‘The Avengers’: What Did You Think?
Marvel’s ultimate superhero movie, The Avengers, is finally in theaters and from all appearance, the film is going to give Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 a run for the biggest opening weekend of all-time. Fan favorite Joss Whedon brought together Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Nick Fury and the Hulk for an epic smorgasbord of comic book superhero action.
Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive with the overall critical community giving The Avengers a strong 93% Rotten Tomatoes score and 69 Metascore. Our own Jordan Winter states that the movie is “nothing short of a two-hour canonical ride across the Marvel Universe which provides everything to satisfy fans, nerds and casual cinema-goers alike.”
But how did the movie fare for you? Did you love it? Hate it? Did it meet your expectations? What were your favorite moments? If you have seen the movie, feel free to discuss below!
Spoiler Warning: If you haven’t seen the movie, this is a warning that there will be plenty of spoilers below and in the comments. Do not proceed!
I’m only going to add to the hype but I loved The Avengers and plan to see it again soon. It has everything that I have wanted to see in a Marvel comic book movie for years: witty humor, sweeping action set-pieces that still manage to be comprehensible and well edited, enough character moments that we can feel the motivations behind all the parties involved and most of all, strong and sure-handed direction which Whedon brightly provided.
I think the most surprising aspect of the movie for me was how funny the movie was despite the fact that it could have been thoroughly dramatic and overly serious (ala The Dark Knight Rises). The Avengers is downright hilarious at times, more so than many straight comedies out there. And the different tones, narrative elements and numerous characters are perfectly balanced, a feat which cannot be understated.
As with all movies, there is always a few issues here and there. While killing off Agent Coulson, a fan favorite, was an emotional blow, it’s slightly disappointing to me that none of the Avengers ever really feel in mortal danger in the epic battle at the end. Another example is how Hulk suddenly is able to control himself and join the final big fight when throughout the movie, we are told and shown that he is completely uncontrollable. In any case, I greatly enjoyed the movie and hope to see it again in the coming weeks.
Overall, I would give it a B+.
Below, you can discuss the movie in depth and talk about anything and everything you want, including spoilers. How much did you like the movie? Was it better or not as good as you expected? Here are other potential topics of discussion:
- Particular plot points and themes
- Most memorable moments of the film
- If you haven’t seen it yet, are you planning to?
We want to know your thoughts so tell us below!
45 Comments
RIP agent Coulson, you will be missed
Joss Whedon did an awesome job writing and directing this. He better be back for the sequel because he really showed what a TRUE geek can do at the helm of a comic book movie.
Indeed, he was starting to come into his own and Whedon kills him off
Joss LOVED doing that with beloved characters. We should have seen it coming. Least he went out a hero.
It was a sad WTF!? moment but yes, he did go out kicking some Asgardian ass.
lol let’s face it, that was like a mosquito bite on Loki’s back.
What I’m most pleased about is that all the characters got to shine and this wasn’t a Iron Man and Co. movie. This didn’t focus on a particular character or two, but appropriately was a movie about the whole of them. I’m also disappointed that Coulson died but it added much needed emotional heft to the movie.
And I love that they are bringing Thanos into the mix next!
Yea, even though some of the characters are way more interesting than others, there was a really nice balance to it. Whedon was really on top of his shit.
I had a lot of fun with this movie but I felt the plot was really lacking. What was Loki’s plan at the end of the day? Why did he let himself be captured only to be held in a glass cage (which he could easily have escaped all along if he wanted to).
Again, this was a really fun time but ultimately, this is just a comic book movie, a well made popcorn movie but a popcorn movie nonetheless
Yea Megan. At the end of the day, it’s only a comic book movie and it’s never going to be more than some inconsequential summer fun. But I can’t deny that it was really fun and way better than I had come to expect
I think I read somewhere (possibly on AM) that Whedon said the movie would be from Captain America’s point of view, how he wakes up in present day and is a fish out of water in our world. While there were tiny bits of that in the movie, this obviously wasn’t from Cap’s POV. What happened to that? I was kind of disappointed because this would have been a big opportunity for some character development, which was quite lacking in this film.
And Loki as the villain was kind of weak. Did you notice he is basically getting his ass kicked by everyone, including Coulson? He is getting tossed around like a rag doll the entire movie and that made him a lot less threatening as the movie went by.
Yea, I wondered about that during the movie as well! Whedon clearly stated that it would be from Captain America’s perspective so I’m not sure what happened. And yea, Loki was kind of a joke by the end but the fact that he still has immense power and basically is immortal still makes him worthy enough of a villain, I thought.
I remember reading that too! So was a bit confused that it clearly wasn’t.
The way I see it, Loki wasn’t so much the villain of the piece, but just an instigator of it. He really didn’t know what he was doing, but he was just lashing out. The only thing he knows how to do as he’s still trying to come to terms with the fact that he’s not his father’s son and his whole “death” when he fell off Asgard.
