Avengers Movie Thread

[JohnBoman]

 I hope the billion dollar box office this movie will make, can translate into comic shop sales. Unlike the Dark Knight, people seem to want to know more about these characters. I hope Marvel publishing capitalises on this because it could translate into a sales boom.

[Jordan]

also, any reason given why they chose the chitauri rather than kree or skrulls? chitauri are kinda bland as far as aliens go and don't have the instant name recognition the other two have. or is it because they want to save the kree/skrulls for the war?


-mike

Name recognition?  With who!?

[Jordan]

My one nitpicky complaint? I do not like the Cap suit. I totally buy Evans as Steve Rogers now, but that suit makes him look silly. I know fans tend to want the heroes to stay in costume, and wearing a mask when the character does, but when it comes to Cap I would be over the moon if they put Evans in Steve Roger's recent Shield costume. I think that would translate better to screen.

I agree that his costume looked a little off to me.  You know what it was for me?  The suit gave him little skinny boy legs.  Anytime the camera is behind him when he runs, he looks like he has the ass and legs of a twelve year old boy.  i'm just sayin.... 

I would want a costume that looks a little bit more like armor, and I always dug the hard helmet look, with the chin strap.  Love that shit.  I liked that he used a gun at least a little bit.  

[RedMoses]

I am just dumbstruck by how good this movie is. Whedon delivered in every way with this movie, I loved every character in this (especially the Hulk), and honestly I think this may be the best Avengers story I've experienced in years (and I'm not just talkin' Bendis - rarely does a story arc setup so much and deliver in all regards).

I can't wait to go see it again, this time in IMAX (or in IMAX 3D if that's the only option).

I think the final after-credits scene was more than just a fun jab at Bendis dinner table scenes, but also flipping everyone's expectations of an after-credits scene, since b]everyone[/b] now knows they're there.

          

[steve bryant]

Did anyone catch the actor who played the chitauri that Loki was interacting with; the one referred to in the credits as "The Other?"

Alexis Denisof; Wesley on Whedon's Buffy and Angel, Cobie Smulder's occasional guest star on HIMYM (Sandy Rivers) and Mr. Alyson Hannigan (another Whedon alum).

I like seeing the recurring Whedon players crop up in his projects. The cast list for Much Ado About Nothing looks like a mash-up of actors that were in Cabin in the Woods and Avengers (with a little Firefly in there for good measure).

[JimN]

Did anyone catch the actor who played the chitauri that Loki was interacting with; the one referred to in the credits as "The Other?"

Alexis Denisof; Wesley on Whedon's Buffy and Angel, Cobie Smulder's occasional guest star on HIMYM (Sandy Rivers) and Mr. Alyson Hannigan (another Whedon alum).

Cool! I didn't catch that.

I like seeing the recurring Whedon players crop up in his projects. The cast list for Much Ado About Nothing looks like a mash-up of actors that were in Cabin in the Woods and Avengers (with a little Firefly in there for good measure).

As I understand it, after directing the Avengers, he was inspired to create a battle cry for his cast of recurring actors: "Ensemble Assemble!"

I know that was painful but I had to type it anyway.

[Planck length]

is there any other reason why they call the cosmic cube "the tesseract" other than "cosmic cube" sounding silly? (not to me, BTW)

A Tesseract is four-dimensional shape. our world spacial is a three-dimensional space. So is a thing from a higher plane i think is the implication.

[JimN]

I have to say, I really enjoyed this movie. It's always a good sign when you're still thinking (positively) about a film days after seeing it. A few of my favorite moments:

I really liked the scene where the Black Widow manipulated Loki (the ultimate trickster!) into revealing his plan to her. That was sweet and very well done.

When the Hulk tried and failed to pick up Thor's axe and then Thor picked up, turned and delivered an ultra-powerful blow to the Hulk, that was perhaps THE comic book superhero moment of the movie for me. It's the kind of thing that used to blow me away when reading Marvel comics as a kid.

I also loved another Thor/Hulk moment, when they pause after taking out some aliens and then the Hulk blasts Thor off screen with a delayed punch. That drew big laughs and was great fun.

The movie was filled with such moments and that's really where Whedon shined. He managed to carry off a team movie, give every character their time, and keep it cohesive and action-packed. I was telling Steve yesterday: now that Marvel has shown that people will flock to see a cool superhero team movie, and with the Hulk already well-established on-screen, they need to do a Dr. Strange movie, work Valkyrie into the next Thor film and lay the groundwork for a Defenders flick. They could probably do it in 3-5 years! Maybe they'd even include the Headmen (probably too weird for mass audiences) or an elf with a gun.

[JimN]

One more thing:

I really got excited when I realized that hooded figure was about to turn and reveal himself as Thanos. That was ultra-cool for us comics fans, although it also made me think "Forget Avengers 2! I want the next Marvel blockbuster to be an adaptation of Starlin's Warlock, complete with Gamora, Pip the Troll, the Magus and ol' purple jaw himself.

