The Avengers Assemble

Avengers Epic Effects: Battle for NYC

&feature=player_embedded

__________________
Have you ever held a lion in your arms? I have. He smelled funky.

@ Honeykid - Email that author and let him now that it is grammatically incorrect to create a plural with an apostrophe.

The movie rocked. That is all.

__________________

2012 is the year of Whedon for me, with Cabin in the Woods and The Avengers sitting at my #1 and #2 spots respectively.

Perfect blend of humour, action and emotion. It raises the bar of what comic book films should be and shows how an epic battle in the big city can be done right. Boo to you Transformers.

At 2:20, it never dragged for me. People say they spent too much time on the heli-carrier, but where else would they go? Despite Whedon being known for killing off secondary characters, it still hurt to see it happen.

Loved the battles between each hero, loved the final battle sequences and loved Hulk. I don't see how the next batch of Marvel flicks can hold up in their own one character narratives after seeing this, other than to set up another Avengers flick.

Some people behind me thought it was Red Skull at the end, I sat there shaking my head no because I knew immediately who it was. Can't wait to see what brings to the table in the next installment.

After the flick, I felt like getting Shawarma.

__________________
"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

I never doubted you, Joss. Simply fantastic

__________________

I kind of feel like The Dark Night and The Avengers is on totally different sides of the spectrum. The style of the movies were completely different, so it's hard to see how any comparison is justifiable, IMO. The Avengers was a great movie full of a lot of funny jokes and scenes, it also gave a lot of good action and had some sentiment in it. I don't understand how anyone went into it expecting more and still didn't like it at least a 6 out of 10 but maybe I'm not a hard enough grader.

I feel like The Dark Night is darker, has barely any humor and that although it was a fantastic movie, it had a sad back story, which is the main reason why The Avengers is different, because I don't think you feel that in the movie.

Joss is the only reason I saw this. Easily the best comic book film but that isn't saying much at all. Should I review......

Initially I was going to just refuse to see this on the basis of how annoying and in-your-face and all-over-the-frickin'-place the marketing is. I guess they suckered me into it.

Lets just hope this is as good as you lot are saying. I should be seeing this next week.

I had planned to wait to see this since taking a family of 6 to a film opening weekend is so expensive. But it was Free Comic Book Day and we were in full comic-geek mode so when my wife suggested it I didn't fight too hard. Naturally the only showing within an hour of our arriving at the theater was a 3-D showing, so we spent way more than we really wanted to, but sometimes sacrifices must be made.

The kids from 6-18 thought it was the best movie ever. My wife, not a comic fan or an action movie fan, fought hard to stay awake. Me, a life-long comic-geek, thought it was ok. It was loads of fun to watch. Action, humor, multiple super-heroes, lots of great stuff. 10 years ago I probably would've joined my kids in their assessment of it. But for some reason, I just think it was ok. It just came across to me as the big-screen equivilant of your standard comic book crossover "event." It's cool to see all your favorite characters together, but in the end it didn't really mean anything. Even the death of a popular character, who I liked, did nothing for me. I don't know if I really expected it to be any different, and I think they did an impressive job pulling it all together, but somehow it left me wanting something more that I can't quite put my finger on.

__________________
Family DVD Collection | My Top 100 | My Movie Thoughts | Frank Capra

How much damage was done to New York?

if you read the comics as a kid, you'll love it. If you didn't chances are great It'll be meh.

Do me a favour though if you would, count how many times if any Thor is seen wearing his battle helmet. I was thinken about that today for no apparent reason, and yanno i don't think he donned it once.

__________________
"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." - Michelangelo.

Not in this film, but he does in Thor.

I really enjoyed it. Even characters who I thought were pretty boring in their own films (Captain America and Thor) were more fleshed out and interesting in this ensemble. It helped immensely that it had a nice serial-narrative feel to it, lots of little episodic story chunks, slowly building in intensity. Even the jokes get better as the movie progresses - for the first couple acts I was groaning and thinking it was pretty average sitcom banter, but it got downright witty towards the end. Or maybe it's just by that point I was hooked into the whole soap-opera aspect of the story so I was more forgiving to the cheesiness of its individual components. That fits with my perception of the defining genre-characteristics of superhero comics as well: not action movies, not classical mythology. Weepy daytime television for kids. With spandex-clad superbeings and (rarely these days) amazing illustrations. I'm not dying for more superhero movies, but this adaptation took a somewhat different approach (Nolan's Batman has a soapy/serial feel as well - in a good way) and it worked.

