Savages is the best movie Oliver Stone has directed since Any Given Sunday. It's a very refreshing return to form after misfires like W. and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. It's also the first movie of the summer to star Taylor Kitsch and not suck. He is now 1 for 3 (Battleship and John Carter, in case you were going to ask).
Kitsch and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass) star as Chon and Ben, the most successful marijuana growers in southern California. They share a hot girlfriend named O (Blake Lively) and the 3 are living in paradise. Life is perfect. Then a Mexican drug cartel led by Elena (Salma Hayek) asks them to join forces. The guys resist, so the cartel kidnaps O and holds her ransom. If the guys want her back, they have to work with the cartel for a year.
This movie is great. I was never bored and the movie was full of surprises. After the setup, I thought that the guys would go in to rescue O and it would be a big action climax at the cartel's headquarters. I was picturing something like the end of Bad Boys 2. This would make sense since Chon is ex-military and he has a bunch of Navy SEAL friends.
But no, this is a different kind of movie. They guys deal with a crooked DEA officer (John Travolta) and the cartel's sadistic enforcer (Benicio del Toro, who steals the movie). They go along with Elena's demands while trying to double cross them at the same time. While all that is going on, O is forming a kind of mother daughter relationship with her captor, Elena. Elena's own daughter wants nothing to do with her, and she seems to view O as almost a surrogate daughter.
There is some good action in this movie, but more importantly these are interesting, smart characters who we really empathize with. And there is a lot of humor in the movie. I really enjoyed it.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
The Amazing Spider-Man - 2 1/2 stars
Before I went in to watch this movie, I tried really hard to not think about the Sam Raimi Spider Man movies of the last decade. I tried to forget how good they were and judge this movie on its own merits.
Even doing that, I was disappointed by this new Spider Man movie.
Once again, we have the origin story. Considering that we got one only 10 years ago, couldn't they have just made a stand alone Spider Man movie? Do it like the Bond movies. We don't get an origin story each time a new actor plays James Bond (Casino Royale was the first time they had done that).
This time, we get some back story on Peter Parker's parents. His father was involved in some kind of secret research, and his parents abandon him when he's only 7 or 8 years old. They leave him with Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field), and then they disappear. Cut to 10 years later and Peter is an awkward high school kid (played by Andrew Garfield). He has a nice old fashioned camera (not sure why he wasn't using digital), and we learn right away that he likes taking pictures. We also see that he likes Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone).
Eventually he will get bitten by a genetically altered spider, giving him his superpowers. He will also inadvertently cause the death of his uncle Ben. He will go after criminals in order to avenge Uncle Ben's death, he will make his Spider Man suit, and he will fight a supervillain, in this movie a man turned into a large reptile.
First, I will focus on some things I liked about this movie. I liked Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. There are a couple of scenes between Peter and Gwen that were really fun. They have a natural chemistry (it doesn't hurt that they are dating in real life), and she is very good at comedy. Considering director Marc Webb's previous movie was the great (500) Days of Summer, it makes sense that he would do a good job with the scenes involving the romance.
I also liked the effects. One thing that bugged me in Sam Raimi's movies was the CGI. Every time Spider Man started climbing walls or swinging on his spider lines, it looked really cartoonish. Not so this time around. It looks like Andrew Garfield was really doing those things. Sometimes the camera gave us a first person view of what Peter was seeing, and it was really cool.
I also liked that his web shooters were things he made, which is how they were before Sam Raimi's movies. I would have liked a little more detail about how they worked. It looked like he kept them attached to his inner wrists with the suit on, but where were they when he wasn't wearing the suit? I saw him shoot webs sometimes when he didn't have the suit on, so they must have been handy. Was he ever in danger of running out of webbing? Did he refill them every time he got back from a night of crime fighting?
I also liked the climax a lot. I won't spoil anything, but the movie went further than I expected it to go.
Ok, things I didn't like. The obvious one is this movie isn't necessary. They basically remade the 2002 Spider Man. They changed some story details, but the important beats are the same. Like I said before, don't give us another origin story. The first half of the movie is just waiting for the things you know are coming (the spider bite, Uncle Ben's death, ect).
