The Avengers Avengers: What Went Right

[MessiahDecoy123]

Okay this film obviously is a runaway success financially and critically so lets look into why it worked out so well.

Why is this movie so successful? Your opinions, please.

 

[thalidomide]

Everything!

 

[Chewy]

Kevin Feige.

Robert Downey Jr.

Chris Hemsworth.

Chris Evans.

Mark Ruffalo.

Joss Whedon.

 

[The Morningstar]

The fact that it balances great characterisation, brilliant dialogue, a simple plot, yet naunced story... and some of the greatest action scenes ever committed to film.

 

[Mysteryman]

They put together a great team behind the scenes and in front of the camera .

 

[kedrell]

They had an ambitious plan to create this whole thing and put in all the work to get it done. They thought big and they got big. Pretty impressive for a studio with only 6 films under their belt. This film is locked for a billion plus gross in just it's 6th film. It took Pixar 11 movies to get there, just for comparison.

 

[Moriatti]

The aesthetics: The Heroes and Super Villains were either bright colours or Dark Blacks, and sometimes a blend of both, while the nameless enemies were muddled browns and grays, which meant you could pick out your characters quickly in a fight scene and know who to root for.

The characters: Generally these were characters who were trying to look tough infront of other tough guys, they've never been equal to anyone quite the way they were equal to each-other, and that shock at not all being the alpha dog was played well without getting too aggravating.

The Hulk: Both as a threat and as a character was handled very well, not just by Ruffalo, but by all of the actors that were around him.

Pretty much everything except some minor pacing issues was gold for a summer, super-hero movie. It's not The Godfather, but no one expected it to be.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I think this movie works on multiple levels. There's spectacle and it's also a character study to some extent which draws people in.

The humor is a must when dealing with hard to swallow premises and Whedon understood that. And the humor is done very well. The humor fits these characters so perfectly that it we are rewarded the more we know about them. And some of the laughs are so strong that people can't get enough.

Also The first week of May is great opening weekend for well constructed and hyped blockbusters. Audiences were hungry for an event film after a dull April.

Whedon of course deserves much of the credit because he wrote and directed an addictive movie that has something for everyone whether your looking for sex appeal, action, humor.

and lastly the casting of the actors is flawless. They all fit there roles like a glove and they take these roles as serious as any high-brow film. The result is very engaging. Poor casting can spell doom for a film. Ask the Green Lantern.

 

[iJackSparrow]

Best movie I've ever seen in my entire life. Ask me again what went right. t:

 

[El Payaso]

Acting-wise, Ruffalo and RDJ were simply great. Not just good.

 

[The Morningstar]

Yea, Ruffalo was a revelation. I've always liked him, was confident he'd do well, but man, he just stamped his authority on the Banner role. No doubt.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Also I forgot to mention the slow build up.

There's a slow and impressive build up before the Avengers release that involved years of dedicated filmmaking then you have the slow build up during the first half of the movie.

This results in the most epic climax payoff in movie history for anyone who followed the entire build up which doesn't even include the lengthy comic book history.

The solo films leading to the team movie was a masterstroke despite the risks.

 

[Dark Raven]

I think RDJ's performance in this movie was a lot better than in IM2. It was more serious and didn't feel like he was just improvising and ad libing all the time. For all the potential concern about overdoing this movie with Whedonisms, Whedon actually reigned RDJ in, so that it made RDJ's own ramblings in IM2 seem more like typical Whedonisms. RJD never seemed like he was rambling here but was much more focused.

Also Ruffalo brought some of the same intensity that Bill Bixby had to the role of Banner. Because he had this anger seething beneath the surface (and gave a small demonstration of it at the beginning with ScarJo), there was that same anticipation and tension that you would get with Bixby wondering when he's going to Hulk out and how it will happen.

And Natasha was written much better this time than in IM2. I liked that she did seem more of a Russian spy this time round.