I loved it!!!! I more or less liked all the Marvel movies so far so it was gratifying to see them converge into this solid universe.
As you said castor, it really balanced action and comedy and a bit of good dramatic scenes. I think the weak point was Black Widow, I get it she is sexy and all but I never really liked her. I much preferred Pepper Potts and was glad to see her in a small role.
Yea, never been a Scar-Jo fan but I didn’t mind her. At the end of the day, any hot looking actress would have done the job equally well so I could have cared less who did it.
And yea, it was nice to see Pepper Potts. It’s like Whedon saw the totally stagnant romantic subplot of Iron Man 2 and decided “Fuck it, I’m going to get those two together myself!!!” Loved it
Hulk Smash! Hulk SMAAAAAAAAASSSHHH!!!!
I loved it. I loved the humour and the action and the people. Hulk was uhmazing and Loki is so wonderfully vicious. Hey Ironman had the really really tiny mortal danger moment- BLESS HULK!
So yes love, lurve, luff, loave- everything for The Avengers
Yea but it’s Iron Man, you knew he would have to survive because there is a third Iron Man movie coming lol. They could have killed off Hawkeye and/or Black Widow (since she is not coming back in Iron Man 3 according to Scar-Jo) and it would have been cool with me. But that’s too much to ask and wouldn’t have fit the movie, tonally.
While I thought the same thing about The Hulk at first, after more thought, I like the direction they took with him. Yeah, sure he was a huge beast who at most times can’t be controlled. But in previous movies, we saw him “calm down” or show affection for people he cared about. While aboard the Hellcarrier, he pretty much smashed his way through everything because he simply didnt want to be there (that, and Black Widow was the reason he was there in the first place, so obviously he would go after her..and Thor started there fight). The Hulk isn’t a creature that isn’t completely without reason, and once he got to New York and saw the aliens with his own eyes, he was able to understand that his own survival depended on teaming up with the others and defeating this new evil.
I don’t know. It was just so sudden. But I loved when he punched Thor out of town after beating the shit out of Loki.
My take is that Bruce Banner finally decided to embrace who he was so he could take control of himself. If you remember, near the end of the movie he says something like “You want to know my secret? I’m always angry.”
So when he chose to turn into the Hulk, he could control himself simply because it was his choice. But you are right castor, this is nothing more than a great throw down superhero movie with characters that we grew up with. I wouldn’t go and say it’s the greatest film I have ever seen…
I liked it, gave it 8/10, though I don’t think it was particularly memorable. Fun and all, but I won’t be seeing it again over and over again as I do with my favorite movies.
Yea, I think it’s worth a second watch at the theater but yea, forgettable popcorn movie like the 99% of comic book movies.
I liked it. A lot. Especially considering how much I’ve been actively downplaying my expectations for it, which got me to a point where I just wanted to see it so I could close the books on it. But the early word got to me and surprised me, and so I went in with much more charitable expectations.
And it blew me away.
I think that taken at face value, it’s an outstanding lark and a great time at the theaters; the spectacle is on an enormous scale, the characters are a lot of fun, and the overall product is optimistic. (Maybe until you get to the mid-credits stinger. I didn’t get it at first, being only something of a comic guy, but even if I’d understood right away I think the whole bit would have been under-cut by the post-credits segment following it.) The Avengers wants to be fun, it wants you to have fun, and it’s not ashamed of it.
But I think beyond that the film underscores exactly how studios need to make blockbusters in order for them to be successful and high in quality. The Avengers doesn’t pull any punches or hold back, apart from in its first 20 or so minutes when things are a bit clunky; outside of that, the film gets its grip on you and never really lets go, whether that’s just through excellently written banter or brilliant action sequences.
More than anything, though, I think The Avengers reminds us why we love and need superheroes and comic book movies in the first place. I’ll admit that I’m getting kind of burned out on them in general, but this is the sort of film that makes me want to watch superheroes kick butt because it’s all about the vitality of heroes and that admiration that we all have for them. It’s a movie about belief. Belief in comic books and nerdy things, sure, but belief nonetheless, and I think it’s very earnest in that regard.
Yea this definitely gave me hope that the comic book movie genre isn’t fading away with the end of Nolan’s Batman trilogy. I was mostly disappointed with the recent ones like Captain America, Thor, Iron Man 2, Spiderman 3 and so on.
I think one important thing that will be taken away from this is that superhero movies need not to take themselves overly seriously. They are meant to be fun and the success of Christopher Nolan and his ultra serious take on Batman kind of lead the entire industry down that path when it’s really not that suited for most franchises.
I think there’s room for “serious” and “non-serious” superhero fare– I mean, Batman doesn’t really lend himself to the sort of fun entertainment represented in The Avengers– but I also think that there’s also a line. Which I also think Nolan crosses at times in his Batman films. But more than anything each project needs to be approached with the right tone according to its story, and that’s part of what makes me nervous about the Webb’s Spider-Man film; it looks to be taking a page right out of Nolan’s playbook with the grim, gritty, dour take on the character. One-liners may not be able to make up for aggressive self-seriousness.
