(no subject)
This is possibly vapid, but I'm genuinely curious...
See, I like action movies. Not universally, but every now and again, I understand the urge to unplug my brain and watch robots beat the shit out of each other for a couple of hours. So sometimes I'll be watching the arthouse independent film (with subtitles), but sometimes I'll watch Independence Day. I know. Don't judge.
I also like comic books. I wasn't obsessive as a kid, mostly because I couldn't afford it (comics were expensive in the 90's, yo), but I've been a general Marvel fan for many years. So the new Marvel/Disney superhero movie craze is a boat I'm more or less on. Having said that, I was always more of an X-Men gal than an Avengers one (although the third X-Man movie never happened), so I've been hit-or-miss on watching every single film -- saw the first Iron Man, Thor, and Avengers in the theater, but that's about it.
But I've decided to wait to go see the next Avengers until the crowds are less... horrible? I saw the first Avengers during its opening weekend, but most of the people in the audience were Fans. As in, people who are there to watch the movie, turn their damn phones off, have no small children with them, and not treat it like it's a fucking mealtime. When I overheard one of my most annoying students talk about how he was going to see it on opening day with his two younger siblings and how awesome it was going to be, I decided to wait. No problem.
Also, it's a good chance to catch up on the thirty bajillion Marvel movies I haven't seen (and possibly watch the first season of the Agents of SHIELD). Because -- and here's my point -- apparently, they've decided to write the script assuming that the audience has already done this.
So here's my question (well... more than one, I think): is it okay that Marvel/Disney has decided that we have to have seen all the Iron Mans, both Thors and Captain Americas to be able to follow the second Avengers movie? I know that fandom would and has anyway, but what about the casual viewer? And this is going to continue, because apparently they're building up for some major comic!plot elements (trying not to spoil), tying all the threads together even more closely.
I'm... not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it's kind of like getting to watch a TV show with really good production values and two-hour-long episodes. But frankly, my inner feminist is starting to have misgivings about the lack of women -- I'll give you that Maria Hill and the Black Widow are absolutely kickass, not having seen Age of Ultron yet, but I'm honestly upset about what they did to Jane's character in the second Thor movie, and I remain torn about Pepper Potts because while I enjoyed her moment at the end of Iron Man 3, it's tough for me to get past the fact that she's played by Goop. Bitchy, I know, but she's just not a good enough actress for me to forget that it's Gwyneth Paltrow up there, rolling her eyes at the camera.
So, anyone feel as ambiguous as I do? Think I'll get over myself when they finally make that damn Black Widow movie they've been teasing us with for years? I just don't know, people.
PS: I really, really wish they'd make Hellboy 3. They left us in kind of an awkward place with that. But that's a whole other thing.
See, I like action movies. Not universally, but every now and again, I understand the urge to unplug my brain and watch robots beat the shit out of each other for a couple of hours. So sometimes I'll be watching the arthouse independent film (with subtitles), but sometimes I'll watch Independence Day. I know. Don't judge.
I also like comic books. I wasn't obsessive as a kid, mostly because I couldn't afford it (comics were expensive in the 90's, yo), but I've been a general Marvel fan for many years. So the new Marvel/Disney superhero movie craze is a boat I'm more or less on. Having said that, I was always more of an X-Men gal than an Avengers one (although the third X-Man movie never happened), so I've been hit-or-miss on watching every single film -- saw the first Iron Man, Thor, and Avengers in the theater, but that's about it.
But I've decided to wait to go see the next Avengers until the crowds are less... horrible? I saw the first Avengers during its opening weekend, but most of the people in the audience were Fans. As in, people who are there to watch the movie, turn their damn phones off, have no small children with them, and not treat it like it's a fucking mealtime. When I overheard one of my most annoying students talk about how he was going to see it on opening day with his two younger siblings and how awesome it was going to be, I decided to wait. No problem.
Also, it's a good chance to catch up on the thirty bajillion Marvel movies I haven't seen (and possibly watch the first season of the Agents of SHIELD). Because -- and here's my point -- apparently, they've decided to write the script assuming that the audience has already done this.
So here's my question (well... more than one, I think): is it okay that Marvel/Disney has decided that we have to have seen all the Iron Mans, both Thors and Captain Americas to be able to follow the second Avengers movie? I know that fandom would and has anyway, but what about the casual viewer? And this is going to continue, because apparently they're building up for some major comic!plot elements (trying not to spoil), tying all the threads together even more closely.
I'm... not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it's kind of like getting to watch a TV show with really good production values and two-hour-long episodes. But frankly, my inner feminist is starting to have misgivings about the lack of women -- I'll give you that Maria Hill and the Black Widow are absolutely kickass, not having seen Age of Ultron yet, but I'm honestly upset about what they did to Jane's character in the second Thor movie, and I remain torn about Pepper Potts because while I enjoyed her moment at the end of Iron Man 3, it's tough for me to get past the fact that she's played by Goop. Bitchy, I know, but she's just not a good enough actress for me to forget that it's Gwyneth Paltrow up there, rolling her eyes at the camera.
So, anyone feel as ambiguous as I do? Think I'll get over myself when they finally make that damn Black Widow movie they've been teasing us with for years? I just don't know, people.
PS: I really, really wish they'd make Hellboy 3. They left us in kind of an awkward place with that. But that's a whole other thing.