The music also bothered me. Even without comparing the score to Danny Elfman's, the music was all wrong. It was too triumphant and happy. Within the first 5 minutes of the movie, we are getting music that is too overly dramatic and just didn't work for me at all.
I think Martin Sheen and Sally Field were the wrong choices for Uncle Ben and Aunt May. They are just too well known from other roles to play these characters. I did enjoy some of Martin Sheen's scenes, but Sally Field is given nothing to do. I'm reminded of what an impact Rosemary Harris made as Aunt May in the other movies. Also, the dialogue given to Sheen and Field is horrible.
The movie is too long, and it's boring in a lot of places. There are some fun sequences, but there are several 10-15 minute stretches that were just boring. I really didn't care much about Peter's father's back story. And there are too many coincidental character relationships. Peter's father worked with Dr. Curt Connors, who also happens to be mentor to Gwen Stacy, who interns at Oscorp Labs despite being in high school. And Gwen's father just happens to be the police chief who is trying to capture the vigilante Spider Man.
Last, there aren't enough good scenes. I can think of a dozen scenes from the previous Spider Man movies that were either exciting, funny, or dramatic. But there are no scenes that really stick with me from this movie.
The only reason Sony made this movie (besides to make a lot of money) was so they didn't lose the rights to Spider Man. They shouldn't be rebooting a franchise so soon. They should have let Sam Raimi make Spider Man 4.
Even doing that, I was disappointed by this new Spider Man movie.
Once again, we have the origin story. Considering that we got one only 10 years ago, couldn't they have just made a stand alone Spider Man movie? Do it like the Bond movies. We don't get an origin story each time a new actor plays James Bond (Casino Royale was the first time they had done that).
This time, we get some back story on Peter Parker's parents. His father was involved in some kind of secret research, and his parents abandon him when he's only 7 or 8 years old. They leave him with Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field), and then they disappear. Cut to 10 years later and Peter is an awkward high school kid (played by Andrew Garfield). He has a nice old fashioned camera (not sure why he wasn't using digital), and we learn right away that he likes taking pictures. We also see that he likes Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone).
Eventually he will get bitten by a genetically altered spider, giving him his superpowers. He will also inadvertently cause the death of his uncle Ben. He will go after criminals in order to avenge Uncle Ben's death, he will make his Spider Man suit, and he will fight a supervillain, in this movie a man turned into a large reptile.
First, I will focus on some things I liked about this movie. I liked Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. There are a couple of scenes between Peter and Gwen that were really fun. They have a natural chemistry (it doesn't hurt that they are dating in real life), and she is very good at comedy. Considering director Marc Webb's previous movie was the great (500) Days of Summer, it makes sense that he would do a good job with the scenes involving the romance.
I also liked the effects. One thing that bugged me in Sam Raimi's movies was the CGI. Every time Spider Man started climbing walls or swinging on his spider lines, it looked really cartoonish. Not so this time around. It looks like Andrew Garfield was really doing those things. Sometimes the camera gave us a first person view of what Peter was seeing, and it was really cool.
I also liked that his web shooters were things he made, which is how they were before Sam Raimi's movies. I would have liked a little more detail about how they worked. It looked like he kept them attached to his inner wrists with the suit on, but where were they when he wasn't wearing the suit? I saw him shoot webs sometimes when he didn't have the suit on, so they must have been handy. Was he ever in danger of running out of webbing? Did he refill them every time he got back from a night of crime fighting?
I also liked the climax a lot. I won't spoil anything, but the movie went further than I expected it to go.
Ok, things I didn't like. The obvious one is this movie isn't necessary. They basically remade the 2002 Spider Man. They changed some story details, but the important beats are the same. Like I said before, don't give us another origin story. The first half of the movie is just waiting for the things you know are coming (the spider bite, Uncle Ben's death, ect).
The music also bothered me. Even without comparing the score to Danny Elfman's, the music was all wrong. It was too triumphant and happy. Within the first 5 minutes of the movie, we are getting music that is too overly dramatic and just didn't work for me at all.
