Best Superhero Movie of Summer 2012 (Avengers, ASM, TDKR)

[tek]

i enjoyed all 3. hard to separate for me.

 

[Raiden]

I didn't see ASM, but I saw both TA and TDKR and while both are good movies, I'd have to give TA the edge. Yes, TDKR is "deeper" and has the usual Nolan treatment, but after the movie I was bothered by several of its plot holes, and the movie itself was uneven and was bogged down in the middle. TA may not have a complex plot, but the story is more coherent and it was great all the way through.

 

[AnneFan]

I liked them all but I rank them as follows:

1. TDKR
2. The Avengers
3. TASM

 

[Doctor Jones]

In terms of enjoyment, The Avengers. Avengers delivered in every way when I first saw it and never got old. I saw it five times. I've seen TDKR three times and will see it more. I guess it's just how much it holds up on repeat vewings. But it just gets better.

The Avengers has the advantage of novelty and amazing spectacle. TDKR has my love of Batman and the Nolans films concluding into one satisfying end.

They're so different, I don't know if I can choose one over the other. TDKR was a more tough one to crack for me, but I like that. I'm still unsure if this is my favorite or not, but we'll see.

 

[redhawk23]

Placing The Amazing Spider Man in third somehow implies that its anywhere near the other two.

 

[redhawk23]

All three of these movies unfortunately feature the same absolutely played out "stop the villain's shiney device!" 3rd act plot.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Placing The Amazing Spider Man in third somehow implies that its anywhere near the other two.

Don't worry, it's not.

 

[The Caped Knight]

1.The Dark Knight Rises
2. The Avengers
3. ASM

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Placing The Amazing Spider Man in third somehow implies that its anywhere near the other two.

To be fair only 3 other superheroes movies in film history that are anywhere "near the other two".

Superman The Movie
The Dark Knight
Spider-man 2 (not IMO)

But ASM gets a bad wrap. It's an above average superhero movie and one of the best Spider-man movies.

There are no superhero losers this summer. This will probably be go down as the best summer for CBM of all time. Enjoy it while you can.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

For fans of action or iconic Avenger imagery: Avengers should be number 1.

For fans of drama or iconic Batman imagery: TDKR should be number 1.

For fans of romance or iconic Spider-man imagery: ASM should be number 1.

It just depends one what you have a soft spot for. I can't wait to watch them all again on dvd.

 

[Drizzle]

For fans of action or iconic Avenger imagery: Avengers should be number 1.

For fans of drama or iconic Batman imagery: TDKR should be number 1.

For fans of romance or iconic Spider-man imagery: ASM should be number 1.

It just depends one what you have a soft spot for. I can't wait to watch them all again on dvd.

But I'm a fan of iconic Batman imagery more than anything else (regarding comics), and as much as I loved TDKR, I still enjoyed The Avengers more.

 

[JAK®]

It's not really fair to claim the action of The Avengers as it's main highlight. That's what the Transformers movies are like.

No, what made The Avengers so great was that it had the great action AND great characters.

It's plot is simple, but that's all it needed to be. The characters came first before anything else which is why the film rises above the rest.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

But I'm a fan of iconic Batman imagery more than anything else (regarding comics), and as much as I loved TDKR, I still enjoyed The Avengers more.

You must like action and Avengers imagery more overall then you do drama and Batman imagery.

It's not an exact science, just possible explanations for the different preferences. t:

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

It's not really fair to claim the action of The Avengers as it's main highlight. That's what the Transformers movies are like.

No, what made The Avengers so great was that it had the great action AND great characters.

It's plot is simple, but that's all it needed to be. The characters came first before anything else which is why the film rises above the rest.

Fair point but all three movies had great characterizations so I didn't list that as an advantage over any of the others.

 

[JAK®]

You must like action and Avengers imagery more overall then you do drama and Batman imagery.

It's not an exact science, just possible explanations for the different preferences. t:

You can bet it's not an exact science, as it is insultingly simplistic and demonstrably wrong.

 

[Lorus]

Avengers for me, TDKR is a close second and TASM barely rates, if at all.

At the end of the day, I think it comes down to script economics, the Avengers’ script is more elegant and economic while TDKR is too bloated with ideas which dominate the text but aren’t given sufficient exploration for a satisfying subtext. TASM’s script is barely competent but that’s another argument.

Furthermore, I may be in the minority when I say this but it’s actually much harder to wrestle moments of humanity and intimacy in TDKR than the Avengers. There’s so much exposition and mechanical structuring of story that it becomes harder to get involved. That’s not to say that they’re absent from TDKR but they seem rarer to me. The characters in the Avengers seem to actually converse with each other, moreso than in TDKR. People always reduce Whedon’s writing to sharp quips but I think it’s so much more than that.

Unpopular opinion over. Also, I don’t necessarily see Bane as being better developed than Loki.

 

[redhawk23]

To be fair only 3 other superheroes movies in film history that are anywhere "near the other two".

Superman The Movie
The Dark Knight
Spider-man 2 (not IMO)

But ASM gets a bad wrap. It's an above average superhero movie and one of the best Spider-man movies.

