The Avengers The Avengers Critics Reviews Thread - Part 2

[Whiskey Tango]

Wha, Peter Berg?

Chewy, I thought I knew ye

 

[Chewy]

I'll put Ratner's Red Dragon up against any alternate universe Bay version.

A hack is someone who apes someone else's style and makes a lesser variation. Like Bay or no, he's doing his own thing

 

[Chewy]

Wha, Peter Berg?

Chewy, I thought I knew ye

Sorry but the Hancock/Battleship combo back-to-back puts you on that list. Bay-lite

 

[Whiskey Tango]

Bah!

 

[hitmanyr2k]

A hack is someone who apes someone else's style and makes a lesser variation. Like Bay or no, he's doing his own thing

You never heard of Tony Scott? It's no coincidence both guys are Bruckheimer disciples and I believe Scott came first so Bay definitely copied his style.

 

[Marvel]

First off, this movie right now is the most anticipated thing in my life. I even set up a 5 day vacation for it with my family.

Yeah, I'm doing pretty much the same thing. This is AVENGERS week, screw work. I set up a mega event Friday and are gathering friends and family to make a day of it. THE most anticipated thing in my life as well!

 

[Chewy]

You never heard of Tony Scott? It's no coincidence both guys are Bruckheimer disciples and I believe Scott came first so Bay definitely copied his style.

Tony Scott never came close to the Bayhem we get to (?) enjoy (?) these days

 

[Marvel]

One of the best yet:
http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/reviews/review-the-avengers-is-marvels-mightiest-movie.php

"Thrilling action, rounded characters, high personal and global stakes, brilliant camera work, a tight script, strong acting and a hell of an adventure."

Yeah, what else is there? Seriously.

 

[Chewy]

"Thrilling action, rounded characters, high personal and global stakes, brilliant camera work, a tight script, strong acting and a hell of an adventure."

Yeah, what else is there? Seriously.

The word "fun" appears twice in that review #suspect

 

[Gamma Burst]

The word "fun" appears twice in that review #suspect

How about ''popcorn''?

 

[TheLastAvenger]

I just realized I shouldn't have gotten in that Bay discussion, because when I think about it, I've only ever watched 4 of his films: Armageddon, Bad Boys, Pearl Harbor, and Transformers. I liked 3 out of the 4, but avoided the other films due to bad word of mouth. So I suppose had I watched more of his worse films, I might dislike Bay a lot more :P.

 

[warhorse78]

I just realized I shouldn't have gotten in that Bay discussion, because when I think about it, I've only ever watched 4 of his films: Armageddon, Bad Boys, Pearl Harbor, and Transformers. I liked 3 out of the 4, but avoided the other films due to bad word of mouth. So I suppose had I watched more of his worse films, I might dislike Bay a lot more :P.

The Rock is probably his only critically acclaimed movie. Perhaps you would like that one.

 

[warhorse78]

where michael bay fails is he has no idea who to make characters engaging. if you aren't engaged by the characters when the action kicks in you wont care if the characters live or die and if you don't care if the characters die you will be BORED by the action.

imho the movie (avengers) drags in the middle but you absolutely need those character moments

That's funny, during my theatrical viewings of Armageddon, there wasn't a dry eye at the end of the movie when Harry dies at the end, the same thing happened at the end of Pearl Harbor with the kid , and as bad as Transformers 3 was, I was watching nearly everybody in the theater crying and freaking out when Bumblebee looked like he was about to get killed, so don't give me that crap that people who watch his movies don't care if the characters die or not. Only people who think that are just full of themselves.

 

[warhorse78]

There's nothing wrong with that. There's a lot of films I very much enjoyed by Michael Bay, even against my better judgment. I absolutely loved Armageddon, even as my brain was telling me that the story was rubbish and the acting, for the most part, was awful. Michael Bay has a legitimate talent for appealing to the baser instincts of humanity. No matter our background, we all like to watch pretty lights and explosions. I give Michael Bay an enormous amount of credit for his ability to direct action sequences. His audience may have to turn their brains off, but it takes intellect and understanding to make action scenes that get the audience involved.

Let's face facts, however. Human beings are easy to please when it comes to action films. MB may be particularly adept at getting people to enjoy his films, but even some very poor films can elicit the same reaction in lesser doses. If a critic's only standard is entertainment, then critics have little purpose. I trust critics to tell me not only am I going to be entertained, but will that film respect my intelligence, and perhaps, leave a lasting impression. In that, Michael Bay has always fallen completely flat. His films are, and always have been, completely disposable.

This is where I get perturbed. Critics bash Michael Bay because of the plot and whatever, but, then you have oscar winning film, The Hurt Locker, which I am sorry, I can spend all night picking that movie apart if I wanted, starting with the signature shot of William pulling up the warheads by the detonating string, which can NEVER happen (warheads weigh a good 600 to 700 pounds, a piece). But oh, it's OK because the critics says it is. I liked the Hurt Locker for the performances, and it has great suspense throughout the film, but from a technical point, it failed horribly. Want to see an astounding war movie, watch Full Metal Jacket, or Black Hawk Down. Platoon, Saving Private Ryan and Apocalypse Now are also excellent war movies.