 

[Tony Stark]

1.) The actors, especially Ruffalo, Downey, Evans and Hiddleston.
2.) The script, it was smart and focused more on the characters
3.) Pacing, the movie was over 2 1/2 hrs, but everything moved along.
4.) Smart humor - unlike Transformers the movie didn't rely on cheap gags that didn't add to the plot. Sure there's quirky humor like the galga reference, but I best everyone in the audience under 25, that joke went over their heads while the Gen X'ers were laughing their butts off.
5.) Unlike Transformers it showed a positive view of minorities. Not only is Nick Fury a bas ass, he's smart savvy and he truely believes in the Avengers above what his superiors have in mind.
6.) Because people enjoyed the solo films. People really harped on the Avengers references in the other movies, but it really helped to connect the characters.
7.) Disney - OK as much as Disney screwed up with John Carter, they got it right here. I also can't imagine how Marvel could have pulled off something this big without their help. From the spots on Disney Channel, to the comiccon like panel at Disney's convention last August, they did everything right.
8.) Risk vs. reward. Word is there was 100M worth of marketing on this, and the film cost 220M to produce. That took some big onions to put up that kind of dough, and it could have blown up in their face. Not to mention work with that kind of money and put a television director behind the helm.
9.) Kevin Feige, come on guys as much as you guys knock him this guy knows what the hell he is doing. Unlike Avi Arad who was good in the beginning, but the more he got his hands into things he kept screwing things up. Feige never veered from his direction of where he wanted to take these movies and it paid off in a huge way.

 

[craigdbfan]

The humor was incredibly clever and inspired.

Tony talking in Shakespearean to Thor was hilarious.

 

[Marvin]

Hollywood has it's creators, comic books have there's. For a long time now, no matter how good an adaptation was, it ALWAYS fell short of the comic books(that includes the Bat films).

What's special about Whedon is that tmr, this guy could write a superman book, and it may go down as one of the best runs ever...He's already done it on Xmen and that's a book known for it's legendary runs, he stepped in and smashed them(imo). He really is that dude. And for the first time ever, they gave both writing and directing control to such a person? I've payed very close attention to the type of response Avengers has been receiving and what I've found hasn't surprised me in the slightest. The reaction the film audience is having is very much the same as the reaction the geek community has of a great comic book. People talking about moments and who's stronger than who and new favorite characters...Cap has multiple moments where he's doubted as a leader and simply takes charge by example, I've seen so many people talk about this the way I used to talk about it when I first started enjoying Cap(he was bland to me before that). People are experiencing with this film what I experienced the day I stopped being DC exclusive. Before that day most marvel characters(outside X men) were bland to me, and I feel that's what's been going on with the response to the films thus far. "Ok, I see why cap is a bad ass, I see why hulk really is so special...etc"

The thing about Hollywood is that these guys can't hang in the comic book world. I just don't see Singer or even Raimi writing a solid comic book. With the exception of Goyer and Lindelof, who have written a book or two, but even these two guys aren't capable(thus far) of a legendary run(on their own anyways).

What makes Avengers such a powerhouse is that even as a comic book it's better than a lot of it's source material, some have even said it's the best Avengers they've seen anywhere(see totally rad show). Outside of Blade, I've honestly never seen that happen.

I hope Marvel keeps this approach in mind moving forward. Your films do the best when they can actually hang with the source material.

 

[Spider-X]

Everything!

Correct! I think we can close this thread up now...not much more to talk about really...

 

[Spider-X]

The humor was incredibly clever and inspired.

Tony talking in Shakespearean to Thor was hilarious.

"Doth mother know...you wearith her drapes?" LOL!

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Hollywood has it's creators, comic books have there's. For a long time now, no matter how good an adaptation was, it ALWAYS fell short of the comic books(that includes the Bat films).

