The Avengers The Avengers Critics Reviews Thread - Part 1

[Joeyjojo72]

Im sorry it bothers you. It makes me very excited. And I love that different folks like different aspects of the same movie. That spells very broad appeal.

 

[Kalonthar]

yeah it does this often..give it a couple of minutes to update

That's what I thought. Though funny enough, I can usually check back an hour or two after I notice such a thing and it still doesn't change. Sure there might be more reviews but they don't match between both spots.

 

[Raiden]

As many superhero movies, The Avegers does play "comedy" way too much, at least for me. Sometimes it works, but when it doesn't... it really hurts.

I love humoir, which is why I don't like it to be some kind of magical device you should put all over the place. Specially when it's unnecessary and can kill a good scene.

But I think critics refer to humour because the movie tries really hard to play the comedy angle.

The thing we have to keep in mind is that while The Avengers is filled with jokes and is humorous, it isn't tried to be a comedy. It is no less dramatic than other CBM out there, and while it isn't as serious as BB or TDK, I don't think you need to be dark and brooding in order to be taken seriously. If the movie is good, then that's all it should matter.

 

[Suzanne78]

The thing is, with the humor, if you're not familar with Joss' work, then it could hurt or enhance the experience of watching one of his projects onscreen. Joss is a naturally witty guy, and when he puts humor in, it's not intended to spoof the film itself, but it's more to assist the audience to accept the fantastical elements playing out before them, I think.

For me, Joss' wit has never, ever been an issue. He has a way of using humor to enhance and enrich character development. He also absolutely loves shocking the viewer's senses - make them laugh one minute and then stun them with a shocking moment the next. For me, I react viscerally to his writing, which is one of the reasons I'm completely in love with his work.

Plus, most Avengers comics that I've read, indeed most of the comics I do read (which are mostly Marvel at the moment), uses that very same formula of humor + drama mix that Joss does so well. This is a big reason why he seemed a natural for many people to helm TA. That formula doesn't work well with other movies (definitely not Batman when Schumacher was at the wheel), but for the MCU, I think it's gangbusters.

 

[Joeyjojo72]

This review is a rave (with a few caveats) and yet he gives the movie a very typical 3.5 out of 5:

http://screen-space.squarespace.com/reviews/2012/4/21/the-avengers.html

"But The Avengers (or Avengers Assemble or Marvel’s The Avengers – I’ve seen them all used) gets it wonderfully right where it needed to the most. Each hero has ample time in their own spotlight (Ruffalo’s Hulk shining brightest) yet Whedon constructs the enveloping sense of camaraderie seamlessly, all set against top-tier FX and a compelling narrative."

Ipso fatso RT avg. rating is (nearly) meaningless. You have to actually read the reviews to get any sense. Its time consuming, but there you go.

Ive also noticed a trend: the "snootier" reviews tend to give away more spoilers than the outright raves. Especially the british press. So beware.

 

[megalixir]

RT consensus summary:

With a script that never forgets its heroes' humanity and no shortage of superpowered set pieces, The Avengers lives up to its hype -- and raises the bar for Marvel at the movies.

 

[Rock Sexton]

As many superhero movies, The Avegers does play "comedy" way too much, at least for me. Sometimes it works, but when it doesn't... it really hurts.

I love humoir, which is why I don't like it to be some kind of magical device you should put all over the place. Specially when it's unnecessary and can kill a good scene.

But I think critics refer to humour because the movie tries really hard to play the comedy angle.

I'm very picky about humor getting ramrodded into these films ... especially if it's juvenile like that in Transformers. However, I cannot recall one moment that was forced humor. Please describe me one.

 

[Musty002]

Very worryingly for me that there is lot of 3/5 3.5/5 for my taste but then again I gave the film a 7.7/10 but when is the last time a top critic gave it a 5/5?

 

[El Payaso]

I'm very picky about humor getting ramrodded into these films ... especially if it's juvenile like that in Transformers. However, I cannot recall one moment that was forced humor. Please describe me one.

[BLACKOUT]
- Hulk beats Loki the way old Hannah-Barbera cartoons did. Like when bamm Bamm used to take Barney Rubble by the finger and whip him against the flor, right and left. And then a one-liner "Puny god." You don't give Hulk any talk and then you give this? And, again, Loki deserved to learn his lesson but the way he was shown after the beating... I said in in my review, it just lacked little yellow birds circling his head to make the whole cartoon thing act done. It give nothing to any of the characters.