There are no superhero losers this summer. This will probably be go down as the best summer for CBM of all time. Enjoy it while you can.

See for me ASM is decidely, stubbornly, average. It's just so 'meh' in almost every fashion outside of Emma Stone. A major part of that is that I'm seriously sick of origin story movies and Spiderman has one of the most recognizable and archetypical origins.

 

[JAK®]

Avengers for me, TDKR is a close second and TASM barely rates, if at all.

At the end of the day, I think it comes down to script economics, the Avengers’ script is more elegant and economic while TDKR is too bloated with ideas which dominate the text but aren’t given sufficient exploration for a satisfying subtext. TASM’s script is barely competent but that’s another argument.

Furthermore, I may be in the minority when I say this but it’s actually much harder to wrestle moments of humanity and intimacy in TDKR than the Avengers. There’s so much exposition and mechanical structuring of story that it becomes harder to get involved. That’s not to say that they’re absent from TDKR but they seem rarer to me. The characters in the Avengers seem to actually converse with each other, moreso than in TDKR. People always reduce Whedon’s writing to sharp quips but I think it’s so much more than that.

Unpopular opinion over. Also, I don’t necessarily see Bane as being better developed than Loki.

Pretty much. Despite Nolan's realistic and grounded approach his storytelling style robs a lot of humanity from his characters. The plot of The Avengers pretty much revolves around character interaction, and although Whedon's writing style is humorous and jokey, it also revolves around how characters react to each other and this means that the film will feel a lot more personal and real. Even if it is about brightly dressed superpowered beings fighting a god from an alternate realm who summons an army of aliens.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

You can bet it's not an exact science, as it is insultingly simplistic and demonstrably wrong.

Yeah it's simplistic but it's not necessarily "wrong".

Each movie specialized in something different. That's a fact.

and those thing appeal to different people. Another fact.

 

[redhawk23]

The problems with TDKR's subtext derive from the fact that it deals with some hotbutton issues but Nolan tries to remain apolitical. Many people try to map politcal ideas on the film like they did The Dark Knight but with this film they don't quite stick so the subtext seems muddled when in truth its not even really there, at least not the specific ideas people want. Its fair criticism none the less.

 

[JAK®]

Yeah it's simplistic but it's not necessarily "wrong".

Each movie specialized in something different. That's a fact.

and those thing appeal to different people. Another fact.

Yes but you are trying to fit each person who liked each film into a specific description which simply doesn't work out.

In your post you say I prefer action over drama which simply isn't true.

 

[Lorus]

The problems with TDKR's subtext derive from the fact that it deals with some hotbutton issues but Nolan tries to remain apolitical. Many people try to map politcal ideas on the film like they did The Dark Knight but with this film they don't quite stick so the subtext seems muddled when in truth its not even really there, at least not the specific ideas people want. Its fair criticism none the less.

This is quite possibly true, I think Nolan's script is heavily plot driven which causes the problem. TDKR uses a host of potential societal themes as plot devices to drive its main plot but that's pretty much their only purpose. The issues are text, not subtext and that causes problems.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

See for me ASM is decidely, stubbornly, average. It's just so 'meh' in almost every fashion outside of Emma Stone. A major part of that is that I'm seriously sick of origin story movies and Spiderman has one of the most recognizable and archetypical origins.

I didn't mind the origin being re-told.

It had a greater impact on me this time around and the character arc has far more relateable and powerful. Then you have the humor, iconic imagery, action, emotion, romance, skilled acting, etc. All those thing were done to a better effect than average efforts like X-men and Captain America. Any other year and this would be much more obvious.

For the first time during a Spider-man movie I cared about Peter Parker and the outcome of the story. I wanted Parker and Gwen to be together despite the foreshadowing of Gwen's death. The movie takes alot of risks and almost all of them pay off IMO.

Nothing "meh" about it, except maybe the soundtrack.

 

[Lorus]

I didn't mind the origin being re-told.

It had a greater impact on me this time around and the character arc has far more relateable and powerful. Then you have the humor, iconic imagery, action, emotion, romance, skilled acting, etc. All those thing were done to a better effect than average efforts like X-men and Captain America. Any other year and this would be much more obvious.

For the first time during a Spider-man movie I cared about Peter Parker and the outcome of the story. I wanted Parker and Gwen to be together despite the foreshadowing of Gwen's death. The movie takes alot of risks and almost all of them pay off IMO.

Nothing "meh" about it, except maybe the soundtrack.

Risks? What risks do you really think TASM took? It followed the very rigid established structure for a superhero origin film and followed it to the letter. If any risks were taken, they seem to have been edited out with the 'untold story' stuff.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

The problems with TDKR's subtext derive from the fact that it deals with some hotbutton issues but Nolan tries to remain apolitical. Many people try to map politcal ideas on the film like they did The Dark Knight but with this film they don't quite stick so the subtext seems muddled when in truth its not even really there, at least not the specific ideas people want. Its fair criticism none the less.

Nolan since TDK has tried to add relevancy by making Batman villains an allegory to modern, real-world threats.

But it makes sense to make that connection because it is supposed to be the most realistic version of Batman out there.

I like measuring my own political positions to Nolan's Batman and villains. It just adds to the fun.