Countdown To Avengers and Ant-Man

[M.A.C.O.]

As most of you are probably aware, there will be an Avengers Marathon event held at AMC and Regal Theaters. While I don't have the time, money or patience to sit in a theater for 29 hours to watch 10 movies. I totally have the will to sit a home and do my own marathon of the movies.


Admittedly I haven't watched most of these movies since I bought them. So this marathon will be good to relive the highs and lows of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As well prep for the 2 new upcoming MCU films.

I decided to make it a group event. I want us all to share our experiences. I'll be starting Iron Man 1 later today and giving my thoughts and rating about it. Feel free to participate and leave your own feedback.


Oh and Avengers ASSEMBLE!!!

 

[DimesDan]

I have no idea if anywhere here is doing that. Myself and a few friends are seeing Age of Ultron at 21:00hrs on Thursday (23rd) though!

 

[Ethros]

In the UK Vue Cinemas are doing a mini marathon on the Wednesday evening- Avengers 1, Cap: Winter Soldier, and Avengers 2 showing at midnight.


But I can't really be bothered tbh, my friend and I are going Thursday afternoon, so only 5 days to go!

 

[M.A.C.O.]

#13

Rating 10/10

Just finished and I had an amazing time. I forgot how much I liked this movie. I remember watching and rewatching back when I bought it in 2008. It's amazing to see how much has changed between then in now. Not just with the MCU but with RDJ's performance as Stark. It might be premature but I think Iron Man 1 is the best of the Iron Man trilogy.

Next up The Incredible Hulk. I have to work 7pm - 12am, so I'll catch it tomorrow.

 

[Magellan]

My wife and I have actually been doing the same thing(we're up to the 1st season of AoS so far)

My thoughts on Iron Man were a bit different. I still really like it, especially the parts with Yinsen, but I was surprised to find I thought the movie dragged a bit in the middle. Specifically the building the suit and the F-22 scenes. I just could not wait for them to be over. Obadiah still holds up as one of the better Marvel villains, and thh "I am Iron Man" ending is great but not the breath of fresh air it was in 2008. I'm going to say 8/10.

Also note the continuity issues with SHIELD clearly being a new organisation in this one.

Edit: I also don't care for Chekhov's high altitude icing. Both scenes could be cut and the film would play out exactly the same.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Also note the continuity issues with SHIELD clearly being a new organisation in this one.

Something I did notice in "Melinda" was that in the flashbacks Coulson used the long-form name rather than the abbreviation.

 

[lizlovestrek]

This is a cool idea to get ready for Avengers 2, I think I'm only missing The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 3 so I will still be able to have a good pre-avengers experience.

 

[The Old Mixer]

I started doing something like this several weeks back with the intention of watching one film a week, but have fallen a couple behind at this point.

It might be premature but I think Iron Man 1 is the best of the Iron Man trilogy.

Premature? I thought that much was generally understood.

That said, IM2 has grown on me somewhat with home video viewing, particularly in the aftermath of IM3. IM2 perhaps isn't as tight and well-executed as it could be, but some of the story elements make it a worthy follow-up to the first film, and I have no problem with the Avengers set-up elements...after letting that tease simmer for two years, the audience was due for some payoff.

My preferred watching order is IM2, then TIH, since the Stark scene at the end of TIH is supposed to take place after IM2. TIH has become the most awkward of the Phase 1 films for me, thanks largely to the recasting...not so much of Banner, as each actor owns the role in his own way, but of the Hulk...the Norton Hulk has become a bit of an eyesore to me, I much prefer Ruffalo Hulk. This issue is compounded by how this film low-balls the Hulk's power level a bit. Still, there's some good character set-up that informs Ruffalo's version of the character in The Avengers, largely in subtle ways...but oy, that great big dangling Leader thread that will probably never be followed up on....

I've considered Thor to be my favorite of the Phase 1 solo films since it came out, but my viewing experience this time was a little off...I just wasn't as into it as I was in previous viewings. Still, I think it gets a bad rap...it's a good, fun film.