- Coulson, who has earned our respect and love is about to die. But no, he had to throw a last one-liner which, again, add nothing to the character. I get Whedon was trying to tone down his death but humour... was not the way.

- Hulk and Thor land and smash a couple of aliens (I think). Hulk, out of nowhere, for no reason other than trying to be funny, ounched Thor out of the screen.[/BLACKOUT]

 

[Joeyjojo72]

You guys are hopeless. Lol why would you be worried? You already saw the movie and its gonna make a ****load of money!! Try and relax, you'll live longer.

 

[bonzob2000]

I like how El Payaso thinks three of the best moments in the movie are forced. And I like how people think a movie with a 96 percent RT score and an 8.1 rating getting a few 3.5/5 scores is "very worrying." Sigh.

Anyway, it made me happy that Kyle Smith's slightly positive review was the one that tipped the top critics scale and officially gave the film a "Certified Fresh." He's one of the few critics who gave negative reviews to both Serenity and Cabin in the Woods, so he's far from a Whedon fan, yet even he enjoyed it.

 

[Joeyjojo72]

Exactly. A great sign for the broad appeal of this movie. I have yet to read a review that said there was TOO MUCH humor in this movie. I have read MANY reviews that praise the humor, which is very rare for an action movie. Or a comedy for that matter.

 

[bonzob2000]

I don't know about an anti-Whedon bias, Joeyjojo. It definitely exists in fandom communities, but he's always been a critic's darling, pretty much. Buffy was and is one of the most critically lauded shows ever, Serenity and Cabin got strong reviews/raves pretty much across the board. Critics even lead the way on "save Dollhouse" stuff once that show started becoming good.

Also, last time we were talking about this I said the superhero fatigue would translate into a lot of 3/5's rather than a lot of negatives, which is why I thought it wouldn't drop down to the mid 80s on RT. Now it sort of seems like you are agreeing with me, but you still don't think it will stay in the 90s? Have faith!

I'm gonna call a final score (or at least, a pre-DVD release final score), of 91 percent. If Cabin can hold at that, Avengers should be able to as well.

 

[metaphysician]

This is why I look at the Freshness rating on RT, not the average rating. It gives you a sense for how broadly the critics like it. Yes, it doesn't distinguish automatically between "rave review" and "just barely positive". . . but a movie that gets lots of rave reviews should also have more total positive reviews, and a movie that gets just barely positive reviews should end up with a lot more negative reviews.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

Anyway, it made me happy that Kyle Smith's slightly positive review was the one that tipped the top critics scale and officially gave the film a "Certified Fresh." He's one of the few critics who gave negative reviews to both Serenity and Cabin in the Woods, so he's far from a Whedon fan, yet even he enjoyed it.

Hmmmm...those are the main reasons I'm a "Whedon fan".

He didn't like those....yet likes the Avengers? That could actually be a bad sign.

 

[Joeyjojo72]

bonzob2000 youre thinking of TV critics. Totally different animal from the likes of AO Scott et al. And I'm only saying that AFTER reading many reviews, not because I glanced at the avg. rating number on RT. There are a significant number of film critics, maybe the older ones, who have a bias against genre fare and those who traffic in said fare. This is Joss Whedon's milieu.

That said, I don't think that bias is anywhere near universal. And I think there have been many reviews by Whedon skeptics that are raves nonetheless. Im not saying Kyle Smith is the norm, but he definitely has a bias. More than one, in fact. Hes completely entitled to his biases, and they don't invalidate his review in the slightest.

 

[Figs]

[BLACKOUT]- Hulk and Thor land and smash a couple of aliens (I think). Hulk, out of nowhere, for no reason other than trying to be funny, ounched Thor out of the screen.[/BLACKOUT]

I haven't seen the movie yet, but from the first time I heard about this scene I instantly knew that it's meant to be a "good job bro" kind of slug in the arm. It's not exactly random when people tend to do this at times.

 

[bonzob2000]

I still disagree. TV critics can be just as biased against genre fare -- look at the latest NY Times review of Game of Thrones, for instance. Yet they still loved Whedon's work.