I think Martin Sheen and Sally Field were the wrong choices for Uncle Ben and Aunt May. They are just too well known from other roles to play these characters. I did enjoy some of Martin Sheen's scenes, but Sally Field is given nothing to do. I'm reminded of what an impact Rosemary Harris made as Aunt May in the other movies. Also, the dialogue given to Sheen and Field is horrible.
The movie is too long, and it's boring in a lot of places. There are some fun sequences, but there are several 10-15 minute stretches that were just boring. I really didn't care much about Peter's father's back story. And there are too many coincidental character relationships. Peter's father worked with Dr. Curt Connors, who also happens to be mentor to Gwen Stacy, who interns at Oscorp Labs despite being in high school. And Gwen's father just happens to be the police chief who is trying to capture the vigilante Spider Man.
Last, there aren't enough good scenes. I can think of a dozen scenes from the previous Spider Man movies that were either exciting, funny, or dramatic. But there are no scenes that really stick with me from this movie.
The only reason Sony made this movie (besides to make a lot of money) was so they didn't lose the rights to Spider Man. They shouldn't be rebooting a franchise so soon. They should have let Sam Raimi make Spider Man 4.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Prometheus - 3 stars
Prometheus is a quasi-prequel to Alien. I say that because the press release claims it is not a prequel, but it sure seems like a prequel. At the very least, it takes place in the same universe as the Alien movies, so take that for what it's worth.
From the wikipedia synopsis:
In 2089, archaeologist couple Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway discover a star map among several unconnected ancient cultures. They interpret this as an invitation from humanity's forerunners, the "Engineers". Peter Weyland, the elderly founder of the Weyland Corporation, funds the creation of the scientific vessel Prometheus to follow the map to the distant moon LV-223. The ship's crew travels in stasis while the android David monitors their voyage. In 2093, the ship arrives, and its crew are informed of their mission to find the Engineers. Mission director Meredith Vickers orders them to avoid direct contact if the Engineers are found. The Prometheus lands near a structure and a team is sent to explore within.
Once the explore the structure, the movie becomes basically an Alien movie. There is life in the structure. Not exactly Aliens, but similar. Some people are killed, the android has secret motivations that put the crew's life in danger, stuff like that.
The movie looks incredible. It was filmed for 3D, so unlike many recent 3D movies, it actully uses the 3D really well. It isn't gimmicky, with things flying towards you. It just makes the scenery look more real.
I really liked the setup to this movie. In any good sci fi movie, it's thrilling to have that sense of going into the unknown. The crew is going to an alien world with no idea of what they will find. Unfortunately, there is a point in this movie where it starts to feel like a standard monster movie. It becomes, well, like an Alien movie. It is a very well made Alien movie and I wasn't bored, but I felt let down after the fantastic opening.
There is a really cool sequence late in the movie where a character has to perform surgery on herself. It is the coolest thing in the movie, and one of the most intense scenes I have seen in a long time.
From the wikipedia synopsis:
In 2089, archaeologist couple Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway discover a star map among several unconnected ancient cultures. They interpret this as an invitation from humanity's forerunners, the "Engineers". Peter Weyland, the elderly founder of the Weyland Corporation, funds the creation of the scientific vessel Prometheus to follow the map to the distant moon LV-223. The ship's crew travels in stasis while the android David monitors their voyage. In 2093, the ship arrives, and its crew are informed of their mission to find the Engineers. Mission director Meredith Vickers orders them to avoid direct contact if the Engineers are found. The Prometheus lands near a structure and a team is sent to explore within.
Once the explore the structure, the movie becomes basically an Alien movie. There is life in the structure. Not exactly Aliens, but similar. Some people are killed, the android has secret motivations that put the crew's life in danger, stuff like that.
The movie looks incredible. It was filmed for 3D, so unlike many recent 3D movies, it actully uses the 3D really well. It isn't gimmicky, with things flying towards you. It just makes the scenery look more real.
I really liked the setup to this movie. In any good sci fi movie, it's thrilling to have that sense of going into the unknown. The crew is going to an alien world with no idea of what they will find. Unfortunately, there is a point in this movie where it starts to feel like a standard monster movie. It becomes, well, like an Alien movie. It is a very well made Alien movie and I wasn't bored, but I felt let down after the fantastic opening.