Cap, OTOH, underwhelmed me when I first saw it in the theater (it was the fourth superhero film of the summer for me, and that included having to endure GL after Thor...). It's proven to be the MCU film that's grown on me the most with home video viewing, however...a good, solid superhero flick with its heart in the right place. Story elements that I was lukewarm about the first time around (HYDRA, the cube) were paid off in subsequent installments.

That brings me up to date. Now...put in The Avengers, or keep watching Daredevil...?

 

[M.A.C.O.]

#12

Rating 8/10


Another good start up MCU film. I think what I liked best about this film is that it captures the vibe of the old 80's show. Edward Norton's Bruce Banner I really dig. Shame Marvel has completely dropped a follow to the obvious Leader (Samuel Stern) and his army of Gamma Mutates. Blonsky and Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross are standouts as villains. Highly enjoyable and menacing.

#11

Rating 5.5/10

While I think the film is ambitious, it doesn't reach the height of it's predecessor. I think the set-up for Avengers really did drag the film down in parts. Sort of like how The Hobbit movies set their story on pause in order to reference Lord of The Rings. It certainly wasn't boring though, so there's that. Although it does feel padded out in places.

 

[Mage]

The Incredible Hulk is a hugely underrated movie, that has more heart going for it than some people give it credit for, and a very satisfying Hulk vs. Abomination fight. General Ross is amazingly ruthless and heartless, caring for nothing except having the upper hand. Tim Roth is always a pleasure to watch.

Iron Man 2 is probably the weakest of all the MCU movies, for me personally. Enough eye-candy, and it was the introduction of Black Widow, who quickly became a fanfavorite character. But Whiplash was the most underwhelming villian sofar, together with the Dark Elf from Thor 2 who's name I can't spell and can't be bothered to look up right now. Cheadle as Rhodey was fantastic though, and the suitecase armor was a blast.

 

[DEWLine]

Malekith. Considering that match-up of that Walt Simonson character to Christopher Eccleston...well, I have to admit that I was expecting more as well from that.

 

[M.A.C.O.]

#10

Rating 7.5/10

Fun romp. Could've used more of Thor on Asgard or in the Nine Realms. I had fun the first time watching it I enjoyed the parts with Thor running around on Earth with Jane, Darcy and Erik but now I find those scenes tedious. There not offensive or bad, just out of place in a swords and sorcery type movie. Thor The Dark World made out a lot better in this regard.

 

[Ethros]

Also note the continuity issues with SHIELD clearly being a new organisation in this one.

Something I did notice in "Melinda" was that in the flashbacks Coulson used the long-form name rather than the abbreviation.

I'll never understand what SHIELD is in the MCU. There's a bit in Thor: The Dark World where this exchange happens-
DARCY: Jane isn’t calling me back, Erik isn’t calling me back, stupid SHIELD isn’t calling me back!
IAN: What’s SHIELD?
DARCY: It’s a secret.

Right... I know he's not American, but he doesn't know what Shield is?? That would be like someone in real life going "The FBI? Who?" or "The CIA? Who?"

 

[M.A.C.O.]

Malekith. Considering that match-up of that Walt Simonson character to Christopher Eccleston...well, I have to admit that I was expecting more as well from that.

Yeah Alan Taylor talked about that in a few articles after the movie came out. He had shot a lot of Dark Elf material that ended up on the cutting room floor. He said that the executives at Marvel told him to push more Loki into the film. TPTB of course wanting to capitalize on Loki's runaway popularity. Taylor said he had hoped for an extended cut of The Dark World but no word of that happening yet or at all.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Vanko wasn't my favorite villain, but he had some character and an interesting rivalry with Tony going...Malekith was just a cypher.

Could've used more of Thor on Asgard or in the Nine Realms. I had fun the first time watching it I enjoyed the parts with Thor running around on Earth with Jane, Darcy and Erik but now I find those scenes tedious.

Funny...it was the opposite for me this last viewing. It seemed like the Asgard part in the front of the film took too long to get through, and the Earth stuff seemed to whiz by too fast.

