The Avengers movie

[Punisher]

Saw it last night. I'm so glad it's a hit. I did get a bit of a spoiler though as two ladies were discussing the movie in the Disney Store I was in. They were asking a nerdy co-worker why

Hellboy was shown at the end of the movie.

I can just imagine the look on the faces of the executives at Warner who are wondering why they couldn't get a Justice League movie together. And they might as well

give up on ever considering Darkseid as a main villain for a Justice League movie. Which is ironic as Thanos is a copy of Kirby's Darkseid, yet the general public will now forever think Thanos is the original evil space warlord with a wrinkled chin.

I heard people saying "No way! Apocalypse!", "Skrulls!", and "Darkseid!" as I was leaving the theater, but Hellboy, that's hilarious.

[ImABarRoomHero]

So I'm sure that this was already discussed at some point, but I was talking with my buddy and he had read somewhere that the reason for the lack of Skrulls is due to the fact that the FF reboot holds rights with Fox, and therefore couldn't be used.

Then I was all like....

[karamazov80]

So I'm sure that this was already discussed at some point, but I was talking with my buddy and he had read somewhere that the reason for the lack of Skrulls is due to the fact that the FF reboot holds rights with Fox, and therefore couldn't be used.

Then I was all like....

Your friend sounds like a Lebowski Achiever to me.

[Brad Redfield]

BOOM.

Looks like the movie may have actually made around $210,000,000 this weekend.

[BannersID]

I saw it on Thursday at midnight - loved it. I was riding high the entire next day, it was way too full of awesome. However, after hearing all the praise placed on Mark Ruffalo, I can't help but feel let down. The Hulk was awesome - basically perfect. But Mark Ruffalo? Meh. Not bad. Just not the awesome-sauce everybody made him out to be, y'know? I still prefer Norton. I just can't see Ruffalo holding up 3 or 4 movies by himself. His lines just seemed so... dry. He only started showing real spark those few moments Banner started getting upset.

Honestly the dryness of banner was what I really liked about ruffalos efforts. It smacked loudly of classic Hulk issues with Banner always being in a state of restraint. I liked norton visually as banner but his take on that aspect struck me as being a little to animated for that piece of the Hulk persona. Banner speaking of "Him", etc. just made for a third times a charm for a big screen Banner/Hulk.

Just to expand a little Nortons performance (not his appearance) would have made for a great Reed Richards, the kind of passionate, animated and slightly removed kind of genius reed just strikes me as, Banners persona has always struck me as more of a Sheldon type of genius, awkward, socially inept and add a real OCD thing going on when it comes to controlling his emotions. Just my 2 cents worth.

Edited May 7, 2012 by BannersID

[homestar17]

I saw it on Thurs nite, too. Can I just say that I loved it?? Only bad part was that my theater wasn't a participating one, so it didn't have the special Avengers 3D glasses.

I keep hoping that he's somehow ok. Fury was lying about the trading cards being in his pocket so hopefully he just didn't tell anyone they were able to save him too. I know it's a longshot but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Lurch --

Fury was lying. He's going to be around for the long haul -- Whedon said so in an interview. The subterfuge was done for the sole reason of bringing everyone together.

I'm prolly in the huge minority, but I didn't like Norton at all. He plays too many smarmy, con man, jerk/bad guy types to have made it believable for me. Plus, Banner was supposed to be just a "regular" guy, not the guy Steve Rogers used to be (Norton just seemed waaay too skinny). Personally, I thought Tim Roth would have made a better Banner with Norton being the villain Blonsky. So, because of all this, I actually liked Ruffalo -- he also reminded me of Bixby.

[Jatta Pake]

The studio did a great job keeping expectations low for this movie. I think people expected Thor or Capt America level of movie and got first Iron Man instead.

[Rad]

Saw it yesterday. Was utterly enthralled. My son was so caught up in it that he punched the air when Thor saved Cap from a bunch of [Redacted}

Hulk was fantastic! Had the entire audience killing themselves laughing at a certain encounter with a certain naughty god. And the sucker punch was to die for!

Joss Whedon, made a great film.

[Jeff]

AVENGERS!!!! Loved it.

On that note already taking about Avengers 2 and which NEW avenger(s) would appear in the sequel:

SPOILERS BELOW!! IF YOU HAVEN'T

SEEN THE MOVIE DON'T READ ON!!

