The Avengers aka Avengers Assemble [WARNING: SPOILERS]

Absolutely brilliant film, watching all the superheroes under one banner was no less than a visual treat, loved it!!
 
Going from the excitement a comic guru friend of mine was in a few days ago, an Ant-man film has been given the go ahead. Personally I think that would be great, I was so annoyed when there was no Ant-man or Wasp cast...Wasp and Hulk are always so brilliant together and the whole nerdy scientist mix of Hulk and Stark in Ant-man is fun, also how much he doesn't care about fighting stuff, he just wants to play with his science projects. Wasp is a favourite of mine so I am desperately hoping that she appears in the movie which will hopefully actually happen. And I do hope they keep her frequent costume changes; there was a time when she had a new outfit every issue, but I suppose there isn't much to do between fighting if you're a multi-billionairess than design new outfits...
 
Still no Avengers thread? Righto, let's have one then.

A few points for discussion perhaps, other than the film itself:

Joss Whedon. Has to be kept on for a sequel.

Cripes I hope not. I'm delighted the film has been both a critical and commercial success, but if he makes another one that'll be at least another 2-3 years away from TV, where he's desperately needed. The SFand fantasy shows made since he's been absent have been just dreadful. I'm hoping this film will persuade the TV execs to allow him to make another show. Even if it gets cancelled after 2 seasons that's still many more hours of programming than for a few feature films, however good.
 
Personally I am just so pleased that Joss is so instrumental in the success of this awesome movie. Trying to wrestle with the egos of 10, in Robert Downey Jr. alone; plus all the other actors. ;) has to have been an enormous undertaking. He Did Good!
 
Already in the works! I believe it is slated for release 2014 or 2015.

I seem to remember reading that Thor 2 will involve fighting Thanos, who was seen at the end of the Avengers.

Defeated in the Aasgardian realms, Thanos will then go after earth again and will be the villain in Avengers 2.
 
Already in the works! I believe it is slated for release 2014 or 2015.

I seem to remember reading that Thor 2 will involve fighting Thanos, who was seen at the end of the Avengers.

Defeated in the Aasgardian realms, Thanos will then go after earth again and will be the villain in Avengers 2.

Sweet!

Can't wait for either of those! I've heard talks of another Captain America as well :)

Although I have to wonder how they're going to work do things without Agent Coulson. While his part wasn't necessarily huge, he was always there...
 
There's another Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and Avengers. As well as Ant Man.

Nothing on a new Hulk though.
 
I am insanely excited about the Antman film...I was angry at Marvel for so long when they booted him and Wasp out of the Avengers...how could you not have two of the founding members, yet have BW? But this has calmed me a little...I really do hope they bring someone decent in to play Wasp, who better be in it else I will write Marvel a very strongly worded note :wink:
On Hulk, I think they will wait a little longer until they think they have the perfect set of conditions for it, considering the last two were horrific to say the least...
 
I saw the film the other day and I'm afraid I have to differ from the enthusiasm for it expressed here. This is my review:

I have rather enjoyed some of the recent superhero movies, particularly the first Iron Man and also Thor, both reviewed on this blog. They both took the time to develop their principal characters plus their relationships with other people, and contained a lot of both dramatic and amusing situations and repartee to balance the action scenes. I haven't seen any of the films about the other superheroes so can't comment on those, but a movie which brought several of them together to defend the Earth against an attack from an alien dimension sounded entertaining and the reviews looked good, so I began watching Avengers Assemble with interest.

Sadly, I was greatly disappointed. Only a few token gestures were made towards the elements which made the other films so enjoyable: there was hardly any character development or humour. Most of the movie consisted of fight scenes which just went on and on interminably. As Scarlett Johansson said of her part in the film: "I've spent so many months training with our stunt team, and fighting all the other actors, it's crazy. I do nothing but fight—all the time." After it was over, the person I saw it with commented "That was for eight year olds. I thought it would never end". I think that was maybe a little harsh and that the age of the target market was possibly as high as twelve, but I took the point. While the CGI was of the spectacularly high standard we expect nowadays, the story was about as subtle as being hit over the head with a rock, over and over. I was recently rather critical of the remake of Total Recall, but that was positively Shakespearean in the quality of the plot, dialogue and acting compared with Avengers Assemble.

There seems to be an increasing tendency for SFF films to split into two groups; the big blockbusters which are aimed at the lowest common denominator and focus almost entirely on spectacle and violence, and the more subtle and complex movies intended to appeal to adults. Some films have managed to combine elements of both quite successfully, as I mentioned at the start, but I have the impression that they are in a dwindling minority. The second Iron Man film, for instance, impressed me a lot less than the first. I note that a sequel to AA is intended, but I have no great hopes for that. Since the original was such a huge box-office success, the sequel will almost certainly just be more of the same. Oh well, I'll just have to pick and choose my films a little more carefully in the future.

(An extract from my SFF blog: http://sciencefictionfantasy.blogspot.co.uk/)
 
Yes, the critique of little character development has been mentioned more than once. My thoughts on the subject remain unchanged. Here is a movie with a large central cast, plus a bushel of secondary characters. There is no one single central character. That is a lot of characters to be kept busy, and a huge juggling act to see that they all get their own moments to shine.

With so many characters, even in a 2 to 2 1/2 hour movie, there isn't time for any in-depth development of individual characters. Or, if one took the time for character development, there would be no time for the action.

And this was supposed to be a summer action film. I believe it is unrealistic, and quite frankly, unfair to expect something of a movie that it was never meant to be. It would be akin to going to a horror film and being frustrated because it wasn't a romance.

Certainly films with complicated characters who learn and grow (or not) are just as important. I would expect to see more of that kind of material in the hero's individual movies.

And no humor? Really??? I realize everyone's sense of humor is distinct. Every time I saw this movie, the crowd was roaring with laughter at appropriately funny moments. Lowest common denominator, definitely! But to say it has no humor, I can't agree with that at all.
 
I believe it is unrealistic, and quite frankly, unfair to expect something of a movie that it was never meant to be. It would be akin to going to a horror film and being frustrated because it wasn't a romance.

Actually I'd say it's more akin to going to a horror film and just finding it full of horrific scenes without any backstory, any time to get to know the characters and build up the suspense, and so on.

The impression I have is that the main supporters of the film grew up with the comic book characters, have seen all of the films about them, and are fully absorbed in the genre. The film seems to have been designed for them. None of that applies to me so I simply judged it on its merits as a fantasy thriller.
 
I just saw this and I'm afraid I have to mostly agree with Anthony. I can certainly see why the fans of the comics loved it being brought to the screen, but it was over long, and did just consist of fight scenes and stunts in quick succession. I do, however, think there were some good lines of dialogue and yes, there was some humour in there. I expect that with a different director it could have been a total and complete mess, rather than just weak, but the plot was very basic. Will I see the sequel? Well maybe download it or rent the DVD.
 
Watched this again today - still a very fun and entertaining film. In fact, perhaps even funnier again when it's easier to pick up some of those little gems of dialogue you missed the last time. :)
 

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