Blog Archives
Review: The Avengers
The Avengers was phenomenal. It was amazing. It was deliriously wicked. It was the perfect blend of mind-blowing action and heart-tugging giddiness. I could wear out the Thesaurus with the ways in which The Avengers movie lived up to everything I had hoped, and shined in ways I could not have imagined. We comic book geeks have been waiting for this movie our entire lives (and more specifically, since 2008), and Marvel Comics and director Joss Whedon have delivered a superhero extravaganza!
The new kings and queen of Hollywood
The Avengers is not only now the definitive superhero movie, it has raised the bar for all Hollywood blockbusters that will ever be made from this day forth.
Rating: 5/5: Great!
With The Avengers, this grand, long-gestating experiment by the Marvel movie people has come to glorious fruition. I always had faith that they could pull it off. Iron Man in 2008 was a brilliant film, and when Samuel L. Jackson appeared at the very end and teased ‘The Avengers Initiative’, I knew there was hope. Then The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, all came along over the past few years, each one exciting and highly entertaining. I’m a fan of all of these films. But could Marvel really pull off The Avengers? Could they not only bring all of these major characters together into one film, but have it make sense and live up to the overwhelming hype?
I should be ashamed for even including those questions in my review. The answer is so incredibly ‘HELLS YES!!’ that I’m almost afraid of having my Internet License revoked.
Every Avenger gets a moment (or more) to shine. The humor is legitimately funny and delightful. The fights and action scenes are clear and exciting, with no blurring or over-editing. The Avengers are people first, action stars second; with a lot of character-based drama. Loki as the villain is far better here than he was in Thor, and easily carries the antagonist role. The climax was sufficiently chilling and climactic.
And the Hulk absolutely steals the show, smashing his way into our hearts. I could not be more pleased with this movie.
Some **SPOILERS** to follow.
More Hulk Movies? Yes, Please!
Despite what the world at large may think, I actually really enjoyed both Incredible Hulk movies so far. I liked Ang Lee’s Hulk in 2003, and then Louis Leterrier’s The Incredible Hulk in 2008. Only the latter is officially part of The Avengers franchise. Still, they were both good movies, in my opinion.
Well word has it that Mark Ruffalo as the Incredible Hulk absolutely steals the show in The Avengers! Which has prompted one of the Marvel execs to tell Forbes magazine that a new Hulk movie may be in the works if his popularity takes off.
An oddly contemplative Hulk
The exec is Paul Gitter, who is in charge of merchandising, which is a pretty big gig. Though personally, I haven’t bought a single Avengers toy or action figure. They’re all kind of lame. Plus there haven’t been any good Hulk toys. Most toy companies have done away with the standard action figures. Now all superhero action figures are the size of the old G.I.Joes, which just doesn’t interest me. I want me a badass Incredible Hulk action figure, dammit!
Anyway, here’s what Gitter had to say about the Hulk:
Marvel executives have been “pleasantly surprised by the phenomenal response” to this green superhero, and expect this fan affinity to further strengthen once the movie opens. “His sales are up in a major way. We repositioned him from where he was always misunderstood to now depicting him in a more heroic and aspirational manner,” says Gitter. If Hulk’s successful turnaround continues, Gitter says Marvel “will spin him off to a stand-alone program next year,” supported by a big budget franchise movie in 2015.
The stand-alone program he mentions is the TV show being produced for ABC by Guilermo del Toro, which could be awesome. Having a TV show fit into The Avengers movie universe would be incredibly badass. But a new Hulk movie in 2015 would also be good. Mark Ruffalo has also said that he’s sign to a 6-picture deal with Marvel. That’s a lot of movies.
As excited as I am for The Avengers this Friday, I’m especially excited to see the Hulk in action. He’s the character I’m looking forward to most.
This is How You Sell The Avengers Movie
We’ve already had two Incredible Hulk movies (and I liked them both), but only with The Avengers do we finally get a scene like what happens in this TV commercial. My God, it makes my insides quiver with nerdy excitement. Every single The Avengers commercial I have seen has so far been awesome. But this one takes the freakin’ cake!
Henchman-4-Hire 