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Avengers!

Posted on Friday, May 4th, 2012

Dave!HOLY CRAP WHAT A FRICKIN' AWESOME MOVIE!!

I don't want to spoil it for anybody, so I'm not going to give away anything. Except to say that The Avengers is a comic book lover's dream that even people who don't care for comic books will enjoy.

Which is not to say it's perfect. There are definitely some moments where it dragged a bit. But, unlike the crappy trio of original X-Men films which wimped out in every way possible, The Avengers attempted to show the brutal reality of what it would be like when a super-hero team come to life. And it totally worked...

The Avengers Movie Poster

Writer/Director Joss Whedon just eclipsed every other comic book super-hero film ever made. And I loved, loved, loved it.

With one small exception.

Which I can't talk about without RUINING THE FILM FOR ANYBODY WHO HASN'T SEEN IT.

So absolutely DO NOT read the extended entry until you've seen the movie. Seriously, you just can't go any further if you haven't seen the film. Even if that's going to be on DVD two years from now. Which it shouldn't be, because this movie is screaming to be seen on the big screen.

But before we get to that, time to update my whole "Y2K Super-Hero Comic Book Renaissance" scorecard as follows...

The Avengers... A+
Batman Begins... A
Batman Dark Knight... A+
Blade... B
Blade 2... B
Blade Trinity... B-
Captain America... A+
Catwoman... F
Daredevil... B-
Daredevil (Director's Cut)... B+
Elektra... D
Fantastic Four... C
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer... D
Ghost Rider... C
Green Hornet... D
Green Lantern... C+
Hellboy... A
Hellboy 2: Golden Army... A
Hulk... C-
Incredible Hulk... B
The Incredibles... A+
Iron Man... A+
Iron Man 2... A
Jonah Hex... F
Kick-Ass... B+
Punisher... C+
Punisher War Zone... C
Spider-Man... B+
Spider-Man 2... A
Spider-Man 3... D-
Superman Returns... C+
Thor... B+
Watchmen... B
X-Men... C
X-Men 2: United... D
X-Men 3: Last Stand... F-
X-Men Origins: Wolverine... D
X-Men: First Class... B

Spoiler Zone!

Look, I know how it is. If you haven't seen the film yet, you're probably thinking "I hate comic books so I'm never going to see this film. I don't care if it's spoiled." But you're wrong. You WILL see this film because the hype will be so huge that you'll have no choice but to see it. And it is SO worth seeing. Seriously, The Avengers is massively entertaining and everything you want in a film. So do yourself a favor and don't read any further.

Spoiler Zone!

DUDE! I'm not joking here! If you haven't seen the film, for God's sake, turn back now! Because if you go any further, you'll just end up hating me when you eventually see it and I love you too much to have you hate me. Just go away and come back after you've seen The Avengers. Please.

Okay. Now that you've been warned how your life will be ruined if you read this before seeing the film...

Joss Whedon may very well be one of the greatest writers ever to pen a story for film and television, but he's also as predictable as a clock... he kills characters to provide emotional impact to his stories. And usually it's a beloved character so the impact is maximized. The minute I heard he was going to be taking on The Avengers, the first thing that popped into my mind was "Thank heavens! This is going to be awesome!" The second? "Who's he going to kill?"

The answer was pretty easy to guess. It would be somebody all the movie's characters knew and all of them cared about... which meant Agent Coulson, who appeared in every previous film (except Captain America, which I'll get to in a moment). Played by actor Clark Gregg, Phil Coulson was a small role that always made a big impact... both on other characters and, most importantly, on the audience. I knew he was a dead man before a single frame of the movie had been shot.

And the minute Coulson was shown being all buddy-buddy with Tony Stark and Pepper Potts at the beginning of the film, I was sure I was right. The second he started with the geeky hero worship of Captain America (the only film he didn't appear in prior to The Avengers), I was positive I was right. Coulson's love of super-heroes and Captain America was just the manipulative linchpin Whedon needed.

So the big shocker in the middle of the film wasn't even remotely shocking. At least not to me. And probably not to every other Whedon fan on earth. Which is why Whedon shouldn't have used his signature story-crutch... It would has been more shocking if Coulson hadn't died.

And yet... Coulson himself explains why he had to die to give the team a reason to pull together, and it completely and totally worked.

Especially when Thanos made his cameo appearance during the credits... how much are we betting that insane Death-worshipping Thanos resurrects Coulson as a tool against Earth's Mightiest Heroes in The Avengers 2? This is the comic books, after all.