There is a really cool sequence late in the movie where a character has to perform surgery on herself. It is the coolest thing in the movie, and one of the most intense scenes I have seen in a long time.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Snow White and the Huntsman - 2 1/2 stars
Snow White and the Huntsman isn't a bad movie, but it isn't very good either. It's one of those movies that's kind of right in the middle, and those are the hardest to review. It's easy to review a movie I loved or hated, but this is just kind of meh.
In the second Snow White movie of 2012, Snow White's mother dies when Snow is very young. Her father, the king, meets a beautiful woman named Ravenna (Charlize Theron). He falls under her spell and marries her the next day. That night, Ravenna kills the king and brings her own army into the castle to ensure her takeover of the kingdom. Snow White is locked in the dungeons.
Years pass and Snow White is now played by Kristen Stewart. When evil queen Ravenna asks her magic mirror who the fairest one of all is, well, you know the rest. Snow White escapes, a hunter (Chris Hemsworth) is sent to bring her back, he falls in love with her, they meet 8 dwarfs (not 7), they get an army together to take back the kingdom, and so on.
Charlize Theron is a good actress, but she isn't right for this role. And her acting is so over the top that I was laughing at her when she yelled at her subjects. Kristen Stewart does a fine British accent, and Chris Hemsworth isn't bad. I thought the movie dragged in a few places, but I don't think I was ever bored.
But wow, this movie really wants to be Lord of the Rings. There are many shots that are exactly the same, like the shot of the Snow White, the Huntsman, and the dwarfs walking across the countryside and over mountains. That shot looked exactly like the Fellowship heading to Mordor. A scene of the evil queen standing on the castle parapet watching the army approach looks just like Saurumon with Wormtoungue standing at his shoulder. There is even a scene near the end where Snow White has to give a rousing speech to her army.
This isn't a movie you need to avoid, but there really isn't any reason to see it.
In the second Snow White movie of 2012, Snow White's mother dies when Snow is very young. Her father, the king, meets a beautiful woman named Ravenna (Charlize Theron). He falls under her spell and marries her the next day. That night, Ravenna kills the king and brings her own army into the castle to ensure her takeover of the kingdom. Snow White is locked in the dungeons.
Years pass and Snow White is now played by Kristen Stewart. When evil queen Ravenna asks her magic mirror who the fairest one of all is, well, you know the rest. Snow White escapes, a hunter (Chris Hemsworth) is sent to bring her back, he falls in love with her, they meet 8 dwarfs (not 7), they get an army together to take back the kingdom, and so on.
Charlize Theron is a good actress, but she isn't right for this role. And her acting is so over the top that I was laughing at her when she yelled at her subjects. Kristen Stewart does a fine British accent, and Chris Hemsworth isn't bad. I thought the movie dragged in a few places, but I don't think I was ever bored.
But wow, this movie really wants to be Lord of the Rings. There are many shots that are exactly the same, like the shot of the Snow White, the Huntsman, and the dwarfs walking across the countryside and over mountains. That shot looked exactly like the Fellowship heading to Mordor. A scene of the evil queen standing on the castle parapet watching the army approach looks just like Saurumon with Wormtoungue standing at his shoulder. There is even a scene near the end where Snow White has to give a rousing speech to her army.
This isn't a movie you need to avoid, but there really isn't any reason to see it.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
The Dictator - 3 stars
Borat was revolutionary. Borat was an amazing character. By playing someone so racist, he was able to get unsuspecting people to expose their own racism. Borat is one of the funniest movies of all time.
After Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen couldn't really get away with that kind of filmmaking anymore. But he tried anyway, and we got Bruno. It was harder to get people participate without being in on the joke, and who knows how many of the people in the movie didn't know that Bruno was a character. The movie wasn't nearly as good as Borat, but it had it's moments.
For The Dictator, Sacha Baron Cohen has abandoned that style of filmmaking. This movie is just a traditional movie with a script and everything. Cohen plays Admiral General Aladeen of Wadiya, a fictional country in northern Africa. He is a comedic version of several evil dictators rolled up into one. Anyone who he doesn't approve of, he has killed. He plays Wii Terrorist, which includes a level called Munich Olympics. Yes, that is as offensive as it sounds.