 

[M.A.C.O.]

#9

8/10

When I first saw this movie years ago, I wasn't a fan. I thought it was overly retro in it's execution and the action montage of the take down of HYDRA bases I found weak. However I've come to find that to be one of the charms of the movie. I see it like an Indian Jones movie. A throwback to the old Adventure Serials of the 40's and 50's. I've come to appreciate this film for what it did and what it was trying to do. So major props.


#8

Rating 9.5/10

Back in 2012, I thought Avengers was the best comic book movie to date. However I think it's shine has dulled slighty. Not because it's bad in any measure sense, but it's too much of an action movie if that makes sense. Like characters are introduced, action pieces are set up (SHIELD base, Art Gallery, mountain side, helicarrier, New York) and then there is action. The characters bicker because we need to insert some sort of faux conflict. Despite these people having no serious grudge against one another and pull together when it's time to fight. However everyone is great in this movie. RDJ, ScarJo, Chris E, Chris H, Ruffalo, Samuel L, and Tom H all shine in their roles. That disposable, cannon fodder army of "space orcs" (as I call them now) though... Could've use more menace than just firing on empty cars.

 

[Magellan]

My take:

Incredible Hulk - 7/10

I like a lot about the TIH. Love the music, and the opening scenes in Brazil are beautiful. Banners predicament and being on the run is a lot more tragic than the other superheroes. While being Tony Stark would be awesome, how many of us would really wanna be the Banner? He can't put down roots anywhere, and even when he does get to see Betty Ross after all that time he can't *ahem* get physical.
Love the cameos of Bixby and Ferrigno. Love the more serious / almost sad atmosphere(without ever ever getting boring or mopey thankfully). I've never understood why this is such the black sheep of Marvel movies.

The stuff I don't like:
The CGI Hulk looks bad. It looked bad in '08 and just looks worse now compared to the newer version.
How much does this really move the character forward? The only hint we get is the ending where it's implied he might be able to control the Hulk, which seemingly isn't the case given the Avengers. He's stil on the run, he still can't see Betty, he still has no cure. Maybe General Ross doesn't hate him TOO much anymore.
For me, Blonsky was a disappointing villain. He was just a soldier who took some bad drugs and went on a brief rampage.

I really wish there was a directors cut of this movie. If you watch the deleted scenes they cut A LOT out of the movie,. I sometimes feel this could be one of my top Marvel movies if they added in the additional scenes that help flesh out the characters just a smidge more(Ty Burrel's sub-plot was almost all cut)

Iron Man 2 - 6/10

Iron Man 2 has actually grown on me quite a bit. I felt ripped off when I saw it in theaters. However revisiting it, I can say it's actually pretty exciting the whole time. Sounds like faint praise but being boring is the ultimate movie sin in my book. I like the expanded role for Happy, and Don Cheadle is definitely an improvement over the first Rhodes. I like seeing the Pepper/Tony relationship moving forward. The racetrack fight was awesome.
The gov't hearings where Tony goes all Ayn Rand on the comittee is fun to watch but that's what they should have focused on. Was Tony right? Is it all the fruit of his labor? Wasn't Vanko set up perfectly as the anti-Tony? Brilliant scientist fathers, brilliant scientists sons, but totally different outcomes. Maybe the message is Tony is right, maybe Tony learns something and he didn't have all the answers before. EIther way, there was so much potential and then absolutely nothing was done with it. Vanko is the dullest, least interesting villain yet.
And whats up with the new "element"? So is this heavier thanUnunoctium, but stable? This whole sub-plot is just a pointless way of shoehorning in SHIELD and Howard Stark. Why did Howard Stark secretly encode a new element into the design of the fair, just so his son could later decode it? A son who conveniently needs it to survive.
Another nitpick, does the chestpiece power the suit or not? The first movie made a big deal about needing it, but now Rhodes can just take a suit without having one. I can only figure that Tony actually built that suit with the intention of giving it to Rhodes, hence no security issues/power issues.
My least favorite so far, but I still had fun.

