The Avengers (2012)

[DeFuzzed]

First up, Black Widow is one of my favourite Marvel characters.....

THIS is how you do female action heroes.

Also, she worked REALLY well alongside Hawkeye on screen.

I knew practically nothing about her, but now, I'm totally into it and reading up. There are rumours of a movie and SJ mentioned going back to her history, shooting in Russia - and that sounds absolutely fantastic. She's a complex character, complicated back story, and that reminds me so much of my favourites, Gambit from X-Men, so I am happily hoping for the best.

And yes to exploring the Hawkeye element too; buddy movies are great, but complicated love-hate buddy movies are even better. No idea if that's in their past, but they both seem dark enough that that's how they started.

[von Boom]

Got to see this on Saturday. Me and the missus enjoyed it very much. Bruce Banner/Hulk pretty much stole the film.

My only real criticism would be to eliminate the pissing contest between Iron Man and Thor in the middle of the film. They could have spent those minutes developing the story further. The action was good, but was it really necessary?

Maybe my opinion will change after I find the time to see it a second time.

JvB

[Tiplodocus]

I'll add my voice to the chorus of approval.

Came out of this with a huge grin on my face. Rest of Tips' clan enjoyed it too.

Curiously, it took me a while to get into. I think it was when Cap [spoiler]gives Fury the ten bucks [/spoiler] that it all started to click for me but there after I just loved it.

There's a bit with THOR and HULK pummelling one of the big baddies and I thought "This is what knockabout superhero movies should be like!"

(Except of course, being a DC boy, I'd prefer it if it was Supes and Batman. Nolan's Batman movies are a different kettle of ball games but I'll be really disappointed if MAN OF STEEL turns out to be portentious crap).

HULK was great fun but was that really HULK? He seemed a little too "in control" from what I recall.

In contrast, I'm also watching ELEKTRA on telly.  AVENGERS is a good example of how far we've come in a relatively short space of time by having MARVEL much more on board, giving the projects to people who REALLY understand and love the source material  and by NOT BEING AFRAID TO MAKE AN ACTUAL SUPERHERO movie.   

Elektra is a bog standard action movie with a few fantastical elements thrown in. It could have been any body and didn't need to be an ELEKTRA movie. 

And sadly, it has also proved that I can't actually watch ANYTHING as long as it has Jennifer Garner in it.

[Mardroid]

HULK was great fun but was that really HULK? He seemed a little too "in control" from what I recall.

I haven't read a whole lot of Hulk, but I understand there was a run where he gained more control. I do remember reading one collection where he was still filled with rage, but was perfect rational and kept it bottled up. A controlled weapon if you like. It was the one where he returned from a planet with a bunch of super-alien cohorts. (I think it was World-War Hulk, but I'm not sure.) I even read bit of a DC Vs Marvel comic where Hulk basically just seemed to be a permanent green man with Bruce Banner's mind! (I think he lost it when he came up against a certain man in blue stockings, so there's only so far you can push him.)

From the films' continuity point of view, I remember at the end of The Incredible Hulk movie [spoiler]you see Bruce Banner sitting in the Yoga position, and you see his eyes change to green and back, suggesting he was controlling the change. I've yet to see The Avengers, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're expanding on that.[/spoiler]

[HdE]

Elektra is a bog standard action movie with a few fantastical elements thrown in. It could have been any body and didn't need to be an ELEKTRA movie. 

Oy, that movie is bloody awful.

I've lamented for a while what seems to be the situation that superhero / comic book movies seem to either be too heavily geared towards either providing a dumb action movie or something 'gritty' (read: downbeat) in the interests of lending the movie credibility. It's almost as if the studios are faintly embarrassed to be putting this stuff out there. Even some of the supposedly better movies have been stymied by ill-fitting execution.

I think the tone of Avengers Assemble is what makes it work. All out fun, just the right mix of drama, humour and action, and nothing to leave a critical audience rolling their eyes.

[Buttonman]

Hear it's the first film to break $100 million for its second week of release and worldwide it's taken $1 billion. Think the studio may be considering a green light for the sequel.