When Aladeen comes to New York to speak to the UN, he is kidnapped by a CIA agent. He escapes, but he has had his beard shaved off and is wearing ragged clothes. The UN security thinks he's some crazy homeless guy and they chase him off. He meets an ultra left wing feminist activist named Zoey (Anna Farris), and the movie turns into a romantic comedy.
There is something in the movie to offend just about everyone. Some of the jokes are so over the top that they are not even funny, just offensive, which somehow becomes even funnier. I was laughing a lot.
Not all the jokes work. There is a scene in the trailer where Aladeen and his countryman are flying in a helicopter. They are speaking in their language, and the older American couple are able to make out words like 'Bin Laden' and '9/11' and they start to scream. This is just a misunderstanding, and it could have been really funny. But them movie takes so long building up this joke, and you know exactly where it's going that by the time it gets there, the joke has run out of steam. A big part of humor is surprise, and if there is no surprise at a punchline, it's hard to laugh at it.
But despite that, there are plenty of good jokes. The easily offended shouldn't go, but if you saw Borat and Bruno, you have some idea what to expect. And I really enjoyed the speech that Aladeen gives at the end about the benefits of democracy and the evils of a dictatorship.
After Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen couldn't really get away with that kind of filmmaking anymore. But he tried anyway, and we got Bruno. It was harder to get people participate without being in on the joke, and who knows how many of the people in the movie didn't know that Bruno was a character. The movie wasn't nearly as good as Borat, but it had it's moments.
For The Dictator, Sacha Baron Cohen has abandoned that style of filmmaking. This movie is just a traditional movie with a script and everything. Cohen plays Admiral General Aladeen of Wadiya, a fictional country in northern Africa. He is a comedic version of several evil dictators rolled up into one. Anyone who he doesn't approve of, he has killed. He plays Wii Terrorist, which includes a level called Munich Olympics. Yes, that is as offensive as it sounds.
When Aladeen comes to New York to speak to the UN, he is kidnapped by a CIA agent. He escapes, but he has had his beard shaved off and is wearing ragged clothes. The UN security thinks he's some crazy homeless guy and they chase him off. He meets an ultra left wing feminist activist named Zoey (Anna Farris), and the movie turns into a romantic comedy.
There is something in the movie to offend just about everyone. Some of the jokes are so over the top that they are not even funny, just offensive, which somehow becomes even funnier. I was laughing a lot.
Not all the jokes work. There is a scene in the trailer where Aladeen and his countryman are flying in a helicopter. They are speaking in their language, and the older American couple are able to make out words like 'Bin Laden' and '9/11' and they start to scream. This is just a misunderstanding, and it could have been really funny. But them movie takes so long building up this joke, and you know exactly where it's going that by the time it gets there, the joke has run out of steam. A big part of humor is surprise, and if there is no surprise at a punchline, it's hard to laugh at it.
But despite that, there are plenty of good jokes. The easily offended shouldn't go, but if you saw Borat and Bruno, you have some idea what to expect. And I really enjoyed the speech that Aladeen gives at the end about the benefits of democracy and the evils of a dictatorship.
Dark Shadows - 1 1/2 stars
I have never seen an episode of the Dark Shadows soap opera from the 60s and 70s, so I have no idea how faithful this movie is to the show. Will fans of the show like this movie better than I did, or will they be even more disappointed? No idea, but this movie sucks.
In the 1700s Barnabas Collins and his parents moved from England to Maine. They started a fishing business, and became so successful that the town of Collinsport was named after them. They also built a huge gothic mansion called Collinwood Manor. Barnabas broke the heart of a witch named Angelique, and she took her revenge. First she killed his parents, then she killed his fiancee. When he tried to kill himself, she turned him into a vampire. Then she lead the townspeople to capture him and imprison him in a coffin. The chained the coffin shut and buried him. This reminds me of what the vampires tried to do to Brad Pitt in Interview With the Vampire, but I digress.
200 years go by and Barnabas is set free by construction workers. After killing them (he says to one "Sorry about this but you have no idea how thirsty I am."), he returns to Collinwood Manor. He finds his descendants living there and the fishing business is close to ruin.