 

[The Old Mixer]

TIH established that Banner could "aim" the Hulk and then showed him deliberately triggering a change. He did both of these things in his second transformation in The Avengers. It's not as simple as Banner controlling or not controlling the Hulk, all or nothing.

 

[M.A.C.O.]

#7

Rating 8.5/10
I had more fun with this movie than I remember having the first time. What brings it down IMO is Killian, The Mandarin Twist and the character of Maya. I honestly can't figure out why Maya is even in this movie. Killian's motives were dubious at best. He wants to own the war on terror? What are you HYDRA? Lol


#6

Rating 9/10

While the Dark Elves essentially got second billing in their own movie, in favor of more Loki. The action scenes with them were are great. Kursed was awesome, and Malekith was cool-ish in his final fight with Thor. I really enjoyed all the time they spent on Asgard and other world's not Earth. I think they were really able to capture Jack Kirby's Asgard world from the 60's comics.


#5

Rating 10/10

Where the first Capt America felt like a retro adventure serial with America GI's and Nazis. This one feels like a James Bond movie, featuring Captain America and I dig that. This film rocked and I was very satisfied with everything they accomplished with it.

 

[Magellan]

TIH established that Banner could "aim" the Hulk and then showed him deliberately triggering a change. He did both of these things in his second transformation in The Avengers. It's not as simple as Banner controlling or not controlling the Hulk, all or nothing.

Fair point, but I've always interpreted the final scene in TIH to be a much stronger form of control. That's where I felt the sequel was going, but I admit it does not explicitly confirm my assumption.

Thor - 9/10
Might actually be my favorite Phase 1 film. Best villain of the MCU with Loki. Good motivations, good plan and an excellent actor to bring it all together. Thought the humor with Thor on Earth was good, and I even like Darcy's silliness. Substantial and natural character development for Thor. I don't even have a lot of nitpicks about this one.

Captain America - 7/10
Cap's my favorite superhero and I like a lot of things here. Skinny Rogers is great and I'm glad they spent the time really introducing the character. I love Atwell and have always felt that she and Evans had the best chemistry of the couples. Stanley Tucci also turns in a great performance(no surprise there).
Unfortunately, the Red Skull comes off as another poorly developed villain. I really wish they would have planned out a more coherent philosophy for HYDRA. Also, the movie is a bit montage-y but I can understand why. Some of the CGI is a little sub-par as well, especially the Landkreuzer.
Annoying nitpick:
1)How fast is the flying wing going to get from the Alps to anywhere near North America? Mach 5?
2)This is a pretty major plot point, so maybe not really a nitpick, but why does Cap need to crash the plane himself? Why cant he just jam something on the stick and bail out? He can clearly steer the plane, why not just fly in circles until some kind of rescue plan can be put in place?

Avengers - 10/10
Still my perfect superhero movie. Really feels like a comic book, especially how when any to superheroes meet for the first time what have they got to do? Fight of course! Humor was good, action was great and almost every character got some good scenes(almost, poor Hawkeye). It's not a deep movie, but it doesn't have to be. It's all about seeing these guys all come together and kick butt.

Iron Man 3 - 9/10 - I'm apparently in the minority but this is actually my favorite Iron Man movie. The Mandarin and Killian actually felt threatening enough that I wanted to know how the hero would win, not just when like the other movies. Love the Mandarin twist(even if I saw Killian being the big bad from a mile away). Great sense of humor, easily the funniest MCU film for me. Heck, they even made me like the kid sidekick.

Thor: The Dark World - 5/10
My least favorite MCU.
Malekith is another terrible villain. He's pasty and wants to destroy the universe. That's about all we know, and he has like 10 lines in the whole movie. He makes Red Skull and Vanko seem sophisticated and interesting. Also didn't like most of the humor in this one( I especially hate when Thor destroys the big rock monster, and says "Anyone else?" hilarious). It doesn't help that the movie is very visually dreary, no offense to Londoners but maybe next time we could film in a less overcast city?