The Avengers Options

[Maxwell]

Good criticism. I'm hoping it will be some quality cinema, and for me Joss Whedon is #2 behind Nolan as the top directing/writing talent, so I'm definitely more confident that it will be. Everything I've heard from trusted sources so far has been positive.

A week and a half can't pass any more quickly (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Evan]

I know it's almost here but I have a few questions that are minor in regards to spoiling...

1. Do they explain how Thor can get back to Earth after the events of Thor?

2. I'm assuming Portman doesn't make a cameo in this so is it explained or implied why Thor doesn't even take a minute out of his time to fly away to see Jane even for a second?

3. Is Rhodey/War Machine mentioned at all? He was originally supposed to be in Avengers but they cut out the character for whatever reason so I'm curious if they explain his absence during all of this.

[Ryan]

The answer to those questions:

SPOILER!!!    Click to view.

1. It's not explained how he gets to earth, the closest possible solution to me has to do with how Loki gets to Earth, but I don't think that's it.

2. She doesn't make a cameo, but is mentioned breifly. Nothing about why Thor can't come see her.

3. No mention about Rhodey

[Silvers]

We got this movie last night, have to set it up in the projectors later, if you want a free private screening of this movie come to the middle of nowhere and watch it

[Chewy]

Answers to Evan's questions:

SPOILER!!!    Click to view.

1. It's mentioned by Loki that Odin must have used dark matter to send Thor back to Earth. It's implied that this is a bad thing.

2. Coulson tells Thor that as soon as Loki showed up, Jane was taken to a secure location (she's under the belief that she has just been offered a new job). He doesn't go see her because stopping Loki fucking shit up and committing mass murder is higher on his priority list.

3. Like Ryan said, no mention of Rhodey.


This post has been edited by Chewy: Apr 24 2012, 10:50 PM

[Ryan]

Chewy, question for you.

SPOILER!!!    Click to view.

That is Red Skull at the end of the movie right?

[Chewy]

Chewy, question for you.

SPOILER!!!    Click to view.

That is Red Skull at the end of the movie right?

SPOILER!!!    Click to view.

Holy sweet jesus, FUCK NO.

That was Thanos. He's one of the most powerful villains in the Marvel universe and I'm shocked to see that Marvel are introducing him so early. He seems more like a villain you'd save for Avengers 3. He is obsessed with winning the approval and love of Death herself (yes Death is a being in the MU). His most famous storyline is "The Infinity Gauntlet" in which he uses a gauntlet that can bend space, time and reality to wipe out half the life in the universe in order to impress Death and he ends up fighting The Avengers. The gauntlet can actually be seen in the background of Thor at one point. Without it though, he is still a badass. The guy can take on Thor and Hulk at the same time and win so he's definitely a great opponent for The Avengers

did it transcend its genre though? thats something TDK did (making it look easy) and spiderman 2/X2/few others have come close to doing

not sure if its fair to compare it to Empire or Raiders simply because those were original properties with crazy amounts of depth and cultural significance - hollywood is what it is today because of those movies. the avengers wont change hollywood. batman begins merely changed the superhero genre.

i have no reason to doubt that the avengers was really good, really funny, really exciting, really entertaining, and maybe at some points really dramatic and had its fair share of depth... but where are the stakes? where is the unpredictability? where is the organic yet larger than life premise and execution? the key point there is stakes though. a movie with real stakes is hard to find. scenes with stakes are hard to find. the prologue in TDK - crazy high stakes. the prologue in TDKR - not so much. the former is full of organic tension and suspense, in the latter it is contrived (my biggest fear going into TDKR)

its unfair of me to really ask those questions considering i havent seen it (and probably wont until it comes out on dvd, considering ive seen none of the prequels) but as much as it looks like it could seriously be the most fun, action-packed, setpiece-full movie of all time, i struggle seeing it as anything more than that

this isnt me attacking it.. this is me asking, am i wrong? how can i be convinced to see this when i couldnt sit through the first iron man? (which is supposedly the best of the prequels, and certainly LOOKED the best to me)

im glad you liked it, glad its doing well (anything involving RDJ is worth a look to me), glad they seemed to make a good choice of director, but i just fail to see the appeal. probably my own undoing

Did it transcend it's genre? Depends how you look at it but honestly, it didn't need to. It sure as hell fucking uplifted it though. It's incredibly easy to say that films like The Dark Knight or X2 "transcended" the genre but I don't think their directors wanted to be in the genre in the first place. The Dark Knight was treated as a crime epic from the get go and feels as such. This isn't a negative thing. Far from it as you know I'm a fanboy of that film. The same goes for X2 as that was treated as more traditional sci-fi film.

The Avengers embraced all the elements of the superhero genre and did it with such confidence that in the end, it felt like something more.

My comparisons to Empire and Raiders are only in the sense of movies feeling like more than just a blockbuster and to me The Avengers did feel more than that. The Avengers does indeed have depth thanks to the amazing script and fantastic performances by all involved. The film felt incredibly organic as every decision made by every character felt natural. Everything felt like it had a purpose and nothing felt like it was there for the sake of being there. Each action scene revealed something about the characters and actually moved the plot forward. At point did it feel like a checklist being marked off.

And how did Batman Begins change the superhero genre? Not being a douche, I just don't think it did.

