Avengers Movie

[skinsguy]

Anybody going to see it this weekend? I'm psyched! Going to see it tomorrow night in 3-D at the IMAX! =)

[NC_Skins]

Definitely going. No IMAX though. Closest one to me is Raleigh, and I'm saving that trip for Prometheus.

[los panda]

i'll be going to see iron man 3 today or tomorrow, i'll have a review on your desk by monday morning

[skinsfanthru&thru]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

Anybody going to see it this weekend? I'm psyched! Going to see it tomorrow night in 3-D at the IMAX! =)

Saw it at midnight last night and absolutely loved it. Action, story, characters, humor, etc all together I think equaled the most complete superhero movie to date. Absolutely badass especially the last 45 minutes or so and I will be going to see it again tomorrow. It was funny though seeing it at a midnight and half the people not knowing who a character was in one of the extra scenes at the end of the movie. Joss Whedon is the fn man!!

[MTK]

Looks like a great flick to kick off the summer movie season. I'll see it at some point.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

Anybody going to see it this weekend? I'm psyched! Going to see it tomorrow night in 3-D at the IMAX! =)

and the movie thread broke?

[Daseal]

Originally Posted by mredskins

and the movie thread broke?

No, but its nice to have discussion contained to its own thread.

[skinsguy]

Originally Posted by mredskins

and the movie thread broke?

Dang, who pissed in your cornflakes?

[Alvin Walton]

Lighten up Francis!

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by Alvin Walton

Lighten up Francis!

and you have not died yet?

[Alvin Walton]

Originally Posted by mredskins

and you have not died yet?

Whats that supposed to mean?

[los panda]

Originally Posted by Alvin Walton

Whats that supposed to mean?

i don't remember that line from stripes

[mredskins]

Note: “The Avengers” was NOT SHOT in 3D but I will say it’s one of the best conversions I’ve ever seen. The same company who converted “Titanic”, Stereo D, converted this film and it looks very solid. Also, the film was NOT SHOT in IMAX. Whedon did not use 70mm film to shoot this movie. Therefore, you’re best bet is to see it in a regular 3D digital theatre. Just as a reference point, an evening show 2D ticket is $12, a 3D ticket is $16 and an IMAX 3D ticket is $18. I say go for the $16 3D experience. (Prices for AMC Theatres in Tyson’s Corner, VA)

There is an action scene in this film that lasts less than ten seconds which is worth paying the entire price of admission to experience. I still have tears in my eyes from the epic nature of that sequence. All I will say is that it involves Hulk and Loki. While “The Avengers” is flawed, a bit too long and convoluted, the action scenes will easily evoke nerd tears out of any comic book or action movie fan. I don’t understand why this movie is even called “The Avengers”. They should have just called it “The Hulk” because he steals every single scene he is in. Until I sat in that dark theatre a couple of weeks ago, I found myself oddly worried about Mark Ruffalo taking on the iconic role. The part has never truly been mastered considering Eric Bana’s version is one of the worst movies of all time and Edward Norton’s version was decent. Though, the problem is that I never truly felt an emotional connection to those actors playing Bruce Banner. Ruffalo brings this bad-ass yet very subtle and sweet vibe to the Hulk where you actually care for him in human and super hero form. Through performance-capture technology, Ruffalo was able to give the Hulk character an arc that we can truly believe in. I honestly just wanted to give Hulk a hug after the movie was over!

“The Avengers” stars Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Scarlett Johannson (Black Widow), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson)and Tom Hiddleston (Loki).

