look at the access panel -- and Cap doesn't have the foggiest notion of what it is he's looking at. That's one of my Scenes I Always Wanted to See in movies. Cap's not stupid, but c'mon -- who would know at a glance what all those wires and diodes mean?
• Another thing that was good was the humor. There was more of it than in most movies of this kind, and it was welcome, especially when it was low-key.
• Like when Steve Rogers gives Nick Fury a ten-spot.
• Tom Hiddleston as Loki was pitch-perfect.
• Funny thing: We establish early on that the Black Widow is Russian because she speaks it during her first scene: She's tied to a chair during an interrogation getting smacked around by thugs -- but believes she's in charge. Which she is, as she demonstrates moments later. But whenever she speaks English, she sounds like an American.
• On the other hand, Chris Hemsworth's Australian accent goes a long way to establish Thor as an otherworldly being.
• With all the strength on display from Thor, Iron Man and The Hulk, and the talent and skill displayed by Captain America and the Black Widow, Hawkeye really seems to be the odd man out. I have to admit, seeing a guy with a bow and arrow, in these circumstances, really does seem silly and hard to swallow. Not to mention: What do you do when you run out of arrows? How many arrows can a quiver hold, anyway? Thirty? Forty? Fifty at the most?
• The Black Widow's greatest power, however, seemed to be looking hot in a skintight leather catsuit. The audience cheered in approval.
• This being a Marvel story, how could we not have a moment where the heroes fight with each other and then team up? Cue Iron Man vs. Thor!
• I liked how they held back the first appearance of The Hulk. I never saw Ed Norton's movie, and I'm not familiar with Mark Ruffalo, but he did a great job conveying a man always trying to hold his rage in check and masking his fear of what happens if he doesn't with affected humbleness and humor.
• One reviewer's criticism I have to agree with: The first time Banner becomes The Hulk, he's a mindless beast out to get the Black Widow and smashing everything in sight, but at the end, he joins the battle totally doing what the Avengers want, with no explanation for how he can behave himself.
• Agent Coulson! He runs totally counter to the typical movie government agent; he is not flashy and flamboyant; he is not a grim martinet; he is not a jerk flaunting his authority. He is a genuinely good man, a true civil servant, efficient, diligent, and quite brave.
• What's Robin Scherbatsky doing here?
• One of the best moments: Loki faces off against The Hulk, shouting at him: " ENOUGH! You are, all of you, beneath me! I am a god, you dull creature, and I will not be bullied by a... " The Hulk's response is PRICELESS!
• It takes a true diehard comics fan to know who that was in the end-credits bit. Lucky for me I am one; I doubt any moviegoer who isn't would have the slightest idea what that scene is supposed to mean.

 

Such great lines:

• "I'm interviewing this arms dealer and he's giving me everything."
• "I'm going to put you on hold."
• "I'm always angry."
• Captain America to Tony Stark: "Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?" Stark's answer:  "Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." Captain America's rejoinder: "I know guys with none of that worth ten of you."
• "You and I remember Budapest very differently."
• "I recognize the Council has made a decision, but given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it."
• "... and Hulk: SMASH!"
• Thor: "Have a care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother." The Black Widow: "He killed eighty people in two days." Thor: " ... He's adopted."
• Loki: "I have an army." Tony Stark: "We have a Hulk."
• " 'Phil'? His first name is 'Agent.' "

Thems for starters ... 

[Andrew Horn]

Another thing: Loki corrupts his mind with a combo of alien tech and Asgardian magic and the cure is a baby concussion!

Hey, never underestimate the power of getting hit in the head with a frying pan.

Andy

[Alan M.]

Exactly! That's what I'm talking about. I don't remember ever seeing that before, and I thought it was brilliant.

Rich Steeves said:

I am pretty sure that all the arrows were headless and there was a rotating set of arrowheads at the bottom of the quiver. He activated some doohickey and they rotated and the appropriate arrowhead ended up on the shaft. Something like that.

Travis Herrick said:

I saw it last night. I liked it, but didn't love it. It does reconfirm in my mind I am just not a Joss Whedon fan. I will never get that time back for waiting through all of the credits. I do think the Hulk stole the show, and Mark Ruffalo was great.

Alan said:

Have we ever seen that explanation before of how Hawkeye is able to always pull his trick arrows? Because I thought that was kinda awesome.

I think it was Hawkeye were they said he had notches on the arrows like a code so he knows which one was which (or it was Green Arrow I know it was one of those archers)

As for the new villain the friend I saw it with was a fairly big comic reader back in the '80s and he had no idea who that was.

[Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod)]

YES!!! Great movie!
George Poague said:

If you liked Downey and Ruffalo, you should see "Zodiac" (2007), where they both had good roles.

[Rich Steeves]

My review! http://www.rpsteeves.com/2012/05/avengers-i-saw-it-i-review-it.html

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Finally saw it last night, and it was terrific. My favorite performance in the film was probably Mark Ruffalo's -- he really brought Banner to life for me, and I loved the respect Tony showed him.

[Don Collett]

Baron Johnson is right!

My rationale on this is that as a spy, the Widow would surely have been trained to speak with a perfect "American" accent .  Someone being sent to spy on Americans would not speak English like Natasha Fatale.

