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

[Othello]

Captain Craig wrote:

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Or maybe we all feel it's that good for reasons you just don't see or agree to. And that's fine, just saying a sideways insult isn't going to add anything to the discussion.

Are all the movies with 90% or better on RT herd mentality?
Toy Story 3
The Dark Knight
Star Trek('09)

Just some recent examples.

No, not necessarily. I've been a bit cranky lately thus the bit of a comment. That said, I don't think it's as good as any of the three mentioned above. I think, for me, it suffers greatly when you compare it to The Dark Knight whic IMHO blows this movie away in every way imagineable other than the LOL moments. To my mind there are two A+ comic book movies, The Dark Knight and Superman II (consider the times and how bavl then it was such a HUGE deal it was even being made as comparted to today), and then maybe one or two that might get an A or A- and the rest B+ or below.

[RoJoHen]

The Dark Knight is clearly a fantastic movie, but I have a really hard time re-watching it. In fact, I've only seen it twice all the way through. All other attempts to re-watch it have resulted in me getting bored and turning it off. It just moves too slow.

The Avengers...I could see myself re-watching it over and over. It was just fun.

[Othello]

RoJoHen wrote:

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The Dark Knight is clearly a fantastic movie, but I have a really hard time re-watching it. In fact, I've only seen it twice all the way through. All other attempts to re-watch it have resulted in me getting bored and turning it off. It just moves too slow.

The Avengers...I could see myself re-watching it over and over. It was just fun.

The movie is taken to another level by Ledger's portrayal as The Joker. The darkness in that mind is just disturbing and he does it so well you feel a bit uncomfortable when you leave the theater.

[RoJoHen]

That is really an argument. Sure, Ledger's performance was excellent, probably better than any performance in any superhero movie that I've seen. But just because one man's performance is excellent doesn't make the movie more fun to watch. The Dark Knight puts me to sleep. The Avengers wakes me up.

[jep316]

One of my favorite parts was right before the final battle when Cap gives everyone their orders and they follow them!!!He's giving orders to Gods and Monsters and no one complains even Stark.


One thing I noticed and though I doubt it was done on purpose was Banner turns into the Hulk just twice first in about in the middle of the film and again near the end,which is like it was done on the Hulk TV show.

[Star Wolf]

I don't remember David Banner initiating the change on the TV show. He was normally taking a beat down and trying to warn the guy off before Lou Ferrigno emerged.

[Klaus]

Just got back from seeing it and I loved it, the action and the humor and the charcter interaction...

...and trying to compare it to Dark Knight is apples-and-oranges to me... it's hard to match them up.

[sojourner]

I still get a giggle from "Puny God".

[RoJoHen]

Klaus wrote:

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...and trying to compare it to Dark Knight is apples-and-oranges to me... it's hard to match them up.

Very true. They're completely different movies trying to do completely different things. It's really not fair to compare them.

[Ethros]

jep316 wrote:

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One of my favorite parts was right before the final battle when Cap gives everyone their orders and they follow them!!!He's giving orders to Gods and Monsters and no one complains even Stark.

True, and thus, this was my favourite moment of the movie by far
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB2HGQqd5gA

[Trekker4747]

Yeah, comparing this movie to TDK isn't fair, really, to either movie. FWIW, I consider TDK to be a flat-A movie (not a + because of Bale's ridiculous Batman voice.)

But they're highly graded for different reasons. TDK has themes and tones and deeper meanings and such in it, it's got great performances in it (again mostly excluding Bale) and just a great overall sense of mood and tone. It lacks humor, fun and all of that but it doesn't need it as it's got a great sense of its own moods.

Avengers is great because it also does what it seeks out to do in being a comic book come to life and does it very well. It's own sense of mood and tone stand out well and are done well and, really, I can't find any flaws in it without getting into nitpicking. It's everything TDK isn't and everything TDK is The Avengers isn't. The plot in TA is very pedestrian and thin, it's downright a commonplace trope. But the characterization in it and the balance of them works out well and it's just a fun movie that doesn't really shortchange any of the characters. It's a good, fun, movie. Not deep or meaningful but just fun.

Now, yes, I give TDK an A and The Avengers an A+ but I'd really say both movies are the best examples of the Comic Book Movie genre. The TDK for tone, mood, and to a certain degree performances (all on Ledger's shoulders) and TA for a more fun tone and mood. Again, the only reason why The Avengers is a partial grade above TDK is because of Bale's absurd Batman voice.

[LaxScrutiny]

Trekker4747 wrote:

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The plot in TA is very pedestrian and thin, it's downright a commonplace trope. But the characterization in it and the balance of them works out well and it's just a fun movie that doesn't really shortchange any of the characters. It's a good, fun, movie. Not deep or meaningful but just fun..

The plot in TDK is that a psycho with face paint is committing mass murders in a city and a neurotic in a costume stops him. This is actually the same plot as Burton's Batman. The story is told far differently in each movie, but it is the same story. Burton puts in far more backstory for his psycho, while Nolan leaves it blank. Leaving it blank lets the viewer ponder; it's not genius to leave it blank, it's another trope that's used often, like with Wolverine for decades in comics. TDK works, and is a fine movie, but the plot is just the same plot we've seen a hundred times.

[Daneel]

The weekend box office estimates are in, and they have The Avengers taking in $103.2 million. Of course, these numbers could change when the actuals are reported tomorrow, but if they're accurate (or even if they're slightly off), that's another milestone for this movie. This is the biggest second weekend ever, beating the previous record of $75.6 million (made by Avatar over Christmas weekend in 2009).

What's more, with another $95.4 million (estimated) from the foreign markets, The Avengers has joined the billionaires' club, and passed The Dark Knight's worldwide total of $1,001,921,825.

This flick is a monster. I can't wait to see what its final take will be.

[sojourner]

LaxScrutiny wrote:

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The plot in TDK is that a psycho with face paint is committing mass murders in a city and a neurotic in a costume stops him. This is actually the same plot as Burton's Batman. The story is told far differently in each movie, but it is the same story. Burton puts in far more backstory for his psycho, while Nolan leaves it blank. Leaving it blank lets the viewer ponder; it's not genius to leave it blank, it's another trope that's used often, like with Wolverine for decades in comics. TDK works, and is a fine movie, but the plot is just the same plot we've seen a hundred times.

And invading aliens is entirely new?

[captcalhoun]

he didn't say it was, he just said the plot in TDK wasn't radically different to what's been done before.