The Official Rate/Review Thread for Marvel's The Avengers! (TAG SPOILERS!!!)

[Steelsheen]

chiming in. saw the movie twice yesterday, its the epitome of CBM AWESOME! that trailer? pffft, appetizer (although a worthy appetizer) to how really, REALLY good this movie is. i have a love-hate relationship with Whedon and i must say i have nothing to critique of his work here. hats off to you and a big round of applause Mr Whedon!

of course he didnt do all the work, so big praises across the board for everybody who made this well crafted film. i'm not going to compare it with past CBMs or future CBMs but suffice it to say this film raised the standard. and this must be one of the few films that not only hits its marks as a summer tentpole movie but for a project as big as this everything is incredibly well balanced-- humor, action, acting, character development, character screentime, CGI, locales... everything.

oh and they should've hired Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/ Hulk a loooooong time ago. the guy gets it. the audience can feel that he gets it and can see it. if they actually went for him (versus Bana who i loved btw) right from the first Hulk movie they would've probably saved the franchise from this false start streak its been suffering in.

one last thing-- the studio and/or producers BETTER BRING WHEDON BACK for the sequel, because the guy more than earned his stripes on this one. i'm getting sick and tired of studios switching directors for sequels for no apparent reason other than money and proving who has the bigger ego (yes i'm looking at you Hunger Games franchise).

[nogster]

A for awesome!
Joss Whedon was the perfect writer/director for this film and it shows.

Fanboys your dreams have come true.
A comic book come to life, faithfully, with respect to the source material and its characters.
This is how you make a superhero movie.

If only mr Whedon couldve made the Transformers.
The Avengers really shows just how bad a filmmaker Michael Bay is, in regards to respecting the source and the audience.

And fanboys, prepare to wet yourselves at the end credits when you see who the [next] big bad is. most of you could/would/ and should guess who it is at the very start of the movie. I did!.


Bring on the sequel. But Joss Whedon has to be the one that makes it.

I cannot stress enough how perfect he is for films of this kind.

Joss Whedon, You are the man!

[BigThor]

^ Glad to see you enjoyed it nogster, it's always refreshing to read that someone genuinely loves this film.

[Gamma Burst]

Originally Posted by Steelsheen

chiming in. saw the movie twice yesterday, its the epitome of CBM AWESOME! that trailer? pffft, appetizer (although a worthy appetizer) to how really, REALLY good this movie is. i have a love-hate relationship with Whedon and i must say i have nothing to critique of his work here. hats off to you and a big round of applause Mr Whedon!

of course he didnt do all the work, so big praises across the board for everybody who made this well crafted film. i'm not going to compare it with past CBMs or future CBMs but suffice it to say this film raised the standard. and this must be one of the few films that not only hits its marks as a summer tentpole movie but for a project as big as this everything is incredibly well balanced-- humor, action, acting, character development, character screentime, CGI, locales... everything.

oh and they should've hired Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/ Hulk a loooooong time ago. the guy gets it. the audience can feel that he gets it and can see it. if they actually went for him (versus Bana who i loved btw) right from the first Hulk movie they would've probably saved the franchise from this false start streak its been suffering in.

one last thing-- the studio and/or producers BETTER BRING WHEDON BACK for the sequel, because the guy more than earned his stripes on this one. i'm getting sick and tired of studios switching directors for sequels for no apparent reason other than money and proving who has the bigger ego (yes i'm looking at you Hunger Games franchise).

Thumbs up!

[Sharkboy]

Ok first and foremost, I'm a batman guy, I've always been a Batman guy and I always will be. TDKR is my mecca so to speak. I walked in this film (Avengers) with expectations, like it will be dumb, loud, fun, I've never ever liked Marvel studios, i think Feige is the devil, and i hate what he stands for; fanservice, appeasing spoilt entitled nerds, placing good directors into films they fully control turning those auteurs into mere figureheads etc etc.

So that's my mindset into walking in to the Avengers.

