Avengers Assemble!

[B_Metal]

My kids came home re-enacting all of Hulks scenes. Watching the little one mimick throwing Loki around was great entertainment.

[Matt]

I'm already making plans to see this again next week with my brothers. Can't fucking wait.

[B_Metal]

Lucas our 6 year old trying to explain Hulk smacking the shit out of Thor while cracking up worse than Fallon ever did on SNL makes any nitpicking impossible for me.

[Timothy225]

We had a packed house when we went, including a few kids wearing Avengers masks and shirts. Audience was great - no talking during the flick, everyone just had a blast.

Very few stayed through the credits, however, so they missed both reveals (FOOLS!). The first reveal has me demanding an Avengers 2 NOW.

Really, really liked the fact that every character had their moment or two to shine in their arcs, a very difficult feat when you're working with an ensemble of characters like this. Whereas the X-Men flicks seem to always center around Wolverine, everybody in this one got an equal share of face time. I'd read some folks saying this was more of an Iron Man flick, but it didn't seem that way to me. Cap had some really good scenes, especially when he took charge during the invasion - that moment fucking nailed how Cap in the comics always acts with the team.

Thor's arc was great, too, especially his scenes with Loki. Hemsworth showed off some decent acting chops in this.

Donwey's Tony Stark and Ruffalo's Banner had a nice dynamic going, one I'd love to see continue in the next Iron Man or Hulk flick (c'mon Marvel Team-Up movie!). Shit, and Rob will hate me for this, but I also dug on Hawkeye and Black Widow's arcs as well. Not 100% sure either character could carry a solo flick, but I wouldn't mind seeing the two of them in a spin-off flick together (maybe a SHIELD flick? I'd kill at this point to see a Samuel L. Jackson driven SHIELD vs. Hydra or AIM film or two. It'd be a terrific excuse to bring in MODOK into the film universe).

MVP was the Hulk, without question. When he showed up the first time, damn. You felt the movie jump to the next level, and his reappearance during the invasion made the third act sing. Very cool seeing the Hulk just go full bore in the smashing department. His scene with Loki was fucking terrific - the whole audience was CHEERING when Hulk beat the ever-loving shit out of him. Very ape-like moves to the Hulk this go round, too, which was a neat idea to run with.

Whedon and crew knocked this out of the park, and I hope they're all back for the sequel.

[FilmNerdJamie]

This is the Ultimate Comic-Book movie. In that it feels like I was watching one brought to life (similar to Dick Tracy). When characters made references to events from earlier Marvel Studios films, I thought I was going to look up and see a bar at top left of the screen saying, "See Captain America: The First Avenger" when Tony referred to how his dad used to talk about working with Cap in the 40s.

The character dynamics were dead on (i.e. Cap telling Black Widow, "There's only one God, Ma am, and I don't think He dresses like that!"), the quips/humor was at the right balance (Not too much; immediate pay-off to dialogue minutes if not seconds prior) and the cast was aces.

But motherfucker is there no pace and there's too much action, no time to breath (That is the influence of Michael Bay and Transformers for ya). The set-piece on the jet-carrier had to have been 30-40 minutes and by the time we finally got to the big jalapeno (the alien invasion taking over New York) I was just...bored. Save for Hulk v. Loki; future YouTube sensation.

One of the great comic films? No. I get why people are eating this up. This has never been done before and that is exciting to experience with people. But I already sense the flaws will leak through the cracks once the initial mass hysteria/OMG hugeness dies down. Not a flick to hold-up in repeat viewing.

[Howard]

Howard's already pooping on it. I get that it's not a perfect movie but WTF GUISE?!?

I most assuredly did *not* poop on it. But I wasn't all like ZOMG BEST MOVIE EVAR either. It's a good movie with some lazy story telling. Not the great movie that (most) everyone is making it out to be.

[Matt]

200 million opening weekend. My God.

Also, great to see you again, Howard.

[B_Metal]

I most assuredly did *not* poop on it. But I wasn't all like ZOMG BEST MOVIE EVAR either. It's a good movie with some lazy story telling. Not the great movie that (most) everyone is making it out to be.

He said whilst squatted over the reels. Seriously Howard, it's cool I've just been messing with you. I'll not mention it again.