That's about all there is to the story. The rest of the movie is just spending time with the family, and Angelique trying to win him back. He doesn't seem that upset at her for what she did to him, and she is still in love with him. But she does threaten to kill his family and imprison him again if he doesn't love her.
The only entertaining stuff in the movie is Barnabas reacting to the 20th century. McDonald's, cars, television, and lava lamps are all foreign to him. I enjoyed the way he spoke with his semi-british victorian accent, and some of his lines were really funny. But aside from that, the movie bored me to tears. There is barely any story there. Sub plots are set up and not paid off. We waste time with characters who seem important, then disappear for long stretches at a time.
That's about all the effort I can muster to talk about this movie. There are 15 funny minutes in there, the rest is a total waste of time. Oh, and Michelle Pfeiffer and Chloe Grace Moretz give the worst performances of their careers. They're good actors, so I blame Tim Burton and the screenwriter for giving them nothing interesting to work with.
In the 1700s Barnabas Collins and his parents moved from England to Maine. They started a fishing business, and became so successful that the town of Collinsport was named after them. They also built a huge gothic mansion called Collinwood Manor. Barnabas broke the heart of a witch named Angelique, and she took her revenge. First she killed his parents, then she killed his fiancee. When he tried to kill himself, she turned him into a vampire. Then she lead the townspeople to capture him and imprison him in a coffin. The chained the coffin shut and buried him. This reminds me of what the vampires tried to do to Brad Pitt in Interview With the Vampire, but I digress.
200 years go by and Barnabas is set free by construction workers. After killing them (he says to one "Sorry about this but you have no idea how thirsty I am."), he returns to Collinwood Manor. He finds his descendants living there and the fishing business is close to ruin.
That's about all there is to the story. The rest of the movie is just spending time with the family, and Angelique trying to win him back. He doesn't seem that upset at her for what she did to him, and she is still in love with him. But she does threaten to kill his family and imprison him again if he doesn't love her.
The only entertaining stuff in the movie is Barnabas reacting to the 20th century. McDonald's, cars, television, and lava lamps are all foreign to him. I enjoyed the way he spoke with his semi-british victorian accent, and some of his lines were really funny. But aside from that, the movie bored me to tears. There is barely any story there. Sub plots are set up and not paid off. We waste time with characters who seem important, then disappear for long stretches at a time.
That's about all the effort I can muster to talk about this movie. There are 15 funny minutes in there, the rest is a total waste of time. Oh, and Michelle Pfeiffer and Chloe Grace Moretz give the worst performances of their careers. They're good actors, so I blame Tim Burton and the screenwriter for giving them nothing interesting to work with.
The Avengers - 4 stars
The Avengers is the most entertaining superhero movie I have ever seen. Not necessarily the best, but the most fun. I'd have a hard time putting it up against Superman (1978), but then that's a special movie from my childhood, so I'm not sure it's fair to compare anything to that movie.
I enjoyed the first Iron Man, but I thought the second one was tedious. I liked The Incredible Hulk and Thor, but I was bored by Captain America. After those 5 movies, I was really curious to see what it would be like to have all 4 of those superheroes in a movie together. The end result exceeded my wildest expectations.
The movie did get off to a slow start for me. When Loki appears at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, steals the Tesseract, and brainwashes several people, it just didn't have the excitement that it should have had. The blow up the base and there's a car chase, but it just didn't have much excitement for some reason. Then we go into a half hour of assembling the different characters.
Robert Downey, Jr. was fun as usual. He is trying to have a nice, romantic evening with Pepper Potts and Agent Coulson shows up to spoil the evening. Black Widow gets a fun introduction. She is tied to a chair and being beaten by European mobsters, and it turns out they are just telling her all the information she needs. Bruce Banner's introduction is also nice. Mark Ruffalo plays Banner better than Eric Bana or Edward Norton. I really hope they make another Hulk movie with Ruffalo. Captain America's introduction is basically just picking up right where his movie left off. Thor is the last to show up, and his is probably the weakest introduction.