[MikeFarley]

also, any reason given why they chose the chitauri rather than kree or skrulls? chitauri are kinda bland as far as aliens go and don't have the instant name recognition the other two have. or is it because they want to save the kree/skrulls for the war?


-mike

The rights to the name "Skrulls" might be tied up at Fox with the Fantastic Four rights?

[S. Earl]

The Marvel Movie dude, Kevin Feige, said they didn't want to waste the idea of the Skrulls on what was basically cannon fodder. Pretty much sums up my opinion on Mark Millar's work.

[RickV]

This movie was very frustrating at the end of the day much like how I find a majority of the Marvel Studios films. I tend to try my best to separate my comics enjoyment from the merits of this as a standalone film. What it ends up being is something inline with Transformers 3 to me, a film peppered full of great small moments that never come together to form a consistent whole but can still be enjoyable to watch on the big screen with the sound going nuts. Ruffalo was easily my favorite part of the movie and Hiddleston as Loki even if I feel that he was done a disservice in his role.

This movie more than any other I have seen in a very long time has that assembly line sheen that will keep it from being great to me. Also the lack of a credit for a single comic creator is kinda distressing.

[Kenney]

Did anyone catch the actor who played the chitauri that Loki was interacting with; the one referred to in the credits as "The Other?"

Alexis Denisof; Wesley on Whedon's Buffy and Angel, Cobie Smulder's occasional guest star on HIMYM (Sandy Rivers) and Mr. Alyson Hannigan (another Whedon alum).

I like seeing the recurring Whedon players crop up in his projects. The cast list for Much Ado About Nothing looks like a mash-up of actors that were in Cabin in the Woods and Avengers (with a little Firefly in there for good measure).

Yeah, I knew that going in the second time. I'm curious if they were using his voice though, or if he was just doing the live action, with a voice artist doing the talking? It is cool to see Whedon always going back to his troop. That's half the reason why I'm looking forward to seeing Much Ado About Nothing, along with that being one of the Shakespeare plays I actually enjoy without reservation.

When I go see another movie, and Avengers is still playing, I might duck into the theater just to watch the final battle again. I seriously cannot get enough of the "Hulk moments".

The first time I saw the:

"I'm always angry."

bit, I wanted to cheer like I was at a baseball game. That is such a badass moment.

[S. Earl]

This movie was very frustrating at the end of the day much like how I find a majority of the Marvel Studios films. I tend to try my best to separate my comics enjoyment from the merits of this as a standalone film. What it ends up being is something inline with Transformers 3 to me, a film peppered full of great small moments that never come together to form a consistent whole but can still be enjoyable to watch on the big screen with the sound going nuts. Ruffalo was easily my favorite part of the movie and Hiddleston as Loki even if I feel that he was done a disservice in his role.

This movie more than any other I have seen in a very long time has that assembly line sheen that will keep it from being great to me. Also the lack of a credit for a single comic creator is kinda distressing.

Next time actually watch the credits. Joe Simon, Kirby, and others are thanked.

[RickV]

Huh must have just missed the names in that scrawl. What section was it in do you remember?

[S. Earl]

Huh must have just missed the names in that scrawl. What section was it in do you remember?

It was somewhere in the scrawl at the end, don't remember the actual section but it was defenitly there

[RobCVela]

Posted by: JimN

One more thing:

I really got excited when I realized that hooded figure was about to turn and reveal himself as Thanos. That was ultra-cool for us comics fans, although it also made me think "Forget Avengers 2! I want the next Marvel blockbuster to be an adaptation of Starlin's Warlock, complete with Gamora, Pip the Troll, the Magus and ol' purple jaw himself.

Much love and Karma to everything you just wrote. Couldn't agree with you more.

[JimN]

Posted by: JimN

Much love and Karma to everything you just wrote. Couldn't agree with you more.

It would be awesome, wouldn't it?

[Jeppe]

So, I watched the movie last night as promised and, despite my best attempts, I didn't hate it 

It was very enjoyable, and although neither my girlfriend nor I had seen Thor, Captain America, or any of the Hulk movies before, we still completely got The Avengers. For my money Mark Ruffalo stole the show, despite some very strong performances from his fellow cast members, and while there were some cringe-worthy moments of dialogue and thinly-veiled-over-explanation, the interactions between characters generally worked very well

One quibble I have with the movie is that it's really just a showcase for the characters and their interactions, with very little plot or narrative attached. This is of course no surprise, given that it seems to be both the strength of Whedon and an inherent aspect of the franchise itself, but I would hope that the next installment has a slightly more meaty plot.

[Thermite (Iz Wilkison)]

The rights to the name "Skrulls" might be tied up at Fox with the Fantastic Four rights?

I believe that is correct.