[BMichaelKrol]

This is the Ultimate Comic-Book movie. In that it feels like I was watching one brought to life (similar to Dick Tracy). When characters made references to events from earlier Marvel Studios films, I thought I was going to look up and see a bar at top left of the screen saying, "See Captain America: The First Avenger" when Tony referred to how his dad used to talk about working with Cap in the 40s.

The character dynamics were dead on (i.e. Cap telling Black Widow, "There's only one God, Ma am, and I don't think He dresses like that!"), the quips/humor was at the right balance (Not too much; immediate pay-off to dialogue minutes if not seconds prior) and the cast was aces.

But motherfucker is there no pace and there's too much action, no time to breath (That is the influence of Michael Bay and Transformers for ya). The set-piece on the jet-carrier had to have been 30-40 minutes and by the time we finally got to the big jalapeno (the alien invasion taking over New York) I was just...bored. Save for Hulk v. Loki; future YouTube sensation.

One of the great comic films? No. I get why people are eating this up. This has never been done before and that is exciting to experience with people. But I already sense the flaws will leak through the cracks once the initial mass hysteria/OMG hugeness dies down. Not a flick to hold-up in repeat viewing.

I think there's some merit to these comments. For instance, I thought the Iron Man/Thor fight was sort of dull, but I get why it was in there and from a narrative perspective it makes sense. Which is a refreshing change from most big action films.

As a film, I think Avengers only works in the big, blockbuster opening night spectacle kind of space. Which isn't a bad thing. It's a good movie, and I enjoyed it. However, while not perfect, I think this is probably one of the best made superhero movies. And it's got a lot of Scarlet Johansson's ass. So there's that.

[IggytheBorg]

We had a packed house when we went, including a few kids wearing Avengers masks and shirts. Audience was great - no talking during the flick, everyone just had a blast.

Very few stayed through the credits, however, so they missed both reveals (FOOLS!). The first reveal has me demanding an Avengers 2 NOW.

Really, really liked the fact that every character had their moment or two to shine in their arcs, a very difficult feat when you're working with an ensemble of characters like this. Whereas the X-Men flicks seem to always center around Wolverine, everybody in this one got an equal share of face time. I'd read some folks saying this was more of an Iron Man flick, but it didn't seem that way to me. Cap had some really good scenes, especially when he took charge during the invasion - that moment fucking nailed how Cap in the comics always acts with the team.

Thor's arc was great, too, especially his scenes with Loki. Hemsworth showed off some decent acting chops in this.

Donwey's Tony Stark and Ruffalo's Banner had a nice dynamic going, one I'd love to see continue in the next Iron Man or Hulk flick (c'mon Marvel Team-Up movie!). Shit, and Rob will hate me for this, but I also dug on Hawkeye and Black Widow's arcs as well. Not 100% sure either character could carry a solo flick, but I wouldn't mind seeing the two of them in a spin-off flick together (maybe a SHIELD flick? I'd kill at this point to see a Samuel L. Jackson driven SHIELD vs. Hydra or AIM film or two. It'd be a terrific excuse to bring in MODOK into the film universe).

MVP was the Hulk, without question. When he showed up the first time, damn. You felt the movie jump to the next level, and his reappearance during the invasion made the third act sing. Very cool seeing the Hulk just go full bore in the smashing department. His scene with Loki was fucking terrific - the whole audience was CHEERING when Hulk beat the ever-loving shit out of him. Very ape-like moves to the Hulk this go round, too, which was a neat idea to run with.

Whedon and crew knocked this out of the park, and I hope they're all back for the sequel.

This pretty much says all of the things. Saw this in 2D because the 3D screentimes didn't work for us, and I can't imagine what this would be like to see in 3D. I'm going to take my 5 year old to see it soon, and I will definitely NOT be tsaking HIM to see it in 3D. I think the Hulk in 3D might tend to freak him out. But I seriously think I'd consider seeing it yet again just to see it in 3D. I haven't seen a film in the theatres 3 times since the 1st Star Wars movie (Ep. IV, not Phantome Menace; what am I, an idiot?).