And in order to be a GOOD comic book super-hero team-up film, The Avengers needed to do two things... 1) Give each of the heroes an important individual role so they can act as a true team when they finally get together. 2) Have the heroes battle each other when they first meet. And holy shit did Whedon make it happen. But what elevated the film past "good" and made it truly great was the humor. This film was damn funny. The scene where The Hulk meets a very arrogant Loki will go down in cinematic history as one of the funniest moments ever seen in film.

But you knew that because you saw the movie, right?

Comments

  1. Zuke says:

    This movie is going to make everyone sound like a walking cliche, and there’s no way to get around it.
    “Ruffalo was absolutely incredible.”
    “Best comic book movie ever!”
    “So good, even non-geeks will like it.”
    “The humor was as good as the action.”
    And the one I fall into: “I’m not a fan of the Hulk normally, but I was cheering him every scene.”

    Also, the Easter Egg at the end of the credits is such an unexpected punchline from such a subtle setup in the film I couldn’t help but laugh my head off. It was also a nice contrast from every other superhero film’s “Wait Till After The Credits” moment.

  2. Whit says:

    Did you stick around until all of the credits ended? I saw the bit after the first round of credits, but I’ve read that there is a second clip at the very, very, very end, which means I may have to go see it a third time. I’m okay with that.

    • Dave2 says:

      I did. It was not critical like the first bit… but truly an awesome moment, 🙂

      • Seals says:

        Well shit. I saw the first one but didn’t stick around for the second. We were just talking about seeing it again anyway. Hmmmm.

  3. Poppy says:

    SLOW to start, HILARIOUS at end. The scene with Hulk and Loki was my favorite. I laughed so much. Pepper was the only boring character.

  4. The Mrs. & I saw it twice so far. Midnight showing Thursday (Friday morning) and the 3D version today.

    The 3D version was sparely attended so I was able to hear all the dialogue I missed in a theater packed with kids violating curfew.

  5. BosGuy says:

    Based on that list of movies, I’ll defer to you as an expert on such topics. Maybe I’ll go check out this film.

  6. kilax says:

    I was not planning on seeing it but really liked it! And that very very last scene after all the credits was too funny. And the Hulk/Loki scene!!! Everyone in the theater was laughing so hard at that. And when he randomly punched Thor.

    I was sad they killed Coulson. And the bit about the cards almost made me tear up, lol.

  7. I was worried that all of the comedy would be spoiled by the trailers, that the action would be forced, and that the story line would be lacking a la Ironman 2. The excitement I read on Facebook from all of my friends who had seen it on Friday made it a must see on Saturday. I’m trying to clear my schedule so I can see it again- and find somebody to go with me so it won’t be so weird that I’m seeing it again.

  8. Avitable says:

    I enjoyed it. I didn’t like it quite as much as you did, but I want to go see it again. I think that the score was so miserable and uninspiring that the beginning act almost felt kind of boring. I thought that Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury is actually kind of one-note and maybe shouldn’t be a main character in any future movies. And, unfortunately, I saw it in 3D, which made all of the action sets seem tiny and less impressive. I give it a B+.

  9. the muskrat says:

    I always sit til the end of credits. Have since high school. Glad I did for this movie Friday night!

    I liked it a lot, and I’m one of those “people who don’t care for comic books” even!

  10. Rebecca says:

    I’m so bummed that I walked out before the credits were over. another reason to see the movie again!!

  11. i was able to go friday night, thankfully not to 3d. most movies in 3d aren’t helped by the effects and usually give me a headache, but eager 12 year old boys don’t quite get that. since the 3d showing was sold out, i got my way and saw a damn fine movie.

    sadly, we didn’t stick around until after all the credit rolled. dammit! good news is my friend who doesn’t go to movies asked me to go with her husband. yaaaaaaaaaaay, 2nd viewing!

    best part for me was at the movie’s end when the entire theater clapped enthusiastically. that moment always makes my heart soar.

  12. also, since i have never read comic books i didn’t know agent coulson (even called him agent coleson last night on twitter), but i loved him in the avengers. watching the first iron man last night i was all “HOLY SHIT, AGENT COLESON!” since i totally forgot it was the same character.
    and i really, really hate that he died in the avengers. i’m going to say it is because of the fantastic excuse you gave, but it really is just because he was such a cool, likeable character in the avengers.

  13. I went and saw it yesterday with the Husbear. I’m not a fan of going to the theater, but he managed to drag me.

    And I’m glad he did.

    Of all the comic heroes referenced in the movie, “Iron Man” is the only one I had seen previously, and only the first one. But the Avengers movie actually worked for me NOT having seen any of the others. And I think that is a testament to Joss Whedon’s skills.

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