If there was ever a moment where Marvel had to step up to the plate, put it's money where its mouth is and prove it's worth in cinema . . . it's now. Comic book movies have been around a while, and with reboots, prequels, sequels and lesser known half cocked fair hitting the screens, Marvel have the opportunity to keep the comic book movie relevant. Since stepping into the ring back in 1998 with Blade; Marvel collaborated with studios to bring us some very mixed cinematic experiences that quickly nose dived in their originality and clarity of vision. 2007 saw them release Spiderman 3, Fantastic Four 2 and Ghost Rider, a roster of films I'm sure no one is particular proud of. Sure the wallet watchers of the company saw great returns on spideys last web spinning adventure, but not one person I know can say a good thing about that film. At the same time Marvel had officially become an independent studio funding their own production and teaming up with heavy weight distributors for one large gamble. Iron Man came out in 2008 and so began the four year build up to what many of us have been to see in the last two weeks 'Marvel Avengers Assemble'.
As if someone within the studio was determined not to have it related to the appalling Uma Thurman movie 'The Avengers', the title isn't exactly the most inspired decision. But it is with honesty and with a sense of surprise that the naming of the film was probably one of the only major missteps of this project. Don't get me wrong the build up to this hugely anticipated project has not been total dross, but apart from the first Iron Man and Thor, I haven't found anything particular extraordinary about the related films. They have been made out of necessity in some sense, even though a lot has been done to try and make them interesting beyond this fact. But trust me, disregarding The Incredible Hulk, if you haven't seen any of them, get them seen before going along to the cinema.
I was very impressed with the film, it took all those elements from the ones preceding it and joined them in a coherent and entertaining plot that didn't feel too forced. I was deeply worried that I was about to see 'Iron Man and His Merry Men', I breathed a sigh of relief as Tony Stark gets a lesson in not being such an ass and each character gets more than their chance to shine. Amazingly in this behemoth of a movie the characters not only have a long time to get to know each other but they grow individually as they deal with the task set upon them, which top priority at first is just to get along. The handling of this is done in the best way and caters especially for the fans of the franchise as each of our heroes get a bit hot under the collar and battle it out among themselves. The foe they face is pretty bloody threatening and not at all manageable by even two of our heroes. This comes in the form of the god Loki, brother of Thor, and the army he threatens to reign upon the earth. The only thing that ticked me off is that when it finally came to final grudge, it just seemed like a shooting gallery until one character inevitably has to exact sacrificial justice. However the whole sequence had a great sense of grandeur and looked good even though the CGI wasn't as realistic as say Transformers, but definitely far more intelligent. With the army invasion idea ticked off the box you can only hope that what will inevitably follow won't be more of the same.
Some of the ideas of the film are beyond the ridiculous in terms of technology, if Iron Man 2 or Captain America taught us anything it was to expect nothing short of impossibility in the tech department. You let go of that whole concept and you'll really enjoy the idea of a flying aircraft carrier . . . yeah you read that right. Aside from the main contenders we have Black Widow (we met her in Iron Man 2 ) and Hawkeye. Now Hawkeye has been the butt of a number of jokes as his use is pretty much he's slick with a bow and arrow. Again the art/tech department had fun with this one, and makes him a no doubt formidable opponent from a roof top, even if he raises some eyebrows in the ammo department.
This could have been a seriously damp squib, but with such a fantastic sense of direction you have to tip your cap to the king of modern sci-fi that is Joss Whedon, they got the right person the job, and you can see he's spent that time making sure that not only does everyone get their say in the movie but that he makes up for past failings. Number one is The Hulk, what an incredible turn around, the casting of Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner is nothing short of genius, he brought real depth to the character and his chemistry with Robert Downey Junior really showed up on screen. The rest do great, especially Tom Hiddleston as Loki, a proper panto bad guy with the horned helmet and staff but has this deep monstrosity to him.
It's by no means for everyone, but it's definitely going to be the best thing to see this summer for all the family and anyone who's ever read a comic book.
I was very impressed with the film, it took all those elements from the ones preceding it and joined them in a coherent and entertaining plot that didn't feel too forced. I was deeply worried that I was about to see 'Iron Man and His Merry Men', I breathed a sigh of relief as Tony Stark gets a lesson in not being such an ass and each character gets more than their chance to shine. Amazingly in this behemoth of a movie the characters not only have a long time to get to know each other but they grow individually as they deal with the task set upon them, which top priority at first is just to get along. The handling of this is done in the best way and caters especially for the fans of the franchise as each of our heroes get a bit hot under the collar and battle it out among themselves. The foe they face is pretty bloody threatening and not at all manageable by even two of our heroes. This comes in the form of the god Loki, brother of Thor, and the army he threatens to reign upon the earth. The only thing that ticked me off is that when it finally came to final grudge, it just seemed like a shooting gallery until one character inevitably has to exact sacrificial justice. However the whole sequence had a great sense of grandeur and looked good even though the CGI wasn't as realistic as say Transformers, but definitely far more intelligent. With the army invasion idea ticked off the box you can only hope that what will inevitably follow won't be more of the same.
Some of the ideas of the film are beyond the ridiculous in terms of technology, if Iron Man 2 or Captain America taught us anything it was to expect nothing short of impossibility in the tech department. You let go of that whole concept and you'll really enjoy the idea of a flying aircraft carrier . . . yeah you read that right. Aside from the main contenders we have Black Widow (we met her in Iron Man 2 ) and Hawkeye. Now Hawkeye has been the butt of a number of jokes as his use is pretty much he's slick with a bow and arrow. Again the art/tech department had fun with this one, and makes him a no doubt formidable opponent from a roof top, even if he raises some eyebrows in the ammo department.
This could have been a seriously damp squib, but with such a fantastic sense of direction you have to tip your cap to the king of modern sci-fi that is Joss Whedon, they got the right person the job, and you can see he's spent that time making sure that not only does everyone get their say in the movie but that he makes up for past failings. Number one is The Hulk, what an incredible turn around, the casting of Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner is nothing short of genius, he brought real depth to the character and his chemistry with Robert Downey Junior really showed up on screen. The rest do great, especially Tom Hiddleston as Loki, a proper panto bad guy with the horned helmet and staff but has this deep monstrosity to him.
It's by no means for everyone, but it's definitely going to be the best thing to see this summer for all the family and anyone who's ever read a comic book.
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
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