It was stupid to be so naive. This is 100% a Joss Whedon film, and again as a Batman fan talking, on a pure entertainment level this matched The Dark knight for me, and I don't say this lightly. Once you take away the "assemble" and "final battle" parts of the film, you have a really strong emotional center (which is literally at the center of the film) of just pure filmaking and good writing, all primaries just talking and arguing and agreeing with each other, just putting that many egos and stories together and watching their backstories and personalities affect everything they say and do without there being anyone left un-noticed, they all mean something. This is something Joss does best and he does it flawlessly, and it suprised me how much substance there was to this film.

So yeah it gets my full marks, full approval.

Oh and Hulk? Yeh he's the boss! Well done Avengers fans you have yourself a REAL winner.

[BrianVan]

For anyone who has seen the movie can you post a complete synopsis of the movie with spoilers if not on here can you pm me?

[Sharkboy]

Oh yes a sequel just wouldn't work without Whedon, he IS the star of the film, it can only work with his ability to juggle everything perfectly and seamlessly without any bulk or slowdown. I'm damn proud of him, as someone who used to watch buffy/angel/firely religiously.

[Sharkboy]

Originally Posted by BigThor

^ Glad to see you enjoyed it nogster, it's always refreshing to read that someone genuinely loves this film.

Oh and BigThor, sorry for doubting the others every single character was the bomb!

[Mjölnir]

Originally Posted by Sharkboy

Ok first and foremost, I'm a batman guy, I've always been a Batman guy and I always will be. TDKR is my mecca so to speak. I walked in this film (Avengers) with expectations, like it will be dumb, loud, fun, I've never ever liked Marvel studios, i think Feige is the devil, and i hate what he stands for; fanservice, appeasing spoilt entitled nerds, placing good directors into films they fully control turning those auteurs into mere figureheads etc etc.

So that's my mindset into walking in to the Avengers.

It was stupid to be so naive. This is 100% a Joss Whedon film, and again as a Batman fan talking, on a pure entertainment level this matched The Dark knight for me, and I don't say this lightly. Once you take away the "assemble" and "final battle" parts of the film, you have a really strong emotional center (which is literally at the center of the film) of just pure filmaking and good writing, all primaries just talking and arguing and agreeing with each other, just putting that many egos and stories together and watching their backstories and personalities affect everything they say and do without there being anyone left un-noticed, they all mean something. This is something Joss does best and he does it flawlessly, and it suprised me how much substance there was to this film.

So yeah it gets my full marks, full approval.

Oh and Hulk? Yeh he's the boss! Well done Avengers fans you have yourself a REAL winner.

Great to hear from someone with your perspective! As I'm quite a big fan of the Avengers I'm sure I would have enjoyed it regardless but this speaks a bit more of it's genuine qualities.

Seems like the CBM year kicks off with a blast!

[Whiskey Tango]

Lmao @ Dark Knight's solitary 7 rating

[Quasimod0]

Originally Posted by Sharkboy

Ok first and foremost, I'm a batman guy, I've always been a Batman guy and I always will be. TDKR is my mecca so to speak. I walked in this film (Avengers) with expectations, like it will be dumb, loud, fun, I've never ever liked Marvel studios, i think Feige is the devil, and i hate what he stands for; fanservice, appeasing spoilt entitled nerds, placing good directors into films they fully control turning those auteurs into mere figureheads etc etc.

So that's my mindset into walking in to the Avengers.

It was stupid to be so naive. This is 100% a Joss Whedon film, and again as a Batman fan talking, on a pure entertainment level this matched The Dark knight for me, and I don't say this lightly. Once you take away the "assemble" and "final battle" parts of the film, you have a really strong emotional center (which is literally at the center of the film) of just pure filmaking and good writing, all primaries just talking and arguing and agreeing with each other, just putting that many egos and stories together and watching their backstories and personalities affect everything they say and do without there being anyone left un-noticed, they all mean something. This is something Joss does best and he does it flawlessly, and it suprised me how much substance there was to this film.

So yeah it gets my full marks, full approval.

Oh and Hulk? Yeh he's the boss! Well done Avengers fans you have yourself a REAL winner.

Very nice

[Fenrir]

Another diehard Batman-nut with his whatever-its-worth-two-cents. Not that I put any stock in this petty Marvel vs DC rivalry, I just never cared that much for other Marvel superheroes with the exception of Iron Man and occassionally, the X-Men.