Now I'm currently running on only 3 hours of sleep so if that comes off as a bunch of nonsense and dribble, feel free to ask me more questions.

[Maxwell]

Fucking spoiler tags. I wanna read them so bad.

[Ryan]

I wouldn't read them for the sake of it, but we aren't really giving anything away.

Thanks for the answer Chewy, I don't really know much of the expanded marvel universe

[damjrok]

How has this not been bumped yet?

Get the fuck up and go see this now, fellow Americans. It's fantastic. Whedon did all that was possible with so many characters. I would say that Hawkeye and Black Widow were weak, if only because of their capabilities/limitations. Still a fantastic way to kill two and a half hours.

[Maxwell]

Seeing this after work tonight. Very excited.

[Kenny]

I would've already seen it, but my dad wanted to go with me, so I'm going after he gets home. I just watched Captain America to hold me over.

[Chewy]

If I get bored...I may go see this for a fifth time tonight.

[Kenny]

I want this movie inside me.

Edit: so much that I'm going to watch the other avenger movies instead of Star Wars, on May the 4th.

This post has been edited by Kenny: May 4 2012, 10:38 PM

[megatron]

I'll be seeing this tomorrow afternoon.... Pretty fucking stoked. Looks so awesome and colorful.

[Mrak]

Although i grew up without a single comic book in my hands i liked the Avengers very much. Perfect mix of comedy and action! Can't wait for the next part.

[Maxwell]

Mother of god.

So good. I haven't felt the emotions that I felt during this movie in a long, long time. Almost flawless writing, and the cinematography played out much like comic books do in my mind as I read them. Joss really has outdone himself.

[Kenny]

The guy is the perfect comic book movie director. I wish he would have done all of the movies leading up to the Avengers. I think Paramount should at least give him the Incredible Hulk 2, just because he did such an awesome job with the character in the Avengers.

And after seeing that Amazing Spider-man trailer, I hope Spider-man is in the Avengers 2. And Wolverine. And Beast. And War-Machine. And of course Ant-man and Wasp. When I saw Maria Hill, I was certain she was Janet Van Dyne/Pym. But was let down soon after.

[Chewy]

And after seeing that Amazing Spider-man trailer, I hope Spider-man is in the Avengers 2. And Wolverine. And Beast. And War-Machine. And of course Ant-man and Wasp. When I saw Maria Hill, I was certain she was Janet Van Dyne/Pym. But was let down soon after.

Never going to happen due to all those damn licencing rights (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

War Machine is possible of course, but I doubt we will ever see him as apart of the team. Maybe just a cameo.

At this point, I think Ant-Man and Wasp are the most likely to be included in the team by the time Avengers 2 rolls around but we could also possibly see Dr. Strange (a movie for him is in development now), Black Panther (there have been Easter eggs hinting at Wakanda, Black Panther's home, in the previous movies) or even Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver (Kevin Fiege confirmed that Marvel have the rights, not FOX).

EDIT: Saw this for a fifth time. Still awesome.

This post has been edited by Chewy: May 5 2012, 11:46 PM

[Kyle]

god damn this movie. it's just so good. i was worried it'd be a let down and underwhelming, or Iron Man 2.5, but it's so fucking perfect.

except for:

SPOILER!!!    Click to view.

im pissed they killed Coulson

i really wish spiderman could be in the next one, but who knows what'll happen between now and then.

[Chewy]

SPOILER!!!    Click to view.

There are a lot of rumours around whether Coulson is actually dead or not. During filming, Clark Gregg suggested that he would be in Iron Man 3. Some are suggesting that Nick Fury made it up completely as the audience didn't see or hear the med team "call it". Another theory is that Coulson will come back as The Avenger 'Vision'. Vision is an android that uses the brain waves of a dead hero. Vision's body was built from remains of the original Human Torch android, which incidentally was in Captain America. Personally I think he is dead but you never know.

This post has been edited by Chewy: May 6 2012, 06:59 AM

[Evan]

Thanks a ton for answering those questions!

And I saw this opening day...holy shit, amazing. I was afraid there was a slight possibility this would turn out to be the standard summer blockbuster ala' Bay Transformers style but I was proven wrong as I expected. Loved every minute of it, Hulk stole the show in my opinion. Liked a great many of the jokes and one-liners but you can tell a good bit of it was forced humor incorporated just for the theater reaction. I go on vacation next week, I intend to see this 2-3 times during that time.

[megatron]

Hulk was great. I was glad the movie turned out so funny. I'll probably see it a couple more times.

[Kyle]

$200,300,000 just this weekend

[Kenny]

Never going to happen due to all those damn licencing rights (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

War Machine is possible of course, but I doubt we will ever see him as apart of the team. Maybe just a cameo.

At this point, I think Ant-Man and Wasp are the most likely to be included in the team by the time Avengers 2 rolls around but we could also possibly see Dr. Strange (a movie for him is in development now), Black Panther (there have been Easter eggs hinting at Wakanda, Black Panther's home, in the previous movies) or even Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver (Kevin Fiege confirmed that Marvel have the rights, not FOX).

EDIT: Saw this for a fifth time. Still awesome.

Yeah, I know about the rights. But it doesn't stop me from hoping.