Finally got round to seeing it last night.

It was a good fun summer blockbuster not trying to take itself too seriously.

Probably give it a solid 8/10

Some minor niggles I had though,

Have you seen Captain America? He is a real hero, the point of him jumping on the live grenade before his "super abilities" shows his true colours. I love his do-gooder attitude and if you want to single out a non-hero, look to Black Widow.

This. Times a billion.

Having a crappy shield is one thing, but being able to bounce that shield off of objects and people whilst deflecting bullets with supreme accuracy even before you're in close range destroying enemies with your superhuman strength and physical ability? I'd say that's pretty bad-ass.
So I've gotta' go with TheUsualSuspect and Yoda on this one.

__________________

For your dose of Movie Reviews:
BumbleBee's Reviews

What that Bee guy said.

__________________
We are both the source of the problem and the solution, yet we do not see ourselves in this light...

This movie is as 10/10 as it gets.

Quite simply, Avengers is an epic cinematic experience that more than lives up to the hype. The makers of this film certainly understand spectacle but they also get the intricacies and depth these type of characters can provide.

Marvel certainly delivered on their years of promises. Right from the close of Iron Man they were setting up this film and boy, did they manage to deliver! They deliver a movie the likes of which we've never seen before and as good of a film that's ever been made in its genre. The Avengers offers a little bit of everything and does it with intelligence, style and integrity.

There's a reason this grand of a movie has never been attempted before now. How do you fully flesh out, care about and establish this vast group and still deliver a fun, crisp and coherent story? It's extremely difficult to navigate that edge-of-your-seat excitement while at the same time caring about each one of the characters and their struggles. One of the most impressive aspects of The Avengers is that they managed to get each hero their time in the spotlight and their own character arc. Every single main lead steps up and is treated with remarkable intelligence and given room to shine. This extremely talented cast fits each character perfectly, both large and even the smaller roles.

I loved that the stakes in this film are ridiculously high and the threat so impressive that there really is a need for these diverse characters to come together. That could have been a stumbling block in terms of story but it's treated just right. It's also a great idea that they chose to introduce all the characters to the audience as if you've never seen them before. Sure, the other films set up and give depth to each character but even if you missed their solo films, you'll still know and care about them in this movie.

The story itself is told in a masterful and crisp manner. The dialogue is witty and the humor works its way seamlessly in to the natural order of the story but what else would you expect from Joss Whedon? The man has EARNED his master status with this jewel in his creative crown. The film is smart as anyone that knows Whedon would expect but it remembers to be fun. That’s not to say there aren’t dark elements because the gravity of what’s presented is immense and the interaction between the characters is actually complex. That’s why some are calling it a masterpiece. Comic book style slugfests are certainly part of the fun but are inserted as a vehicle for the story and not just to see CGI things explode. Things aren't blown up just for the sake of seeing them go boom. How can a movie like this pull that off? What makes a movie about a super soldier from World War Two, a futurist playboy in armor and a god of thunder really work are their relationship to one another and the incredibly good writing on display. Like Thor and the Iron Man films, it manages to ground high fantasy in to the realm of the believable.

Honestly, this is movie making of the most entertaining order and it easily deserves all the praise it has generated from both fans and critics alike. What’s also great is that the possibilities are endless from this point forward. Avengers teams of a different make-up are possible and the sequels that follow will no doubt be cool but they have a LOT to live up to now. This film really is that good.

Yes I have the DVD on my shelf. Only watched once though, probably never will again. Probably the worst of all the separate Avenger films, well maybe second worst after that Hulk crap with Edward Norton. Iron Man 2 was fairly crap aswell.

The Captain America movie was so unmmorable that I don't even remember him jumping on any grenade. His costume, his gay mask, his crappy shield, the crappy actor playing him. Just such a lame hero (would be unfair on the others to call him a "Superhero). Thats my 2 cents anyway. He should have been in the control room like co ordintaing and stuff or like covering breaks of the staff in the control room etc.

If I had to rate the Avengers movies in order they would be;

1) Iron Man

2) Avengers Assemble

3) Thor

4) Ang Lee's Hulk

5) Iron Man 2

6) Captain America (should be called Captain Lame)

7) Hulk (Edward Norton)