The brilliant aspect is that we have one of the biggest nerds ever directing one of the biggest nerdy flicks of all time. Who better to be behind that camera than “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”, “Serenity” and “Firefly” creator Joss Whedon? The guy knows exactly what the audience wants and he delivers some of the greatest action I have ever seen in an film. His passion oozes out of the screen and you can just tell everyone had a fun time making the flick. There is one particular sequence of action that appears to be one continuous shot of action that takes us through all the character during an action sequence. It is one of the most beautifully executed action sequences I have ever seen. As I sat there with my jaw dropped to the floor, I couldn’t help but just be overwhelmed by the brilliance of that shot. You’ll know it when you see it but one massive hint at the shot is Iron Man shooting a laser towards Captain America’s shield. Watch how the camera doesn’t cut and the action continues from character to character.

The trailers almost lead you to believe that the movie is going to be very Iron Man centric but that’s only for the marketing aspect considering the Iron Man films are the highest grossing of the Marvel franchise. The movie pretty evenly distributes between the four main Avengers but has a slightly heavier focus on Hulk. Maybe it’s just the fact that he dominated every single scene he was in but I felt the movie leaned more on his side. He’s easily the most sympathetic character which is ironic considering he’s the biggest character yet he has the smallest ego.

The biggest issue with “The Avengers” is the length and the focus on Hawkeye (Renner) and Black Widow (Johannson). I understand they are part of the Avengers but I just felt that they paled in comparison to Thor, Iron Man, Hulk and Captain America. There would literally be scenes where Whedon would cut to an epic action movie of Hulk, Thor, Captain America and Iron Man. Then, it would cut to Hawkeye shooting arrows and Black Widow roundhouse kicking someone in the face. I just felt those characters were very weak and there was too much focus on them. We get too much of their back story which drags the film down and gives it almost a boring vibe for a bit. Though, once the action kicks back in, you completely forget that you were bored five minutes ago.

The plot is also extremely convoluted. Besides the main storyline of Loki (Hiddleston) trying to destroy the earth and the Avengers being assembled by Nick Fury (Jackson) to stop him, the rest of the plot made no sense. I couldn’t even begin to the describe to you what Loki’s goal was in the sense of using some cube to allow his army to come to earth to destroy all of humanity. What’s amazing is that Hiddleston’s performance as Loki is so darn good that you don’t need to understand his intentions. For an actor to take on all of those super heroes and still keep a menacing vibe, is truly incredible. Hiddleston is a phenomenal actor and he demands such a gigantic presence on screen. He really held his own with all of these famous super heroes.

One of the big surprises for me was the character arc of Agent Coulsen (Clark Gregg). He’s always had a very minor but important part throughout the Marvel films and I was just glad to see him finally fleshed out in this movie. It turns out he’s a huge fan of Captain America and in the film we get to see him geek out just like the audience members geek out when they see this film. He had a great role in the Avengers and it was great to see that happen.

I keep seeing a lot of talk about this film being the greatest comic movie of all time. While I think “The Avengers” is a very good movie, it never truly reaches that level of Nolan’s “Batman Begins” or “The Dark Knight”. Those films were game changers in the sense that they transcended the comic book genre. Nolan made comic book films that felt like intense dramas. Heck, “The Dark Knight” felt a lot like Michael Mann’s brilliant film “Heat”. ”The Avengers” is flawed but it’s a ton of fun and worth seeing but to call it the best comic film of all time is a bit absurd. I’m not one to talk about exaggeration because I do it all the time but I do feel strongly about that point. To quote the great Jules Winnfield, “ain’ t the same ballpark, ain’t the same league, ain’t even the same f****** sport.

Overall, the film is very solid. Is it the greatest comic book movie of all time? I’d say no and give that award to either “The Dark Knight” or “Batman Begins”. “The Avengers” has timing issues and is way too convoluted but the action saves it. The witty Joss Whedon dialogue is hilarious and I just loved all the movie references from “Lord of the Rings” and “Reindeer Games”, etc. It’s a nerdy movie directed by the world’s biggest nerd, which makes it so much fun because it comes from a passionate place.

[Ruhskins]

[mredskins]

Hey I attributed the most to this thread! =)

But it is nice to have all the movie reviews compartmentalized under the movie thread.