AVENGERS: Grade, Reviews, Discuss, DVD & Sequel **SPOILERS**

[Captain Craig]

thefilmcynics.com - grade,unknown, but hungry for more

As for the technical aspects of the film, it’s clear that Disney spared no expense, although I really could have done without the 3D. Too much of the film happens in the dark, and coupled with the umbrage of stereoscopic photography, it was tricky to make out some of the action.

There were some out there who wondered about how Whedon, who made a name for himself working with strong female characters, would fare with just one woman in the mix opposite of some of the manliest men in fiction. Scarlett Johansson definitely turns in a strong performance, but the truth is that she is sidelined in favour of those with super powers, resulting in less cross-character flirting than we might be used to, but the abundance of super-human feats fills that gap admirably.

emmanualelevy.com - B+ grade

I think the director and his writing partner will not be offended if I describe “The Avengers” as a complex (but not complicated), well-oiled machine (or toy box), in which no less than eight characters are interfaced, while each maintaining his or hers personal arc and yet make sense.

There is another juggling act that Whedon pulls off successfully: He has made a picture broad enough to satisfy the expectations of the fans of the previous movies, while honoring the wishes of the fans of the comic books. (There is, of course, overlap between the two groups, but they are not the same, nor are their desires).

entertainingevil.com - A+ grade

The Avengers culminates with an explosive finale that delivers everything I wanted and more. Then there is a credits scene that sets up, not only the future of The Avengers, but possibly the future of the landscape of the next Marvel Studios films. (More about this below in my spoiler-zone). Expect to leave with joy, warm and fuzzy feelings, and most likely the urge to go back to the box office and just buy yourself another ticket to immediately return and watch it again. Thank you Joss Whedon, Marvel, Disney and Paramount. I can now die a happy man. Nothing will be able to touch this film for us geeks for years.

I didn't read his spoiler section so go to the link where I assume he spills the info on the post credits sequence.

[Ian Keldon]

davejames wrote:

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So wait... does Cap not shoot guns in this movie? I can't recall seeing it in the trailers, and there's no holster on his new uniform.

There was a scene in one of the trailers where he was seen shooting either a M60 or a M246 SAW out a window.

The one thing I appreciated about the previous movie was they actually gave him some freakin guns to shoot, instead of simply flinging the dorky shield around. Unfortunately looks like that idea was ditched for this movie...

The shield is Cap's iconic weapon and defense. "Gun Cap" is a modern re-invention of the character, and one I'd just as soon not see.

Cap don't need no stinking gun...he's Captain America!

[Ian Keldon]

Captain Craig wrote:

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I didn't read his spoiler section so go to the link where I assume he spills the info on the post credits sequence.

I did...

Ugh! I HATE Thanos!

[DAYoung]

Ian Keldon wrote:

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There was a scene in one of the trailers where he was seen shooting either a M60 or a M246 SAW out a window.

He relies chiefly on his shield, but he does use firearms. Though not nearly as often as Black Widow and Hawkeye.

[Captain Craig]

There are 25 reviews in at Rottentomatoes now and the first 'Rotten' has turned up. The reviewer submits their entry as either 'fresh' or 'rotten' and he gives it 3of5 stars. I wonder if he hit the wrong radial button on his submission form? 3o5 doesn't sound rotten to me.

boxofficemagazine.com - 3 of 5 stars, *rotten*

The Avengers almost works. It's funny and it's physical, but even at two and a half hours, it plays like it's on fast-forward. Forget character development—there's not even character explanation. The lesser Avengers are most slighted. After two movies with Black Widow and Hawkeye, I know less about them then I do the fighting Panda in Tekken. But at least Johansson and Renner get to square off in the flick's best mano-a-mano battle, which is thrilling and wince-worthy because they're human and evenly matched—everyone else just slams each other against trees. Much of the movie is rotating video game mash-ups: Thor against Iron Man, Iron Man against Hulk, Hulk against Loki. It'd get monotonous if writer-director Joss Whedon hadn't written in literal punchlines—there's at least two face-smashes that get a loud laugh. And some of the best duels are mental, like a calculating showdown between Black Widow and Loki. They never touch, but the violence hums.