Now that I finally have internet at the new homestead, I'll just say I loved the movie, as did my son.  I can't recall the last movie I watched that had me saying "Holy----!" so often.  The Helicarrier was in this movie! How cool is that?

(more to come after I read the rest of the thread...)

[Don Collett]

Doc:  Tina Fey as Jennifer Walters?  Inspired, sir!

To those who think Hawkeye could have been cooler:  maybe so, but did you miss the "not even looking" shot he took during the big battle! That rates pretty high on my cool meter.

While I think all the characters were done well, Banner/the Hulk was my favorite because, finally, someone got him right!  Not being familiar with Mark Ruffalo at all, I didn't know what to expect.  Now I'm looking forward to a Hulk film again.

Rich is right...Phil "Agent" Coulson isn't dead.  Fury's an established liar, and the same rule about dead bodies applies in the Marvel Movieverse as in the original MU...If you don't see the body, they ain't dead.  If they bring him back as the Vision, you'll likely hear a loud fanboy squee originating from south-central Oklahoma.

Jason's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw Thanos in the first end-credits scene.  As usual, the comics fans in the theatre got it while the others didn't, but they all seemed to get that it wasn't good news for the heroes. 

Also, I want sharwma! Now! :D

What the success of The Avengers really makes me wish for is a unified cinematic Marvel Universe.  I'd love to see cameos from Spider-Man, the FF and even the X-Men, or new movies under the Marvel Studios banner. Not likely to happen, but a guy can dream.

[Doc Beechler (mod-MD)]

So...the whole Coulson becomes the Vision theory gains a bit with themarysue.com pointing out that Wanda has been shown to play the cello in the comics and Coulson is/was dating a cellist.  Hmmmmmmmmm...

[Alan M.]

Doc Beechler (mod-MD) said:

So...the whole Coulson becomes the Vision theory gains a bit with themarysue.com pointing out that Wanda has been shown to play the cello in the comics and Coulson is/was dating a cellist.  Hmmmmmmmmm...

I gotta say, I'm not a fan of the idea. I like Coulson as an everyman, and to do that would be the biggest change in a comic character's backstory for the movies since Batgirl was Alfred's niece.

[Emerkeith Davyjack]

...Okay , I guess I should  GLUMPH !  give my review .

  The whole thing RIZZIT ! is that - foofph ! - i got a bit thrown by the modern action-movie style of  FFFTFPPH !  editing , both the camera and  - gleeppth ! - the sound mix , the jolting  FFRRFPTHGH !  editing with every-  PPTTFPTH ! - damn thing being thrown at you over and over !!!!!!!!!!! At least in the early part .

  Or , maybe , the first half . Or 60% .

  I felt the same way about the VAN HELSING movie a few years back .

  The thing is , I tend to have sleeping pattern and blood sugar problems that have mend tend to have to fight against dozing off at the movies .

  I think the O.D. of FRUUPTHH ! and gleep ! if anything , sort did the reverse on me , as with Hugh's vehicle , and had me doze off a little - After which I was a little more lively , so maybe that's good?? :-)

  The over-murky color palatte/shading of the film's lighting , to my tastes - And I saw the 2-D version !!!!!!!!! - sure didn't help , either .

  Maybe a little too many jokes , even tho mostly I like humore( Maybe I felt left out of the laughing from the packed house's audience ??????? ) , maybe not being aware that Stark was characterized as such a wise guy , maybe the having come in only having seen one of the five directly connected films ( The Thor one . ) - and , um , I don't believe I recognized Agent Coulson as someone I'd seen before.........If nothing else , the blowing stuff up/rayguns/punches/Big Giant Nasty Ol' Things part at the end provided me with some of the " big " stuff/conflict that is a large part of what one ( Well , I>>.........) goes to the superhero genre for.........I thought this about SPIDER-MAN III , too , the big battle with the Sandman/Marko at the end was exilarating/cathartic ( I guess . ) ! Like , a modern-day version of what Harryhause/early kaiju effects maut've seemed like to people in the 50s in theaters when they were new .

  I liked , personally , seeing a lot of the Grand Central part of midtown Manhattan , too ( Of course , it was mostly being blowed up real good :-) !!!!!!! ) , personal nostalgia-wise .

  Oh , and I think I did mention that I didn't know that Tessrerats = Cosmic Cube or that some villians - Not the Frost Giants , though ? - carried over from the Thor movie , even though I'd seen that , as I mentioned . It's a touch lucky I read that IFC.Com " Things you should know going in " .

  I'm glad I went .

  Partly , it's fitting in here/elsewhere/having something to talk about - Maybe 3&1/4 stars , or more , on a five0-star scale ?

  The blowing things up/mass destruction/punching stuff at the end helped a lot !!@!!:-)!!!

[Emerkeith Davyjack]

...Being " part of " a big thing - big first-night crowd......... - was interesting . Even that it may - Offically , mponey-wise , anyway...........Be on its way to being the latest #1 movie of all time , or at least #1 based on only one release.........

( I.e. , not Titanic - or , arguably , Avatar - or , actually , taking inflation into account , Gone With The Wind and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves , E.T. , even...........)

[Andrew Horn]

I just had a thought regarding the question of Agent Coulson and his real or supposed death: it was an LMD

Andy