My thoughts on an Infinity Gauntlet style storyline:

Seeing Wolverine fight alongside Iron Man would rock. Seeing ANY marvel teams together would rock. But yeah alien invasions are one thing. An evil alien that can alter time and space by wearing a glove with magic stones? A bit hard to swallow when you think about it. Plus, you’d (if staying true to the comic, which they wouldn’t ) have to include Adam Warlock and the infinity watch depicting the search for the gems before Thanos got them. Factor in every demi-god, space entity and Galactus as well trying to take it from him. Not happening.

Unless---they go the Green Lantern route.

Hear me out.

Of all the comic movies I’ve seen- I loved the opening to GL- explaining Oa, the corps, the guardians and the traitor amongst them. Instantly got me excited in a matter of minutes which would have otherwise taken up the first half of the movie or been completely removed and just mentioned in conversation between older members: “It all went south when…..”. I understood parallax, he had motive, he wasn’t just the bad guy who looked creepy and was mean (like the Chitari minions, which after hearing the correct name couldn't get Atari 2600 out of my head.)

IF…….and it’s a BIG IF, Avengers 2 could do something like that in regards to infnity gauntlet it just might work. But it needs more heroes to have that extra punch and threat level. It’s one thing to take down a super team- but multiple teams from one guy? That’s huge. Unfortunately the time between now and A2 ‘s release is unknown, far as I know. Just like how each character was established then brought together is how infinity gauntlet should be handled. Do nods to it here and there in other films, then connect those pieces for the grand reveal.

I’m more interested in seeing who’s the next new member to the team. Thought Wasp would fit both the comic and comic to film slots. Take Janet’s fashion background and work her into doing PR for the Avengers working with Tony Stark and butting heads with Pepper Potts. “Now that you are heroes and in the public eye, you need to capitalize on it. You need me”. Have Stark Industries hire on Hank Pym who hits it off with Janet and by lab accident she becomes the Wasp. But not both Wasp and Giant/Ant Man. “An experimental serum I was working on- Pym Particles was released into your bloodstream….I’m so sorry…..” And as such, Janet having that ego would have to deal with shrinking down to microscopic size becoming ‘small’ in her own right but proving herself as an avenger in battle. So there’s already a nice story arc there if you think about it.

Just my thoughts. Bitch away...

[Shanester]

I saw it Sunday. I was pleased with the film but still am not satisfied with the CG Hulk. Avengers Hulk looked decent but there were occassions where he didn't look quite right. Keep at it digital artists...

[Twisted Two-Face]

Seeing it this weekend, as it turns out. I've waited 19 years...i can wait a week. Looking forward to having to pull my jaw off the nasty theater floor.

[dj87]

In regards to the after credits bit...

After credits bits in these Marvel films tend to set up the next film, and isn't there a Guardians film on the way? Perhaps there is no intention of having the Avengers face him. Why not use your biggest film to date to promote one that might, with all due respect, be something of a hard sell?

Edited May 7, 2012 by dj87

[ImABarRoomHero]

AVENGERS!!!! Loved it.

On that note already taking about Avengers 2 and which NEW avenger(s) would appear in the sequel:

SPOILERS BELOW!! IF YOU HAVEN'T

SEEN THE MOVIE DON'T READ ON!!

My thoughts on an Infinity Gauntlet style storyline:

Seeing Wolverine fight alongside Iron Man would rock. Seeing ANY marvel teams together would rock. But yeah alien invasions are one thing. An evil alien that can alter time and space by wearing a glove with magic stones? A bit hard to swallow when you think about it. Plus, you’d (if staying true to the comic, which they wouldn’t ) have to include Adam Warlock and the infinity watch depicting the search for the gems before Thanos got them. Factor in every demi-god, space entity and Galactus as well trying to take it from him. Not happening.

Unless---they go the Green Lantern route.

Hear me out.

Of all the comic movies I’ve seen- I loved the opening to GL- explaining Oa, the corps, the guardians and the traitor amongst them. Instantly got me excited in a matter of minutes which would have otherwise taken up the first half of the movie or been completely removed and just mentioned in conversation between older members: “It all went south when…..”. I understood parallax, he had motive, he wasn’t just the bad guy who looked creepy and was mean (like the Chitari minions, which after hearing the correct name couldn't get Atari 2600 out of my head.)