Once the group is together, then the fun begins. I love how Tony Stark wants to see Banner turn into the Hulk. He is constantly taunting him, even poking him with a stick to try to make him angry. Stark and Rogers also have some fun verbal matches. Stark and Rogers are total opposites, and it's great to hear them argue. The first scene where all the heroes are together is where the movie really takes off. Then Loki shows up and we get some good action. The group is split apart, things look dark, they get together again for the final showdown / big action setpiece, just like you would expect.
There aren't a whole lot of surprises in the story, but that's ok. Getting to see these characters together on screen is just so cool. Considering the challenges of keeping a cast together and keeping egos of the actors in check, this movie is a real accomplishment. Thank goodness Marvel Studios paid the actors what they needed. Except for Hulk, all the actors from the previous 5 movies are here. And Ruffalo is so good that I completely forgot that Edward Norton was Banner in the Hulk movie.
The final showdown is incredible. It involves these giant metal space fish things attacking New York City. Unlike a movie like Transformers, this never gets dull. In the middle of all the carnage and mayhem, the characters are talking to each other. We know and care about these characters, so we are invested in what happens to them. Also, director Joss Whedon maintains a good sense of geography. When crazy stuff is going on on screen, you can still tell where the characters are in relation to one another. Michael Bay could learn a few things from Joss Whedon.
There is a great tracking shot that shows each character doing battle. I think the shot lasted a good minute or two without cutting away. That was really cool. But my favorite part of the whole movie is when Hulk confronts Loki in Stark's apartment. I think that was the most satisfying scene I have seen in a movie in years.
There is no way anyone could go see Avengers and not leave the theater happy.
I enjoyed the first Iron Man, but I thought the second one was tedious. I liked The Incredible Hulk and Thor, but I was bored by Captain America. After those 5 movies, I was really curious to see what it would be like to have all 4 of those superheroes in a movie together. The end result exceeded my wildest expectations.
The movie did get off to a slow start for me. When Loki appears at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, steals the Tesseract, and brainwashes several people, it just didn't have the excitement that it should have had. The blow up the base and there's a car chase, but it just didn't have much excitement for some reason. Then we go into a half hour of assembling the different characters.
Robert Downey, Jr. was fun as usual. He is trying to have a nice, romantic evening with Pepper Potts and Agent Coulson shows up to spoil the evening. Black Widow gets a fun introduction. She is tied to a chair and being beaten by European mobsters, and it turns out they are just telling her all the information she needs. Bruce Banner's introduction is also nice. Mark Ruffalo plays Banner better than Eric Bana or Edward Norton. I really hope they make another Hulk movie with Ruffalo. Captain America's introduction is basically just picking up right where his movie left off. Thor is the last to show up, and his is probably the weakest introduction.
Once the group is together, then the fun begins. I love how Tony Stark wants to see Banner turn into the Hulk. He is constantly taunting him, even poking him with a stick to try to make him angry. Stark and Rogers also have some fun verbal matches. Stark and Rogers are total opposites, and it's great to hear them argue. The first scene where all the heroes are together is where the movie really takes off. Then Loki shows up and we get some good action. The group is split apart, things look dark, they get together again for the final showdown / big action setpiece, just like you would expect.
There aren't a whole lot of surprises in the story, but that's ok. Getting to see these characters together on screen is just so cool. Considering the challenges of keeping a cast together and keeping egos of the actors in check, this movie is a real accomplishment. Thank goodness Marvel Studios paid the actors what they needed. Except for Hulk, all the actors from the previous 5 movies are here. And Ruffalo is so good that I completely forgot that Edward Norton was Banner in the Hulk movie.
The final showdown is incredible. It involves these giant metal space fish things attacking New York City. Unlike a movie like Transformers, this never gets dull. In the middle of all the carnage and mayhem, the characters are talking to each other. We know and care about these characters, so we are invested in what happens to them. Also, director Joss Whedon maintains a good sense of geography. When crazy stuff is going on on screen, you can still tell where the characters are in relation to one another. Michael Bay could learn a few things from Joss Whedon.
There is a great tracking shot that shows each character doing battle. I think the shot lasted a good minute or two without cutting away. That was really cool. But my favorite part of the whole movie is when Hulk confronts Loki in Stark's apartment. I think that was the most satisfying scene I have seen in a movie in years.
There is no way anyone could go see Avengers and not leave the theater happy.
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