Avengers Assemble!

[Anderson]

Rumors/nerds talking have been circulating that Coulson is the Vision or some shit.

Yeah, that's coming off the fact that Gregg is still contracted for one more film. But, that's nothing.

Hell, if they really want to play with the Infinity Gems...someone could always just will him back to life.

[gravedigger]

Speaking of, was the Gauntlet in the background of any scene? Maybe in a SHIELD data file or something?

[Captain Russ]

It was in Odin's trophy room in Thor.

[BillyG]

It was in Odin's trophy room in Thor.

Yup. Didn't someone say that Thor 2 would be about Odin's vault getting sacked again?

[Anderson]

Yup. Didn't someone say that Thor 2 would be about Odin's vault getting sacked again?

The Rodat script was dubbed as the Asgardian Scavenger Hunt. But, Taylor and the Game of Thrones guys are rewriting it. So, who knows how much of that will remain?

But, Dr. Strange is supposed to tie into it. Hence, why they put the Eye of Agamotto in there.

There's something else to add it though. Disney seems to be pushing Edgar Wright off of Kolchak and towards Ant-Man. Cryptic shit's been going on, but Wright seems to be dropping hints.

[Martin]

Antman makes Hawkeye, the Green Arrow, Namor and Aquaman look like total badasses.

(I know Hawkeye was badass in The Avengers, but concept-wise...)

[Abraham Smashington]

[Bobby Bear]

For me, Avengers has so much drive that it blows past the small parts where it drags down. By now, I know and appreciate all these characters.... Sure, having seen the previous flicks helps, but the movie alone makes a statement of itself as a standalone classic.

Pretty much sums up why I dig it. All of the other films have at least one act that drags. Avengers didn't have that in my opinion. I don't get the "the movie gave me nothing to care about" thought process. If you liked the characters, why didn't you care what happened to them?

The story simply wasn't interesting enough. Putting likable characters in a bland story doesn't automatically make the film engaging. Not to me, anyway.

I didn't think the story warranted the assembly. This was supposed to be the Epic of Epics, a fitting outing for Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Epic in every way. Well, for me, the most important ingredient in any film - the story - was anything but epic here. On paper, maybe. But not on-screen.

I didn't thrill to the return of Loki (which, again, makes sense on paper.) Some of that has to do with the disappointing nature of his much-touted army, who are pretty faceless blockbuster goons when you get right down to it, and some of it has to do with how neutered his mini-arc felt, having watched a much better, much fuller version of it in Thor.

There's nothing wrong with a good MacGuffin. If it's done well. But this is definitely not one of the better recent examples of such a straightforward plot-device. If the standalone Marvel flicks weren't as rewarding on a narrative level - then maybe the flimsier Avengers story wouldn't stand out so much. But as it is, this felt more like a cash-grab than a worthy outing for such a high-concept.

I CARED ABOUT THE CLOWN GANG.

Hahaha!

In all seriousness, the overall story in that film goes a long way towards compensating for stuff like dodgy dialogue or the odd wayward scene. There's also a tremendous sense of style, pacing, and atmosphere - three things I'd be hard pressed to make a case for regarding The Avengers. In the mad rush to get to the drawn-out smackdown at the end, those elements seemed to be swept aside.

To run with what Bobby pointed out, on a certain level, I agree - there could have been a bit more fleshing out to some of the characters stories (for example, I was kind of hooked on Black Widow and Hawkeye's relationship, and what the "red in her ledger" really was to affect her so), and maybe the story could have slowed down just a bit so we can have some more breathing room for the story to firm up a bit. Maybe this can be improved upon for the sequel, but with a flick like this with such strong characters, each of whom has at least one solid movie behind them more or less, there isn't enough room for all that, plus all the action a team-up like this has to have.

This is a very astute post, sir, as always. I think you hit the nail right on the noggin' about the story. A basic plot can be fantastic. It all depends on how it's handled. If Joss gave half as much attention to the overall structure as he did to all those little quips and character beats, maybe I wouldn't be signing myself into the board's Leper Colony right now.

I still think the first TF is a good flick.

It's got a heart. No coincidence it's the only watchable movie in the trilogy.