First off, it may sound strange but I was really indifferent to the action in The Avengers. Sure, it's very well done and has a lot of tag-team moments that would make fans squeel like teenage girls at a rock concert, but I have always maintained that what makes action scenes involving is firmly establishing the threat level of the villain and the immense peril that the main characters will be put into and unfortunately, because of the nature of these heroes there are rarely (if any) instances in which you feel any of them are in genuine danger or are so hopelessly outmatched that there is no way all of them are coming out of this unscathed. Again, that is to say nothing about the actual quality of the action scenes themselves which are a sight to behold but it would have been nice to see the stakes raised higher.

So it wasn't the action that gripped me in this film. No, it was the quieter moments with the characters. As many of you have already heard from countless critics reviews, the plot isn't exactly one of the film's strongest points and thankfully, it isn't the focus either. A good chunk of the film's first (and if I might add, better) half is about the coming together of these larger than life yet also strangely idiosyncratic gods-among-men and the sparks that fly when their egos collide. The heart of the film is established when we are shown how this assembly of heroes is not a harmonious comradrie, but a fragile and uneasy alliance. Each one has their own motives and their own methods which often results in them going against each other rather than the greater enemy. That is what Banner refers to when he says "we are not a team, we're a time bomb". For better or worse, The Avengers gives you just enough of these moments to barely satiate your hunger - not so little that it devolves into another Transformers, but not as much as what would have elevated the film to another level. The spot-on but also occasionally surprising humor makes up for it though, and if you go in with the right (not lower) expectations, you will have an absolute blast.

I also think they could have hired a better composer to create better music for the film, because the score was really forgettable. I was expecting each character to have sort of their own mini-themes that would play during their individual action sequences but even without that, I can't remember a single moment where the score made me go "I've got to have this in my collection" and I'm a big game/film music bug.

All said, that is just the obsessive film geek in me talking. Sorry if I didn't talk more about the positives of this film because that would be delving into spoiler territory and I wanted to keep this review spoiler-free. Rest assured, The Avengers is that rarest of breeds: an all-inclusive crowd-pleasing superhero extravaganza that has something for everybody. It is smart, hilarious, substantial and explosive, even if not in equal measure. The Raiders of the Lost Ark of superhero films has arrived, and that's no small praise.

[thalidomide]

Originally Posted by Fenrir

Another diehard Batman-nut with his whatever-its-worth-two-cents. Not that I put any stock in this petty Marvel vs DC rivalry, I just never cared that much for other Marvel superheroes with the exception of Iron Man and occassionally, the X-Men.

First off, it may sound strange but I was really indifferent to the action in The Avengers. Sure, it's very well done and has a lot of tag-team moments that would make fans squeel like teenage girls at a rock concert, but I have always maintained that what makes action scenes involving is firmly establishing the threat level of the villain and the immense peril that the main characters will be put into and unfortunately, because of the nature of these heroes there are rarely (if any) instances in which you feel any of them are in genuine danger or are so hopelessly outmatched that there is no way all of them are coming out of this unscathed. Again, that is to say nothing about the actual quality of the action scenes themselves which are a sight to behold but it would have been nice to see the stakes raised higher.

So it wasn't the action that gripped me in this film. No, it was the quieter moments with the characters. As many of you have already heard from countless critics reviews, the plot isn't exactly one of the film's strongest points and thankfully, it isn't the focus either. A good chunk of the film's first (and if I might add, better) half is about the coming together of these larger than life yet also strangely idiosyncratic gods-among-men and the sparks that fly when their egos collide. The heart of the film is established when we are shown how this assembly of heroes is not a harmonious comradrie, but a fragile and uneasy alliance. Each one has their own motives and their own methods which often results in them going against each other rather than the greater enemy. That is what Banner refers to when he says "we are not a team, we're a time bomb". For better or worse, The Avengers gives you just enough of these moments to barely satiate your hunger - not so little that it devolves into another Transformers, but not as much as what would have elevated the film to another level. The spot-on but also occasionally surprising humor makes up for it though, and if you go in with the right (not lower) expectations, you will have an absolute blast.

I also think they could have hired a better composer to create better music for the film, because the score was really forgettable. I was expecting each character to have sort of their own mini-themes that would play during their individual action sequences but even without that, I can't remember a single moment where the score made me go "I've got to have this in my collection" and I'm a big game/film music bug.

