AVENGERS: Grade, Reviews, Discuss, DVD & Sequel **SPOILERS**
- Thread starter Captain Craig
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Finally saw it on Friday night, having been like a junkie waiting for his fix for a few weeks. Loved it. Just brilliant. I voted it an A here when I came in and with hindsight that was probably a bit mean of me. I didn't want to rush into an A+ but I think it actually did merit the higher vote.
Of the three I am only hearing about Prometheus, it may be one Men In Black too far. And Lincoln, sounds like Buffy
MIIIB might posts one of the "bigger" threats, Vampire Hunter? Ehhhh.... I think that won't have the same general appeal and same for Prometheus. While they'll do good I suspect Avengers will stay #1 for awhile.
^ If anything, it'll be two MIB too far!
MIIB was crummy. But what I've seen of the third movie looks actually promising.
Yeah, I guess I could have fleshed that out a bit. The Avengers isn't "new", and arguably it's structered around movies like The Seven Samurai/Magnificent Seven, gathering a group of heroes to protect the town from the invading army. A movie isn't good or bad because of it's plot, and we're really being unrealistic if we judge according to plot.
TDK has a very similar plot to Batman, and I'm sure other movies if we look closely enough. The difference is characterization, theme, message, setting (Nolan's Gotham is a radically different setting than Burton's,) execution, etc.
The Avengers shouldn't be too closely compared to the TDK because they are very different stories with very different needs. The Avengers is an ensemble, and the main theme is bringing the diverse group together, seeing their conflicts between each other and seeing them overcome them and bonding into an effective team. The needs of the film demanded that no one character completely take over the film, and Whedon managed that very well. The film has a lot more in common with a movie like Kelly's Heroes than it does with TDK.
The Avengers is fun popcorn movie, and I don't want to be pretentious and claim it is particularly deep. However it does show us the distrust Steve Rogers has for Tony Stark, it shows Stark being challenged by Steve, confronting something about himself and growing because of it. It shows Rogers changing his mind, not just about Tony, but about the alien creatures he's surrounded by, the ones called "21st Century Humans." It show Rogers opening up and learning to trust and be a part of something he was terrified of.
It shows us Banner opening a small door in his wall and allowing the idea that he could just, maybe, possibly, have a chance of having somewhere in the world he could fit in and be himself; all of himself. It shows Natasha's ice cracking just enough for her to confront the journey she needs to take. It shows us Clint shooting arrows out of the coolest quiver ever, and Thor being Thor. OK, it wasn't perfect, but it had more than a plot, it had a story about people.
Structurally it was a little too linear, and this is where TDK has it beat. It never shocks us by going somewhere we aren't anticipating. What it does do, is take us to each place in an extremely well-executed fashion. More than anything, The Avengers is like a ballet. Swan Lake is not a new story, and there isn't a particularly original take on it that I've seen. The point of it isn't that it's "new." The point is that it is so well done it carries us along on the same journey as the characters we are watching.
I honestly don't know if I could pick between The Avengers and TDK. They are two very different movies, with very different goals, and IMO they both meet those goals incredibly well. TDK is a great, dark thriller, about the battle between Batman and The Joker and the effect it has on Gotham and it's residents. The Avengers on the other hand, is a very fun comic booky action movie about a very diverse group of superheros having to come together to fight a huge world ending threat that they couldn't beat on their own.
Not Spider-man.
It's positioned horribly and outside of the 'net don't hear any hype for the film.
I wonder if Johnny Depp is pushing his butt cheeks together to staunch the flow of blood from that 103 million dollar buttfucking at the box office that Avengers gave Dark Shadows this weekend. 
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What's worse is if his Lone Ranger film takes a beating from a Marvel film as well.
It opens 3 weeks after Iron Man 3 next May, 2013.
It opens 3 weeks after Iron Man 3 next May, 2013.
Ouch!
I don't think 3 weeks will make much impact one way or another.
Depends on how big of a hit IM3 is. In the wake of The Avengers it could be ginormous. If Depp is smart he'll get in on the Marvel money train and offer his services for the Dr. Strange movie.
Maybe not that three weeks but these three weeks of The Avengers, are looking like The Hunger Games before a Black themed Steve Harvey movie knocked it down
Obviously 3 weeks is a long time in the summer season to stay #1, however, I bet Battleship thinks it has enough distance at 2 weeks and I'm betting Avengers wins again.
Also, what was the last great genre mashup western?
Tonto with a crow on his head or Iron Man, easy choice.
Is anybody really excited to see Battleship? I've seen all the trailers and think it looks bloody awful! I hope The Avengers sinks Battleship!
If, after three weeks, Lone Ranger still can't beat Iron Man 3, then it's simply a sign that the film generated no excitement whatsoever (entirely possible). At that point in a film's release history it's heavily dependent on repeat-business, and when they'd rather see another film again than see your movie it's not likely you'd have done much better if it hadn't been there.
I think Johnny Depp is fully capable of being employed regardless of whether he works in a Marvel film.