IF…….and it’s a BIG IF, Avengers 2 could do something like that in regards to infnity gauntlet it just might work. But it needs more heroes to have that extra punch and threat level. It’s one thing to take down a super team- but multiple teams from one guy? That’s huge. Unfortunately the time between now and A2 ‘s release is unknown, far as I know. Just like how each character was established then brought together is how infinity gauntlet should be handled. Do nods to it here and there in other films, then connect those pieces for the grand reveal.

I’m more interested in seeing who’s the next new member to the team. Thought Wasp would fit both the comic and comic to film slots. Take Janet’s fashion background and work her into doing PR for the Avengers working with Tony Stark and butting heads with Pepper Potts. “Now that you are heroes and in the public eye, you need to capitalize on it. You need me”. Have Stark Industries hire on Hank Pym who hits it off with Janet and by lab accident she becomes the Wasp. But not both Wasp and Giant/Ant Man. “An experimental serum I was working on- Pym Particles was released into your bloodstream….I’m so sorry…..” And as such, Janet having that ego would have to deal with shrinking down to microscopic size becoming ‘small’ in her own right but proving herself as an avenger in battle. So there’s already a nice story arc there if you think about it.

Just my thoughts. Bitch away...

Just remember, the Cosmic Cube is pretty damn powerful as well, and they managed to fit it into the movie without mentioning that it makes wishes come true. I think they'll be fine dumbing down the IG.

In regards to the after credits bit...

After credits bits in these Marvel films tend to set up the next film, and isn't there a Guardians film on the way? Perhaps there is no intention of having the Avengers face him. Why not use your biggest film to date to promote one that might, with all due respect, be something of a hard sell?

Might just be me, but I saw the after credits bit of taking a bit of a break. All the other Marvel movies were used to build up the Avengers....Well, you just saw that film...soo.....TIME FOR SHWARMA!

[MINI_MYTE]

[BannersID]

Avengers looks all set to take down the 3 billion mark as result it sounds like studio execs are all set to push out A2 in as little as 24 months. I see it as a mistake the next sequel to this "franchise" comes out next summer with IM3 and Thor 2. I really think a very big part of the rabid success of Avengers is it had a 5 movie build up and was able to pay off BECAUSE it had those five previous films lead into it. Having another 5 solo flicks happen in the marvel studios universe that all build in the same manner as this first 5 and I think you could sell any storyline you wanted to in A2. Push it as a stand alone and introduce new heroes and bad guys at the same time and a story fit for a team? Sounds like it wall fall flat. Your thoughts? I already see some agreement on both sides

There is currently an open movie slot in the marvel stable for 2014, everyone say it with me,

Avengers Spotlight: Black Widow (I do know the rumor mill speaks of it being either Ant-Man or Dr. Strange)

I'm prolly in the huge minority, but I didn't like Norton at all. He plays too many smarmy, con man, jerk/bad guy types to have made it believable for me. Plus, Banner was supposed to be just a "regular" guy, not the guy Steve Rogers used to be (Norton just seemed waaay too skinny). Personally, I thought Tim Roth would have made a better Banner with Norton being the villain Blonsky. So, because of all this, I actually liked Ruffalo -- he also reminded me of Bixby.

Mr Bixby also nailed the concept of always having your emotions in check, always holding back the monster. I never got the feeling Norton understood that concept. I dunno how "regular" a guy Banner is most artists depict him in a rather frail manner, very thin, almost sickly in a way.

Edited May 8, 2012 by BannersID

[Mirymate]

Saw it Saturday... Wow!

Just Wow!

It was better than I expected, and I had pretty darn high expectations.

Few thoughts-

If you're going to be a superhero, why not have you're own theme music playing for your enterances?

Of course he's not dead.

Thank God the Redacted weren't anyone we knew, (yes they had a familiar name, but that was it) I would have felt cheated to see one of the 616 traditional alien enemies used as backgroundless cannon fodder.

Clint almost took down the whole boat... that was some arrow!!

It's true some people want to court death.

Hulk don't play.

Ruffalo did an excellent job and I would be happy to see him get his own sequel.