All said, that is just the obsessive film geek in me talking. Sorry if I didn't talk more about the positives of this film because that would be delving into spoiler territory and I wanted to keep this review spoiler-free. Rest assured, The Avengers is that rarest of breeds: an all-inclusive crowd-pleasing superhero extravaganza that has something for everybody. It is smart, hilarious, substantial and explosive, even if not in equal measure. The Raiders of the Lost Ark of superhero films has arrived, and that's no small praise.

This deserves an applause :P

[Suzanne78]

I'm really loving the fandom insight into the film as a whole. Because it seems like a lot of posters here appreciated the character-driven first half more than even some of the professional critics.

Thank you so much for the very insightful reviews.

The Raiders of the Lost Ark of superhero films has arrived, and that's no small praise.

The Raiders of superhero films? I can live with that

[Nelson/Murdock]

There's one reason why Avengers is not the Raiders of superhero films...and that's the fact that Avengers is so good because they took five films to set everything up. If this were the first film, there would be a lot of people who liked it, but also a lot of people pissed at characters getting short-changed.

This is not a complaint, by the way. Just pointing it out.

By the by, Bruce and Natasha were my faves this time out. But everyone was really good.

[marcvader]

Originally Posted by Fenrir

Another diehard Batman-nut with his whatever-its-worth-two-cents. Not that I put any stock in this petty Marvel vs DC rivalry, I just never cared that much for other Marvel superheroes with the exception of Iron Man and occassionally, the X-Men.

First off, it may sound strange but I was really indifferent to the action in The Avengers. Sure, it's very well done and has a lot of tag-team moments that would make fans squeel like teenage girls at a rock concert, but I have always maintained that what makes action scenes involving is firmly establishing the threat level of the villain and the immense peril that the main characters will be put into and unfortunately, because of the nature of these heroes there are rarely (if any) instances in which you feel any of them are in genuine danger or are so hopelessly outmatched that there is no way all of them are coming out of this unscathed. Again, that is to say nothing about the actual quality of the action scenes themselves which are a sight to behold but it would have been nice to see the stakes raised higher.

So it wasn't the action that gripped me in this film. No, it was the quieter moments with the characters. As many of you have already heard from countless critics reviews, the plot isn't exactly one of the film's strongest points and thankfully, it isn't the focus either. A good chunk of the film's first (and if I might add, better) half is about the coming together of these larger than life yet also strangely idiosyncratic gods-among-men and the sparks that fly when their egos collide. The heart of the film is established when we are shown how this assembly of heroes is not a harmonious comradrie, but a fragile and uneasy alliance. Each one has their own motives and their own methods which often results in them going against each other rather than the greater enemy. That is what Banner refers to when he says "we are not a team, we're a time bomb". For better or worse, The Avengers gives you just enough of these moments to barely satiate your hunger - not so little that it devolves into another Transformers, but not as much as what would have elevated the film to another level. The spot-on but also occasionally surprising humor makes up for it though, and if you go in with the right (not lower) expectations, you will have an absolute blast.

I also think they could have hired a better composer to create better music for the film, because the score was really forgettable. I was expecting each character to have sort of their own mini-themes that would play during their individual action sequences but even without that, I can't remember a single moment where the score made me go "I've got to have this in my collection" and I'm a big game/film music bug.

All said, that is just the obsessive film geek in me talking. Sorry if I didn't talk more about the positives of this film because that would be delving into spoiler territory and I wanted to keep this review spoiler-free. Rest assured, The Avengers is that rarest of breeds: an all-inclusive crowd-pleasing superhero extravaganza that has something for everybody. It is smart, hilarious, substantial and explosive, even if not in equal measure. The Raiders of the Lost Ark of superhero films has arrived, and that's no small praise.

Nice line as that is probably my favorite movie next to ESB.

[Fenrir]

Originally Posted by Nelson/Murdock

There's one reason why Avengers is not the Raiders of superhero films...and that's the fact that Avengers is so good because they took five films to set everything up. If this were the first film, there would be a lot of people who liked it, but also a lot of people pissed at characters getting short-changed.