Anyway, I agree that film critics are biased against genre stuff. But I don't think they dislike Whedon for that. Rather, my impression is that he is seen as one of the finest purveyors of the genre material that they don't particularly care for in general.

 

[Rock Sexton]

[BLACKOUT]
- Hulk beats Loki the way old Hannah-Barbera cartoons did. Like when bamm Bamm used to take Barney Rubble by the finger and whip him against the flor, right and left. And then a one-liner "Puny god." You don't give Hulk any talk and then you give this? And, again, Loki deserved to learn his lesson but the way he was shown after the beating... I said in in my review, it just lacked little yellow birds circling his head to make the whole cartoon thing act done. It give nothing to any of the characters.

- Coulson, who has earned our respect and love is about to die. But no, he had to throw a last one-liner which, again, add nothing to the character. I get Whedon was trying to tone down his death but humour... was not the way.

- Hulk and Thor land and smash a couple of aliens (I think). Hulk, out of nowhere, for no reason other than trying to be funny, ounched Thor out of the screen.[/BLACKOUT]

Wow.

No seriously, wow.

You were unable to have fun with probably two of the most fun scenes in the movie in Thor/Hulk & Hulk/Loki. Those two scenes were probably the largest crowd pleasers at my screening. I can potentially understand [BLACKOUT]your gripe with Coulson's death,[/BLACKOUT] however this movie was not meant to be dramatic in the way you envisioned that scene.

Hulk [BLACKOUT]punching Thor was about "dominance" or the idea that Hulk thinks himself to be the dominant one. The fact that it's unexpected just makes it even better.
[/BLACKOUT]
Someone else said this earlier, but Loki was giving his super villain [BLACKOUT]monologue and of course a rage monster isn't gonna sit there listening to it. Sure, would I have liked to see a more drawn out Loki-Hulk fight? Ya, that would've been nice. It's not as though it wasn't enjoyable to me though to see him lay waste to Loki.[/BLACKOUT] That entire act was a crescendo. To have slowed it down for a more intense battle between the two would've ruined the pacing.

 

[Tony Stark]

Spoiler tags please!!!!

 

[Drummerdude7]

As I said in the Hulk thread:

Spoiler

Hulk did the same thing to Herr Kleiser in Ultimates. Kleiser was being a typical supervillain after being pounded by the Hulk, and started giving a monologue saying "Well my friend, I think congratulations are in order..." But Hulk cuts him off and pounds him into the ground yelling "SHUT UP!" I hate it when villains give their self-important speeches, and after Loki had been insulting Banner and the Hulk from the movie's beginning, it's only fitting he meets his final, humiliating defeat at the massive hands of the "mindless" beast he so often derided.

 

[T"Challa]

As I said in the Hulk thread:

Spoiler

Hulk did the same thing to Herr Kleiser in Ultimates. Kleiser was being a typical supervillain after being pounded by the Hulk, and started giving a monologue saying "Well my friend, I think congratulations are in order..." But Hulk cuts him off and pounds him into the ground yelling "SHUT UP!" I hate it when villains give their self-important speeches, and after Loki had been insulting Banner and the Hulk from the movie's beginning, it's only fitting he meets his final, humiliating defeat at the massive hands of the "mindless" beast he so often derided.

Exactly. I would have been mad if Loki got off even slightly easy in this. I love movies where the villain gets whats coming to them in a big way. It just makes the movie more satisfying for me. Loki deserved to be beat down and humiliated and i couldn't think of a better way it could have been done.

 

[Rock Sexton]

Exactly. I would have been mad if Loki got off even slightly easy in this. I love movies where the villain gets whats coming to them in a big way. It just makes the movie more satisfying for me. Loki deserved to be beat down and humiliated and i couldn't think of a better way it could have been done.

Seeing him

Spoiler

laying there like a dead peace of wood 2ft into the floor was freaking hilarious.

 

[Nathan]

A much needed lesson of humility.

 

[T"Challa]

Seeing him

Spoiler

laying there like a dead peace of wood 2ft into the floor was freaking hilarious.

Spoiler

It was the blank look in his eyes that killed me..it was a total 'wtf-just-happened look