Joss Whedon is officially a genius.

Nolan has a tough mountain to climb to beat Marvel this time.

[Lurch77]

This interview with Whedon just shows that he gets how Hulk/Banner should be.

I personally thought the Hulk was the best part of the movie and the real standout. And you kind of touched on this, but in contrast, what do you think it was about the previous Hulk movies that got it wrong?

Whedon: Well, for me, again, you’re dealing with this monster and they treat them like superhero movies, but the problem is, when they do that they’re doing that with a hero who thinks he’s in a monster movie. So what you get is a man whose only obsession is to stop you from paying to see the thing you paid to see. And that’s a real problem! And then you put him in a possibly convenient situations with the worst people in the world every time he turns into the Hulk, and one of the things that was exciting for me was to have him transforming in a dark room next to the Black Widow, because that’s not okay! He’s actually mad at her! And you want to say, yeah, there’s a reason why he doesn’t want to let this out and you want to feel it because you don’t want her to be dead.

I think Ruffalo did a great job acting like he was in constant restraint. He's constantly fidgeting, keeping himself in check and seemed worried for everyone that is around him, up until

he shows up for the battle in the streets and tells his secret that "[he's] always angry.", lets loose his restraints and easily transitions to Hulk.

That's the Hulk/Banner personality that I always loved from the comics and would love to see more of in the movies.

[Mirymate]

Speaking of Hulk

What did the Hulk say after he beat Loki like a rag doll? The audience, myself included were all laughing much to hard and loud to hear, but it looks like Hulk says something.

In other interviews with Whedon and Ruffalo, they both sited Bill Bixby as their Banner template. Clearly, that was Norton's inspiration as well. Ruffalo's performance reminded me more of Bixby than Norton's, but then Ruffalo looks more like Bixby and thus the comparison was easier to draw. To me Norton looked more like 616 Banner than any of the others. I liked Norton's performance, and I liked well enough I was prepared to not like Ruffalo. I was mentally prepared for this to be a Stark Trek situation, and said so publicly. I was wrong, Ruffalo did great and I'd be happy to see him take the part and run with it.

Where Norton's movie went off the rails, in my opinion, was the big climax. The design on the Abomination was weak, it kind looked like the 1610 version but not really and didn't resemble the 616 at all. And the Hulk... well the Hulk looked tired, confused, even sad, three things a creature of rage and fury shouldn't show in a fight. But nothing like the unstopable beast that appeared 20 minutes before ripping through Army vehicles. It looked more like the more threaten Betty is, the stronger Hulk gets more than anything else. And the whole smash the ground, trip Blonsky, chain conveniently hits Blonsky in the head, twice, fight ender was too contrived for even my healthy belief suspending abilities. Instead of a big finish, you got a muddled mess and that colored the rest of the film, IMO.

I also liked the Rosses from the first movie better, but that's neither here nor there.

[youbastards]

His only line, the one you are asking about, was

"Puny God!"

Edited May 8, 2012 by youbastards

[mini nugget]

not sure if it was an intentional but i found it strangely hilarious that tony stark wore a black sabbath shirt for most of the film

[youbastards]

[Jeff]

YOUNG AVENGERS ASSEMBLE! Widow looks oddly like Jessica Alba. Hulk like a young Lou Ferigno. Hawkeye's the bully. It's the mullet.

[Kamsm8]

Wow, I agree. For a second I thought somebody had mistakenly put Invisible Woman there instead of Black Widow. Oh man. It'd be hilarious to see Whedon do a high-school movie about the Avengers. Heh heh heh...

Wait, no. Those things always end terribly.

[Jeff]

Thor's the guy dating your sister.

[MINI_MYTE]

Here's a neat little bit I read on the internet about the second post credits scene.

We all know that the famous shawarma scene was shot the day after the Hollywood premiere. As it turns out, some of you may recall that Chris Evans was sporting a full beard at the premiere that he had grow for an upcoming film role.

So, how is it he shot the shawarma scene with that clean shaven Cap look without shaving his beard. Turns out he was fitted with a prosthetic cheek appliance and told to keep his right fist bunched up on his face (to hide it even further) and make it look as if he was sleeping. Just thought that was a cute story and decided to share.

Edited May 8, 2012 by MINI_MYTE