The Avengers

The Avengers
« on: May 05, 2012, 07:24 AM »
Some people have already given their opinion about this movie but I feel like writing up a review here so that there is a centralized place to have a discussion without filling up the TV/Movie thread.  I encourage people to share their opinions and how they feel etc. etc.

The Avengers



While the story may be familiar to some, the basic premise is that the SHIELD agency which monitors global threats has been keeping track of the various superhumans and such that have been popping up.  When Norse Trickster God Loki and his alien army show up to threaten the world, these heroes are called upon to band together and stop this threat too large for any one person.  Of course as is natural in these sorts of stories, there is some natural friction for these individuals to overcome before they learn to work together.  Directed by the popular Joss Whedon and starring a cadre of recognizable faces, this movie is the payoff for years of individual superhero movies and the building of the Marvel movie universe. 

Right off the bat, I loved this movie.  Perhaps I'm still running on the high from having watched it so recently, but I could find very little to fault on my initial viewing.  While this may change upon repeated viewings, The Avengers represents to me the definitive superhero movie fans have been waiting for.  Marvel's strategy of having each character star in their own movies before teaming up together certainly pays off.  If you've seen all of them, then of course visible threads are followed up on and they all sort of begin and end with the macguffin, the Tesseract or Cosmic Cube as comic fans might know it as. 

The best part about each hero (except for the nonpowered ones like Black Widow and Hawkeye) having their own movies is that there's no need to dwell on their origins and the movie touches upon each character's background either briefly or with a few snippets of dialogue which is enough to keep the movie going.  Each character is succint and well defined and even for a big ensemble cast, no one ever gets lost in the flow and each character's personal conflicts (raging hulk, brother vs brother, the soldier vs the rebel, etc.) is followed up on perfectly.

Of course, Joss Whedon leaves his indelible mark on every scene and piece of banter between the heroes.  If anyone is familiar with his memorable Astonishing X-Men run or even just his Buffyverse stuff, then the dialogue will feel very familiar.  Of course, it gets corny at times, and there's a multitude of one liners and such, but such is to be expected from a genuine comic book movie.  Whedon knows what he's doing and at this point, I can't imagine anyone else doing the sequel. 

The pacing is something I was impressed with, because there is indeed a lot of talking and a lot always happening.  There were times when I began to think "If they keep talking this much the movie will get boring" and then BOOM, action and explosions galore.  The movie did a great job of developing this pattern of talking, action, talking, action and served to properly keep the audience entertained.  Now I've heard some minor complaints from comic fans but I've found them trivial because this movie was also made for a larger audience and certain decisions were made with this audience in mind in terms of timing and storytelling. 

The story isn't anything new and if anything, it's a rehash, appealing to the various Avengers origin stories throughout the years.  In fact, it draws from their very first comic appearance to some of the more recent fare such as The Ultimates and the animated features.  Yet the enjoyment is in the journey, because we know they have to come together and we know they have to beat the bad guys and ultimately it's a deeply satisfying film.  I really cannot wait to see what's in store for the future as individual sequels have been announced, and an Avengers sequel is sure to follow in the future with the assumed success of this film.  I'm just wondering how those other rumored projects will shape up and if the rumored Guardians of the Galaxy will tie in.

Re: The Avengers
« Reply #1 on: May 05, 2012, 08:30 AM »
Definitely a fun movie, wouldn't mind seeing it a third time.
STILL spoken about in disgraceful social circles

Re: The Avengers
« Reply #2 on: May 05, 2012, 08:51 AM »
I have a friend who saw it, waited for me to see the later showing and saw it again and will see it again today with his girlfriend.

Re: The Avengers
« Reply #3 on: May 05, 2012, 11:02 AM »
Saw it once, delivered exactly what I was expecting a big-budget superhero team up movie to deliver.

I actually haven't seen any of the other films other than Thor, which made it kind of confusing going into this film when there was shoutouts to stuff people said in past movies that I had not seen.

I also don't read a lot of Marvel comics, and I haven't read much of the Ultimate series/newer adaptations, which apparently this movie pulled from, so while I knew the basics about each character (He's Iron Man, that guy punched Hitler on the cover of his first comic, Hawkeye is in Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3 and usually wears a silly purple costume), I get the feeling that I was missing out on some in-jokes and plot points.

There were some very nicely storyboarded sequences, the acting was great, Captain America's suit was damn ugly as hell. Seriously, gurl, what is going ON with that stitching?

Aside from the fact that if you don't read/follow new Marvel universe a lot it's a bit hard to follow (I had no idea who the hell those soldiers were from space until someone explained to me they were like Skrulls but not really), it was all right.

I sat in an audience filled with hardcore fanboys, and I trolled each and every one of them by going YEAH (Insert completely wrong nerdy thing name) in here after all the hoots and yells of YEAH (Insert name of thing on screen).

Re: The Avengers
« Reply #4 on: May 05, 2012, 04:21 PM »
Whedon's precisely what's pushing me away from this. I hate Whedon. Though I am curious about if it goes into that weird Claremont Xmen vibe all his other shit cops. That's be funny for an Avengers movie.

Re: The Avengers
« Reply #5 on: May 06, 2012, 06:27 AM »
I am curious about if it goes into that weird Claremont Xmen vibe all his other shit cops. That's be funny for an Avengers movie.
I didn't catch any whiff of that.

It was a good movie, but I doubt I'd ever watch it again.  My only problem is the portrayal of Loki and Hulk (Rampaging to controllable?).  I've been able to justify Hulk with a bit of reasoning not said in the movie, but movie Loki is a two dimensional shadow of the character from the comics in recent years, especially current Kid Loki.

I'm also surprised they're going cosmic so soon, assuming the after credits scene is a nod toward the next movie...
DJ Neko: Thank you entervoid, you're like the abusive husband I keep coming back to. <3

Re: The Avengers
« Reply #6 on: May 06, 2012, 09:34 AM »

I'm also surprised they're going cosmic so soon, assuming the after credits scene is a nod toward the next movie...

I actually have  suspicion that cosmic is more to build up the universe.  Especially with the rumors of Guardians of the Galaxy (which is still a really weird choice for a franchise).

 

Newest Comments -


Newest Characters -

 
KingAugustus ThomasTheakonRod ChirpwoodHuskMizz BonzaiSpidella WidowsMyrmidonGhoulArcher Heart MercuryDuncan Dealbhaoth
 

Open Challenges -



Latest Topics -

 
All News, All The Time 
Last updated: Staff Bot - Today at 05:49 AM
Clown Jam 
Last updated: Radji - Feb 11, 2024, 04:51 AM
INTRODUCE YOURSELF 
Last updated: Maz - Nov 06, 2023, 04:13 PM
FAQ: Questions About Void? Post Yours Here! 
Last updated: Darius Corry - Sep 09, 2023, 03:15 PM
Art Diary of an Eternal Student 
Last updated: BoogidiBzdo - Aug 22, 2023, 09:17 PM
 

Latest Members -


Users online -

 
301 Guests, 1 User


[]

Most Online Today: 351.
Most Online Ever: 1,184 (Jan 13, 2020, 06:21 PM)

 

About Us

We exist to provide an environment for artists to learn and improve their sequential art skills competitively. Our community is designed to give critical feedback and encouragement to our many members the world over, at all skill levels.

Follow Us