What's special about Whedon is that tmr, this guy could write a superman book, and it may go down as one of the best runs ever...He's already done it on Xmen and that's a book known for it's legendary runs, he stepped in and smashed them(imo). He really is that dude. And for the first time ever, they gave both writing and directing control to such a person? I've payed very close attention to the type of response Avengers has been receiving and what I've found hasn't surprised me in the slightest. The reaction the film audience is having is very much the same as the reaction the geek community has of a great comic book. People talking about moments and who's stronger than who and new favorite characters...Cap has multiple moments where he's doubted as a leader and simply takes charge by example, I've seen so many people talk about this the way I used to talk about it when I first started enjoying Cap(he was bland to me before that). People are experiencing with this film what I experienced the day I stopped being DC exclusive. Before that day most marvel characters(outside X men) were bland to me, and I feel that's what's been going on with the response to the films thus far. "Ok, I see why cap is a bad ass, I see why hulk really is so special...etc"

The thing about Hollywood is that these guys can't hang in the comic book world. I just don't see Singer or even Raimi writing a solid comic book. With the exception of Goyer and Lindelof, who have written a book or two, but even these two guys aren't capable(thus far) of a legendary run(on their own anyways).

What makes Avengers such a powerhouse is that even as a comic book it's better than a lot of it's source material, some have even said it's the best Avengers they've seen anywhere(see totally rad show). Outside of Blade, I've honestly never seen that happen.

I hope Marvel keeps this approach in mind moving forward. Your films do the best when they can actually hang with the source material.

That is exactly what makes a great comic book movie. Does it convince a neutral viewer why they should be life-long fans?

Great post BTW.

 

[Marvin]

Also, all the team bickering and picturesque action, empowered women, scene stealers, team bickering, surprise deaths, big genre premise, and eventual team work....

is literally what Joss have been doing with just about all his work from the jump. Especially FF/Serenity. And that too is what seems to be getting praised where previous Marvel's haven't.

 

[Marvin]

That is exactly what makes a great comic book movie. Does it convince a neutral viewer why they should be life-long fans?

Great post BTW.

Thx,

I'm not sure it convinces them to be life long fans no, but I do believe in the moment everyone watching is experiencing the bliss of geekdom.

Before recent times, society used to have a special place for geeks. And now that some of these films are really strong, the audience is experiencing the magic that geeks have kept to themselves for so many years. This is no more evident in 2 key moments.

Hulk and Thors first conflict, and lifting the hammer. Geeks have discussed this for years and after the film everyone was...

And seeing super brains impress each other in sci fi. There is a real wonder there.

So no, I don't see life long fans coming out of this, if anything there will be the sort of love the Indy films get, so in a way yes. But it really is all about the shared experience of the moment.

 

[craigdbfan]

"Doth mother know...you wearith her drapes?" LOL!

That scene had me in stitches.

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

The film really knew how to handle each important character and give them their respective moments as individuals and as a team. My favorite aspect of it all is that it is a team up movie. It's so refreshing and awesome to finally see what would happen if individual heroes came together. I remember watching it and just having that comic geek giddiness over Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye, and Black Widow interacting with each other. This movie has set the benchmark for giving comic book characters their due.

 

[TTFN]

Honestly I think everyone involved would have had to actually try to make everything go wrong on purpose for it to fail. There is too much appeal in each character individually that when you get them together collectively it just amps up the attachments and interest that much more.

That and Feige is too talented to screw something this big up and he put the right people in the right places.

 

[cherokeesam]

In all honesty, I'd say:

1) Pacing. Perfect.
2) Mind-blowing action sequences and vfx.
3) Great Whedonesque dialogue that realizes you can't take this stuff seriously, but you have to treat it with more respect than camp.
4) Above all, I've gotta credit Disney and Marvel marketing. They did a *fantastic* job at hyping this up and keeping it in the spotlight, especially overseas. I think the whirlwind tour of world premieres was a fantastic promotional campaign as well.
5) And finally, living up to the hype. Avengers delivers everything it promises. Can't ask for more than that from a movie.