"You will be begging for another Incredible Hulk film after you've seen The Avengers. They finally characterize him like he's yet to be done. It's the Hulk we've been waiting for!!"
Around the 2:30 mark give or take.


I so can't wait to see HULK!!!

[DAYoung]

Captain Craig wrote:

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I so can't wait to see HULK!!!

This Hulk is a gem, dramatically and comedically.

[Trekker4747]

I wonder what Armond White is going to say about this movie.

[Admiral_Young]

Yeah it looks like Ruffalo's Hulk is going to be the break through character from this movie from everything I've read about it so far, which is kind of what I expected, he's also who I'm most excited to see (other than Cobie Smulder's Maria Hill). I still think we'll get a Hulk movie sequel for 2015. It's possible that the television series might interfere somehow with this but I doubt it.

[DAYoung]

Admiral_Young wrote:

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Yeah it looks like Ruffalo's Hulk is going to be the break through character from this movie from everything I've read about it so far, which is kind of what I expected, he's also who I'm most excited to see (other than Cobie Smulder's Maria Hill). I still think we'll get a Hulk movie sequel for 2015. It's possible that the television series might interfere somehow with this but I doubt it.

I can certainly imagine this Hulk being very popular. Ruffalo's performance is excellent. He's a very gregarious actor - to me, at least - but he pulls off a really nice balance between warmth and threat, which suggests the Hulk lurking unseen.

And when the big guy does break out, Whedon does a brilliant job of combining ferocity with laughs. In my screening, the two biggest (i.e. loudest, longest) laughs of the film were down to the green dude.

[chrisspringob]

Wait, to clarify, once the movie comes out in certain parts of the world (it's coming out here in Australia on Wednesday, just a few days from now), we can have a spoiler-filled discussion of the movie in this thread, right?

But then, why is the anticipation thread now locked? Aren't fans in the US, and other countries where it doesn't come out until May, going to want to post about their anticipation of it in a thread where they don't have to wade through a bunch of spoilers?

[Trekker4747]

The movie opens in a week in the UK, usually the grading threads are started within a week of the release. The anticipation thread was locked because this one was created (making "too many" threads about the same movie open at once) and because any pre-release and production info is no longer going to be discussed.

Movie studios releasing movies in other countries before opening them in the US is dumb.

[chrisspringob]

Trekker4747 wrote:

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...and because any pre-release and production info is no longer going to be discussed.

Well, that's fine, as long as people are OK with that, and don't mind that this thread will be filled with spoilers next week when the movie comes out in Australia and Europe.

[Admiral_Young]

People are generally good with spoilers here and using spoiler code. There is a spoiler warning in the thread title as well.

[od0_ital]

I should be gettin' a screenin' pass for this in the mail. If I can get off from work, too, I'll be seein' it a week from Monday, four days ahead of the U.S. release.

[Timby]

OdoWanKenobi wrote:

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So even with the unanimous praise for the film so far, that's still not good enough for you?

I think you're just determined to hate this film, and nothing you hear will change your mind.

I could say, "I think you're just determined to like this film, and nothing you hear will change your mind," and it'd be just as empty a jab.

Near-unanimous praise means nothing to me, and pointing to the Tomatometer or whatever is meaningless. For example:



Toy Story 2 is rated as a 100 percent "Fresh" film, which means it's perfect, right? Not at all. Toy Story 2 most certainly has its flaws, though it is an absolutely marvelous piece of work, particularly when looked at in the context of its ridiculous production history. What you're really looking at here is a survey of 146 critics, all of whom rated the film above average (in the subjective opinion of Rotten Tomatoes' editors). 72 percent of "the audience" liked it and that's out of 890,698.

There is no such thing as objective quality in film, and aggregators like that are rather toothless tools to use when trying to prove a point. It's okay to use as an example of how critical response are shaping up and get a very vague idea about what one might loosely expect, but that's about it.

I'll be there in the theater, and there are bits and pieces I've seen that have interested me (Ruffalo's Hulk, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., and the effects work in general seems pretty solid). All I've been saying is that what we've seen of the overall direction of The Avengers hasn't been impressing me. I'm sure it'll be fluffy and whiz-bang action stuff, but when I leave the theater, I don't think I'll have much to take away.

In any event, I hope to be pleasantly surprised by the film.