I don’t know if that’s where the genre’s heading– The Amazing Spider-Man is the first major superhero movie to follow Nolan’s mien, after all– but I would be troubled if everyone started making “grim ‘n gritty” superhero flicks. Go with what makes sense for the project.
I have a feeling everyone and their mother’s movie studio is going to want to copy what Marvel and Whedon pulled off together here, and I have a feeling in conjunction with that other feeling that they’re all going to fall flat on their faces in the first attempts.
Also, yeah, I didn’t like any of those movies you mention save for Captain America. The rest are really just kind of limp to outright awful.
It’s a copycat business. It’s a guarantee that studios will push hard to repeat some of the ‘formula’ that made Avengers the success that it currently is. Even though there really isn’t a formula to it, just pure genius from Whedon.
Here’s my full review.
Please, please, please, give Mark Ruffalo the chance to star in a Hulk movie with the right filmmaker and script to work with. Hulk is my new hero! I want a Hulk teddy bear or something. He just brings the kid in me.
BTW, did anyone get hungry for some shawarma? And where’s a good place to get one in Atlanta?
Seems like Hulk is everyone’s big favorite after The Avengers, which makes me glad since he’s the only character out of the bunch who I regularly follow. He does have the best moments here (“puny god”) and I think Ruffalo is genuinely superior in the role to both Norton and Bana, two other actors who I like ENORMOUSLY.
I was so relieved with Ruffalo’s Hulk/Bruce Banner. I’m a fan of Eric Bana’s Hulk, but definitely agree that Ruffalo just surpassed him. Excellent work from him making Bruce this really very nervous, twitchy genius.
Ahaha I read that Google had a huge spike of searches for “shawarma” over the weekend due to the movie.
Saw it today… this was a great movie. It stood true to the Marvel universe, fed the fans with bits of geekdom and each character was given proper screen time. You can tell Whedon and the stars had fun making it, It had story, it had visuals, you can not go wrong with this movie. This is my favorite movie of the year this far.
Glad you had fun Seveo!
It was cool to see Harry Dean Stanton. Made me grin like an idiot.
I liked it. I think my simultaneous interest and disinterest ended up being about right. Didn’t care for the lengthy setup, involved too many threads from previous movies I didn’t understand until a good ways into the film. I though the action was passable, nothing noteworthy. The characters and dialogue is where the film shined. If this was just The Avengers talking for several hours, I would have been totally cool with that.
Also, Loki’s plan was stupid. As if it wasn’t clear that the army he was being loaned wouldn’t be commanded by the powers that be to turn on him and kill him the second after he gained full control of Earth. Loki was an awesome character, loved how he got into The Avengers mind, I just wish his plan wasn’t so poorly thought out.
Yea totally agree James. The banter between the characters is really what made the movie so entertaining.
Loki’s plan was about as ridiculously simplistic as it could get. But thankfully, no one really noticed or cared (until after the movie).
I thought it was excellent, and surprisingly funny. Entertaining. I love Ruffalo’s Hulk!
Everyone loved Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk! Hoepfully, he gets his own movie now
Well the Avengers did assemble so that was a pleasing result.
I can’t believe the movie is titled Avengers Assemble in the UK. Sounds ridiculous!
I was surprised how funny this turned out to be. Was also glad that Hawkeye was not the dufus that the trailers seemed to be portraying him as. bummed we did not see the Avengers Mansion and no Ant-Man or Wasp.
Yea I was afraid he would be totally forgotten given that he had like 30 seconds of screen time prior to this movie. But Whedon did a great job giving him equal screen time as the others.
Well I love it Castor! But I didn’t give it a full 5/5 star as there are a few quibbles I have about it but overall it’s smashingly entertaining.
lol yea, not 5 stars, you only gave it 4.5! ;d
I LOVED it. Everything about it. Sure the army of villains at the end was a bit weak, but I could overlook it because the rest of the film was so strong.
Totally agree – the film was incredibly funny. And it was clever humour. Very clever and very witty.
Joss has done it and as an old school Joss fan, that makes me strangely proud!
The end was like Transformers but with Marvel superheroes instead of lame Shia DimWitwicky and stupid robots
I loved the subtle touches. The way Stark would sweetly antagonize Banner and the banter between them. The way Stark and Rogers bumped chests but when the action began, Captain America gave orders and Iron Man listened without hesitation. Just the way they all interacted. The way Stark praised Captain America when boasting his team roster to Loki. All the fun subtle touches that made this seem like a living breathing Marvel Universe, just like in the comics. Oh yeah, and the Hulk kicked ass as well.
Yea the interaction between the characters was the best and how often can we say that in the movies?
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