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| If Thor (Chris Hemsworth) posed like this? I would be very okay with that. Very, very okay with that. |
So, got dragged along to The Avengers. It wasn't that I didn't want to see it, I just wasn't expecting to go see it this weekend and I really didn't think I was in a movie mood.
OMGosh, glad I went. Things I learned:
- I love Iron Man. Seriously. I was actually bored until Iron Man came on screen and then I was like a little kid: "Holy cow! It's Iron Man! He's awesome!" I don't know if others experience that with superhero movies, but apparently it's big for me.
- Hulk does indeed smash
- Thor is pretty cool and I may now rent Thor
- Chris Hemsworth is a fine looking man
- I think Samuel L. Jackson, by the end of his career, will have worn a black trench coat in more movies than any other actor in history
- I really hate it when superheros whine
- I love that Iron Man hates it that superheros whine. Makes me love Iron Man that much more.
- Totally cheered me up, especially seeing it with two action movie fans. If you want a movie to cheer you up, this is the movie.
Strong points of the movie:
- Great action scenes
- Great costumes (actually always love costumes)
- An awesome level of humor. Not campy or self-mocking, but keeps it nice and light.
- Great special effects and CGI. Truly stunning. I remember when I saw Jurassic Park at 12. It totally rocked my world but the CGI dinosaurs now seem to be the same quality as the Terror Dogs in Ghostbusters. The CGI in The Avengers is awesome and seamless.
- (Big spoiler): The scene where the Hulk grabs Loki and smashy-smashies? Oh my GOSH that was awesome.
Weak points:
- I don't know if Captain America sucks in the comics, but he kind of sucks in the movie. He's stupid, and I don't mean "lame," I mean "not bright, intellectually challenged."
- (Big spoiler): The ending seemed totally ripped off of Independence Day. Shoot a nuke into the mother ship and all the little aliens don't work anymore? I know they didn't install a virus and I don't know if the model of "Destroy mother ship and all the aliens go down" predates Independence Day, but it felt like a slight ripoff.
Overall, I'd give it an A. Not an A+ - a better solution to the alien problem would help give it an A+, as would slightly more original dialog - but an awesome movie and a must see, particularly on a rainy weekend.
So I'm glad I was kidnapped and taken to this movie. And Chris Hemsworth has a great butt.
I saw The Avengers. I have the following comments:
ReplyDelete---Yeah, Joss Whedon, the writer/director, is a fan of this stuff. Thanos and "courting Death?" NOW I know who was reading Jim Starlin's Warlock strip in Strange Tales back in 1975-6.
---The Hulk finally seemed like a character, not Kirk Alyn's animated flying figure in the 1948 Superman serial. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040852/)
---Also, Banner was more credible than he has been in almost 50 years of comics. There seemed to be a lot of the TV series Banner in the character; a wondering do-gooder trying to make amends.
---Nice use of two old time actors you don't see much of anymore, Powers Booth and Jenny Agutter, who played Nick Fury's mysterious bosses. I don't know why Agutter is not THE go-to-gal for books on tape, very good voice: pleasant, clear and authoritative. Were they trying to make Powers Booth look like Dick Chaney or does Powers Booth really now look like Dick Chaney? (Which is ironic, since he ACTUALLY looked like James Jones and Al Haig as a younger man.)
---I liked Samuel Jackson in this. For such a cult-favorite actor, he really has not had that many parts that worked recently.
---This was a real "roadshow" picture. No need to be a comics fan or to even know who these characters are. This is the cinematic equivalent of a roller-coaster ride.
---Since I had only seen Scalett Johanson in a couple of Woody Allen films, I had no idea she was not a very tall woman. She was surprisingly credible as someone who was a trained acrobat/martial artist.
---Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark was a nice acting job; he dominated the thing without too visibly chewing the scenery. The man seems to be reaching his potential.
I've been blitzed! Welcome, stranger! Did not get even half of your refs until I looked them up.
ReplyDeleteI'm more familiar with comics from movies than from comic books. For some reason, I never could seem to bring myself to spend $12-$30 on something less than 100 pages long.
Banner was okay. I am familiar with the old TV series from the reruns, but I've never been big into the Hulk. I found him believable but a little whiny. In the older comics genera, I've never been into aliens or "Oops, I stood by some goo and now have superpowers." I'm more of a detective comics/Batman fan or Iron Man fan: someone chooses of their own will to become a superhero and their #1 power is their intelligence.
Totally agree on the "roadshow," but the lack of background makes me wonder if I'm missing something on some characters or if those characters were re-worked. For example, was Captain America as re-worked as Superman was in "Superman Returns"?
I don't feel like Samuel Jackson's character was pronounced in this film; hopefully they'll bring him back as Nick Fury and give him a larger role. I tend to be a Samuel Jackson fan, including "Snakes on a Plane," which is truly awesome, imho. An intentional cult classic.
I'm a huge Robert Downey Jr. fan. I actually am not fond of the most of the new Sherlock Holmes movies, except for the latest one because they introduced such a cool take on Prof. Moriarty.
Did not know Scarlett Johansson had ever been in a Woody Allen film. I did like her as Natasha but, like Nick Fury, I felt like Natasha was a more incidental character who I hope will get more development and screen time later.