Avengers!
Tales from a Burning Notebook
So, I finally saw Avengers.
Which puts me behind about, oh, two thirds of humanity? Heh. But I hate movie theater pricing, and the last few times I went to a theater to see something, I wasn't all that impressed. Figured I'd save the money for the Blu Ray.
Anyway....
Some general comments. Firstly, I was VERY very impressed with the acting. It would be VERY easy for this movie to become the Robert Downey Jr. show, but the cast managed to callance the starpower very well. The director, Joss Whedon, gives everyone moments and the chance to shine, and each actor really seizes the moment. In a movie with as much special effects as this one has, the actors still stand out.
I also now get why Loki, of all people, has gotten so popular. Tom Hiddleston is, one f the best actors in the movie and brings a much greater depth to the character. YES Loki is evil, but... you get subtleties, shades to him that make you sympathise. He's such a damaged character that it's very easy to feel sorry for him.
Second, the special effects. WOW. Just... I knew that Marvel could do good super hero effects once Iron Man and Thor came out. So I thought I was ready for this. But I wasn't. This film was INCREDIBLE. The action scenes just blow you away, both when the characters fight enemies and each other. And none of the special effects look... special effecty, if you know what I mean. Everything just fits together very well.
Third, the story and writing in general is quite good. The film brings in plot bits from the Marvel Studios movies and weaves them together, while allowing the dialog and actors to shine. Not spoiling, but yet the plot is comic book-ish. Macguffin gets stollen, heroes chase villains, villains steal plot devices, heroes stop one villain, villain escapes and so on. What makes all of this work is the writing and dialog.
Joss Whedon managed to keep a lot of humor in Avengers, while still not having nyone go out of character. They banter back and forth, they are witty, but not in a unrealistic way. Funnily it reminds me of some of the classic Avengers writers, Kurt Busiek, Brian Bendis and so on. They are SMART characters who say smart things, and none of it feels off.
I picked up the blu ray version for the extra stuff, and I wasn't disappointed. The Item 47 short was quite enjoyable, and I loved the deleted scenes. The Captain America bit was... almost heart wrenching, really, I wish it had been incorperated into the film, as it helped explain his very serious manner in the rest of the story. The Maria Hill bit was also quite good, and really... justified her being Nick Fury's right hand woman, so to speak.
Wrapping this up, I very much enjoyed Avengers, and am very much looking forward to the sequels. Hopefully Marvel can keep the whole team behind the scenes together, and I was happy to see Joss get a contract to do the sequel AND a SHIELD tv show.....