[Anderson]

That's always been one of my problems with religion in comics. Alan Moore's touched upon it before, but how is your worldview not shattered by seeing contradictions to your belief system walking around and talking to you?

Plus, what does it for your sense of history? If anything's possible, do you have to believe everything?

[Abraham Smashington]

Still my favorite thing in this thread.

[Captain Russ]

I can't take Bobby's misgivings at complete face value. Come on buddy, the fact there were that many characters with equally convoluted backstories, and each of them was depicted as close to the best embodiments of their characters to date and in relatively accurate character dynamics and behavior (let alone tonal differences in their respective films), you're going to take issue with a team book movie concentrating squarely on the team (getting to see these fucking giant personalities walk among each other on-screen for the first time) instead of the tired-as-fuck chase around the earth for some stupid inconsequential thing? Because I promise you, that's exactly the sort of bullshit we might have ended up with. It brought enough new tricks and cheats to the old "supergreen team unite against enemy x" chestnut as it realistically could.

It could have been as soulless and awful as that dumbshit robotard franchise, where not even a single character save the one that couldn't speak was not insufferably stupid. Or worse, it could have been as rote and depressing as Crystal Skull, where the much-beloved icon transforms into a feeble old man just going through the motions while the check clears for two plus hours.

But it wasn't.

I will give you the lack of cohesion in the final fight, as the ground battle played a little too much like a disparate stream of oddly cobbled together moments. That team-up shit between Iron Man and Cap was golden though.

Basically what I'm saying is I feel bad that you didn't enjoy the film as much as others did, but come on son. Come on.

[B_Metal]

That's always been one of my problems with religion in comics. Alan Moore's touched upon it before, but how is your worldview not shattered by seeing contradictions to your belief system walking around and talking to you?

Plus, what does it for your sense of history? If anything's possible, do you have to believe everything?

I always thought they just kind of looked at things the same way Supernatural does. There are gods, and then there's God. I'm not basing that on anything that's contained within said comics but it's my best guess on the topic.

[B_Metal]

I can't take Bobby's misgivings at complete face value. Come on buddy, the fact there were that many characters with equally convoluted backstories, and each of them was depicted as close to the best embodiments of their characters to date and in relatively accurate character dynamics and behavior (let alone tonal differences in their respective films), you're going to take issue with a team book movie concentrating squarely on the team (getting to see these fucking giant personalities walk among on-screen for the first time) instead of the tired-as-fuck chase around the earth for some stupid inconsequential thing? Because I promise you, that's exactly the sort of bullshit we might have ended up with.

It could have been as soulless and awful as that dumbshit robotard franchise, where not even a single character save the one that couldn't speak was not insufferably stupid. Or worse, it could have been as rote and depressing as Crystal Skull, where the much-beloved icon transforms into a feeble old man just going through the motions while the check clears for two plus hours.

But it wasn't. You, me, and everyone else isn't entitled to jack fucking shit where pop heroes are concerned. Real or fictional.

I will give you the lack of cohesion in the final fight, as the ground battle played a little too much like a disparate stream of oddly cobbled together moments. That team-up shit between Iron Man and Cap was golden though.

Basically what I'm saying is I feel bad that you didn't enjoy the film as much as others did, but come on son. Come on.

[Captain Russ]

That's always been one of my problems with religion in comics. Alan Moore's touched upon it before, but how is your worldview not shattered by seeing contradictions to your belief system walking around and talking to you?

Plus, what does it for your sense of history? If anything's possible, do you have to believe everything?

I see it as a willing suspension of disbelief UNLESS authorial intent is to weave said subject into the fabric of the story. Moore is fantastic at it and I wish other writers would approach cape comics in a similar fashion.

When was the last time Superman got blamed for a Jonestown incident because he was who he was?

Yeah, it's been too long.

[Captain Russ]

Just to clarify, I'm not trying to sound stand-offish or anything regarding my opinions on the film versus Bobberino's, I just don't see them as truly fundamental problems in the movie (save for the lack of a tie-in to the porn parody), especially knowing full well what type of movie it is (FLUFF, delicious fluff), and what its purpose ultimately is (sell the populace on the characters as a united brand, get them to spend money on the new merch and to keep them hooked for the NEXT BIG THING FROM THE STUDIO THAT BROUGHT YOU THE AVENGERS to come down the pike).