I have long held that Spider Man was the best comic adaptation to date, but this one is a SERIOUS fucking contender. And I know some of you are thinking "Dark Knight? Hellooooo!" Don't get me wrong, that was a great, great movie, and it captured the darkness of the Batman perfectly. But to ME, superhero comics were a childhood joy in the 70's and 80's long before they became a grown up one from the late 80's forward, with the advent of Watchmen and the like. As such, a sense of fun, action and adventure more than dark brooding realism strikes more of a chord with me. I don't own a copy of the Dark Knight; much as I liked it, it just never occurred to me to put it in my collection. But I do own the Spider Man and Iron Man flicks, and will probably buy Captain America too. And, serious as the subject matter was, Watchmen managed at the same time to maintain an air of fun, so I'll get around to buying that one one of these days (was holding out to see if they came out w/ an uber deleted scenes Director's Cut). And you can be damned sure I'll be buying The Avengers when it comes out, too. It was just FUN. It literally transported me to another time, and made me feel like that six year old kid that had all the Mego superhero 8" action figures and two big plastic shopping bags full of 1970's superhero* comic books in his bedroom closet again. Only the BEST movies can do that, IMHO.

* OK, I had a lot of horror comics, too. This is ME we're talking about. But back then, for me, superheroes ruled. And for the time being at least, thanks to this film, they do again. For more people than just me. And THAT my friends, is a good, good thing.

[Martin]

I hate you all cause I can't see it until Thursday.

[Timothy225]

This pretty much says all of the things. Saw this in 2D because the 3D screentimes didn't work for us, and I can't imagine what this would be like to see in 3D. I'm going to take my 5 year old to see it soon, and I will definitely NOT be tsaking HIM to see it in 3D. I think the Hulk in 3D might tend to freak him out. But I seriously think I'd consider seeing it yet again just to see it in 3D. I haven't seen a film in the theatres 3 times since the 1st Star Wars movie (Ep. IV, not Phantome Menace; what am I, an idiot?).

I have long held that Spider Man was the best comic adaptation to date, but this one is a SERIOUS fucking contender. And I know some of you are thinking "Dark Knight? Hellooooo!" Don't get me wrong, that was a great, great movie, and it captured the darkness of the Batman perfectly. But to ME, superhero comics were a childhood joy in the 70's and 80's long before they became a grown up one from the late 80's forward, with the advent of Watchmen and the like. As such, a sense of fun, action and adventure more than dark brooding realism strikes more of a chord with me. I don't own a copy of the Dark Knight; much as I liked it, it just never occurred to me to put it in my collection. But I do own the Spider Man and Iron Man flicks, and will probably buy Captain America too. And, serious as the subject matter was, Watchmen managed at the same time to maintain an air of fun, so I'll get around to buying that one one of these days (was holding out to see if they came out w/ an uber deleted scenes Director's Cut). And you can be damned sure I'll be buying The Avengers when it comes out, too. It was just FUN. It literally transported me to another time, and made me feel like that six year old kid that had all the Mego superhero 8" action figures and two big plastic shopping bags full of 1970's superhero* comic books in his bedroom closet again. Only the BEST movies can do that, IMHO.

* OK, I had a lot of horror comics, too. This is ME we're talking about. But back then, for me, superheroes ruled. And for the time being at least, thanks to this film, they do again. For more people than just me. And THAT my friends, is a good, good thing.

THIS. Iggy nailed it - Avengers had a sense of old school fun to it that, much as I like 'em, I don't really see in Nolan's Batman films. I'm damn sure picking this flick up when it hits DVD in the fall (I think I heard late September?).

Now that I've had some time to digest the flick, I can kind of see the points Jamie and Howard made, though I respectfully don't quite agree with them 100%. The action on the SHIELD Helicarrier might seem to have stretched a bit, but in all honesty, Jen and I were so sucked in by the film at that point, we didn't get that bored with it.

However, to give props to Howard and Jamie's takes, was it the greatest superhero flick ever? I'd lean more towards The Incredibles and Spider-Man 2 myself, but The Avengers is very, very fucking close.

[Matt]

I may just be basking in the afterglow still, but for me...yeah, it's the best. I simply had way too much fun with this, even with my minor nitpicks. We'll see how it holds up on a second viewing (which may be tomorrow night).

[Abraham Smashington]

All of the issues people have with this flick didn't bother me at all. In fact this is the first of the superhero flicks by Marvel that didn't feel like it lost any steam in the 3rd act. My only minor nitpick (and more of a wish) is that they were skrulls instead of chitari. But it's cool, I'm just glad we live in a day and age where a movie like this is possible.

[Abraham Smashington]