If Dredd takes 10% of that it'll be free Progs all round!

[Goaty]

Hear it's the first film to break $100 million for its second week of release and worldwide it's taken $1 billion. Think the studio may be considering a green light for the sequel.

If Dredd takes 10% of that it'll be free Progs all round!

That can be good for Dredd, if many people enjoy the film based on comic The Avengers, maybe in chance for Dredd too....?

[JOE SOAP]

I think Dredd & Avengers are like Chalk & Cheese.

[Bat King]

Must concur with Joe, Dredd won't benefit much from Avengers doing well.  Superhero & Big Two films will probably.

[vzzbux]

@ tips.
The Hulk is very much in control of himself its just his anger gets the better of him. A mindless animal he is not. I have been collecting the odd Hulk story here and there and most of the (Ahem) Hero's that pit themselves against him do take the Hulk the wrong way. He is just trying to save the puppy, old woman, trying to get the lady to the hospital etc...




V

[Bat King]

Yeah I've read a lot of Hulk in many forms.  First met him in print in 1979 in Defenders. Hulk talked, reasoned, etc.  Granted his intellect is naive, childlike, petulant and prone to rage.

At times he has more/less control.

Also there are different Hulks, alternate realities, etc, etc, etc.

For one thing remember Marvel have 2 universes with comics running in both.  Marvel Universe & Ultimate Universe - I think this bunch are more commonly considered to be more Ultimate than Marvel (despite 'Marvel's The Avengers' title; that's for mainstream only...).

Loved Defenders... original line-up was Dr Strange, Namor & Hulk; Valkyrie joined shortly in to the run. There's another film Joss can make & Hulk could be the intro character for it!!! Also a few other identifiable movie characters have been in Defenders - such as Angel (Warren Worthington (alter ego)) from X-Men Last Stand, Iceman, Beast... others probably at times I didn't read it...

[Goaty]

First hulk out in the film, it was by Loki's.

And 2nd Hulk out was in control by Banner.

[TordelBack]

While I like my Hulk wilder and more Garboesque, for him to participate in the Avengers at all he has to be in one of his more rational people-person modes - not that that stops him [spoiler]taking the odd swing at his teammates.  I thought they struck a nice balance[/spoiler].

Aside:  it's my son's 6th birthday on Saturday and we've splashed out on Avengers Lego for him, the set that includes Hulk, Loki, Hawkeye and Thor.  Was there ever a better character match for Lego than the Hulk?  I foresee many extreme beatdowns! 

[Judo]

I thought Black Widow was absolutely badass, so competent it blew my competency kink buttons - so there was this huge disconnect with what a lot of others were saying, that she was mere eye candy. Complete opposite to what I saw.

I think its not so much black widow or hawkeye, but more their usefulness in this paticular story against a demi-god. It just seemed a bit like they were forcing reasons why a stealthy russian spy would be needed. for example, [spoiler]it should have been tony stark that talked to the hulk - is tony not looking for him at the end of the first iron man film?[/spoiler]. I can understand they wanted to break up the all male action with a sexy female but i think her character is a poor and unnecessary choice for this storyline. I would rather they had used the time to have more scenes between the other characters. for example a scene with tony stark making fun of captain america for being stupid  'Do you actually think the fact that you know how to program a computer makes you more of a human being than me? That I'm out of touch because I don't know what you know? I know what freedom is. I know what it feels like to fight for it and I know what it costs to have it. You know compromise.'

not enough big dialogue scenes for my liking and a couple weak character arcs but all the action is EPIC and more than makes up for any and all short comings x

[Frank]

"We're not a team, we're a time bomb".

S.H.I.E.L.D HQ is more pastoral than I remember and Fury looks cool as a black dude, but I'm not sure how well former Soviet Block citizen Natasha Romanoff works as a dumpy blonde. This is one desperate reboot too far, yet we're guaranteed to see exactly the same shit again next year with a slightly different line-up and even greater levels of carnage.

"How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?"