I meant Raiders of the Lost Ark in the sense as the film with the benchmark template as the perfect crowd-pleasing summer blockbuster. Raiders is the kind of film you watch to cheer yourself up and feel better when you are depressed or after having a bad day or to simply unwind. The Avengers is that kind of movie. It has perfected the standard superhero movie formula.

[T"Challa]

Originally Posted by Fenrir

All said, that is just the obsessive film geek in me talking. Sorry if I didn't talk more about the positives of this film because that would be delving into spoiler territory and I wanted to keep this review spoiler-free. Rest assured, The Avengers is that rarest of breeds: an all-inclusive crowd-pleasing superhero extravaganza that has something for everybody. It is smart, hilarious, substantial and explosive, even if not in equal measure. The Raiders of the Lost Ark of superhero films has arrived, and that's no small praise.

[Ajendo]

I'm posting my review in spoilers because I can't be bothered to spoiler tag bits and pieces.

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

This movie was straight bananas! I'm still quivering with excitement. Kudos to all involved. It's a REAL comic book movie.

The characters all shine. Surprisingly enough, hawkeye and bw get much more screen time than I expected. Whedon is the effin captain and he should direct every subsequent Avengers movie, hell if I had my way, I'd clone him and have him direct every marvel-related movie.

Lokie was an amazing villain, utterly ruthless in his quest for world domination. The team members were excellently characterised, hell as excellent as the action was, the highlight for me was the snarky bickering amongst themselves. Classic entertainment.
Hulk!! What can I say? They finally did it! Hulk had this ape-like demeanour about him in the way he moved, his first transformation was terrifying because the movie sold the danger of what happens when Banner becomes "him" and bw's fear of banner and the hulk for when he arrives complimented this. A highlight was definitely the humour to which hulk got many laughs, hulk punching Thor after they take out a bunch of chitari, Loki going on a ***** fit about how he's a god and hulk beating the snot out of him, in fact it was at that moment Loki was down and out for the count. Banner walking towards the snake monster and simultaneously transforming and destroying it with a single punch.

Cap was great, his man out of time awkwardness (the monkey reference) and he proved to be a great leader.

Thor was awesome too, as well as everyone else, including the smaller players like Maria Hill.

Its just an excellent movie that delivers and does so with magnificent gusto. The only issue anyone would have with this movie is that it had to end. All other comic book movies beware. Avengers has reset the bar incredibly high.

I may come back and give a proper and detailed review because I'm still buzzing, I'm typing this up on my blackberry and I'm about to go see this movie again. (Thank you cineworld card).

[thalidomide]

I have a question. In a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest, how badass/evil/menacing is Loki?

[Fenrir]

Originally Posted by thalidomide

I have a question. In a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest, how badass/evil/menacing is Loki?

That is one of my (small) complaints the film. In some scenes, he's a straight up 10, where it appears he is in total control and holding all the cards almost like the Joker in TDK, while in others he is more like he was in Thor - weasly, deceptive and even slightly juvenile. Perhaps that's what his character is, but I would've preferred to see a bit more consistency because in the first half of the film he really has everyone on the run.

[thalidomide]

Thanks Fenrir

[Raiden]

Fenrir and Sharkboy, I'm glad that Batfans like you can be won over by this movie, and this lends to the credibility of The Avengers as a movie that can please all kinds of audience. I'll be checking out TDKR when it arrives in a couple of months, and I'd like nothing more than having all the comic fans enjoy every CBM this summer.

[Nathan]

Whedon is the effin captain and he should direct every subsequent Avengers movie, hell if I had my way, I'd clone him and have him direct every marvel-related movie.

Dude, it's scary. I was thinking the exact same thing. Then again, probably more had the exact same thought.

[Sharkboy]

Originally Posted by Raiden

Fenrir and Sharkboy, I'm glad that Batfans like you can be won over by this movie, and this lends to the credibility of The Avengers as a movie that can please all kinds of audience. I'll be checking out TDKR when it arrives in a couple of months, and I'd like nothing more than having all the comic fans enjoy every CBM this summer.

I'm glad i was won over, no one ever wins if a bad movie comes out.

For the record, I wasn't too impressed with Thor or Captain America, and I'm glad because while Avengers felt like an excellent comic book movie, more importantly it was a fantastic FILM! If you get me.