 

[TomPiltoff]

This is where I get perturbed. Critics bash Michael Bay because of the plot and whatever, but, then you have oscar winning film, The Hurt Locker, which I am sorry, I can spend all night picking that movie apart if I wanted, starting with the signature shot of William pulling up the warheads by the detonating string, which can NEVER happen (warheads weigh a good 600 to 700 pounds, a piece). But oh, it's OK because the critics says it is. I liked the Hurt Locker for the performances, and it has great suspense throughout the film, but from a technical point, it failed horribly. Want to see an astounding war movie, watch Full Metal Jacket, or Black Hawk Down. Platoon, Saving Private Ryan and Apocalypse Now are also excellent war movies.

You're comparing apples and oranges. On one hand, Michael Bay makes movies with cardboard characters and overly choppy explosions. On the other hand...Hurt Locker has some technical mistakes?

 

[Whiskey Tango]

That's funny, during my theatrical viewings of Armageddon, there wasn't a dry eye at the end of the movie when Harry dies at the end, the same thing happened at the end of Pearl Harbor with the kid , and as bad as Transformers 3 was, I was watching nearly everybody in the theater crying and freaking out when Bumblebee looked like he was about to get killed, so don't give me that crap that people who watch his movies don't care if the characters die or not. Only people who think that are just full of themselves.

**** I still cry at the end of Armageddon desp[ite seeing it a million times. And the bit where Michael Beihn and his SEAL team get mowed down in the Rock? C'mon.

I give bay a hard time but really the only films of his I actively dislike are the last two Transformers.

I'd give The Rock an A and Armageddon, The Island and Transformers a B. Pearl Harbor tends to drag a lot but the bits I like I like a lot. Call it a C+

Not seen either bad Boys.

 

[Xeno]

Interrupting the current thread derailment for the 57th Fresh review on Rotten Tomatoes, bringing The Avengers' Fresh percentage to 97%.

Avengers Assemble: Joss Whedon’s finely balanced superhero extravaganza is well worth the wait: 4/5

The main issue facing the making of a superhero ensemble piece is balance: with so many strong personalities on screen, how do you ensure each of them get their due? It’s a problem Joss Whedon has tackled effectively in Avengers Assemble, keeping everyone’s screentime reasonably even over the course of two and a half hours, while simultaneously offsetting the big-budget set-pieces with some smaller-scale human drama.

[...]

There’s immense satisfaction in witnessing the clash of personalities – Stark’s momentous ego, the Cap’s all-conquering altruism, Thor’s regal sense of entitlement and Banner’s stuggle to remain mild-mannered – ahead of the inevitable gelling together to take on intergalactic foes. The most enjoyable trick Whedon pulls off, though, is balancing the superhero antics with more human flourishes: at one point, we catch a SHIELD drone skiving work by playing Space Invaders; Captain America takes time out from the alien battle to save a handful of bystanders; and when cars are flipped over by explosions, the action is captured from inside the vehicle. These techniques not only broaden the scope of the film, but help to heighten the stature of the heroes – it’s easy to become inured to superhero antics when they’re all that’s onscreen, but less so when you see how they affect the general populace, a group that’s often forgotten underneath all the falling rubble.

 

[marcvader]

Rt 97%

 

[bonzob2000]

Avengers is pretty unique in that the more people who see it and the more critics who review it, the higher its scores go. Usually it's the other way around. Didn't think RT would ever get back up to 97 percent. Unless overseas critics end up liking it way more than US ones, I can't see it falling below 94 percent once every review is counted. Very cool.

 

[Quasimod0]

Wow thats really great. Sure hope it will hold up to american critics. Although I'm sure quite a few have already seen it and reviewed it.

 

[bonzob2000]

That's a good point -- while we still have all the local US newspapers, including the heavy hitters like NY Times, LA Times, etc., yet to weigh in, we've already seen positive to very positive reviews from several other big US critics like Rolling Stone, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Associated Press, Entertainment Weekly, Time, New York Post, etc. And the US geek/genre blogs that have reviewed it are even more effusive. This may even end up at something absurd like 96 percent (which would put it ahead of Iron Man and Dark Knight).

 

[Quasimod0]

I cant see any of those big critics giving it much lower than what its already gotten from other american critics

 

[itchyscratch]

Thor was doing really well on RT until the US critics got hold of it, so I'm not certain it will stay so high when they get their chance to chew at that rating.

 

[bonzob2000]

This is where I get perturbed. Critics bash Michael Bay because of the plot and whatever, but, then you have oscar winning film, The Hurt Locker, which I am sorry, I can spend all night picking that movie apart if I wanted, starting with the signature shot of William pulling up the warheads by the detonating string, which can NEVER happen (warheads weigh a good 600 to 700 pounds, a piece). But oh, it's OK because the critics says it is. I liked the Hurt Locker for the performances, and it has great suspense throughout the film, but from a technical point, it failed horribly. Want to see an astounding war movie, watch Full Metal Jacket, or Black Hawk Down. Platoon, Saving Private Ryan and Apocalypse Now are also excellent war movies.

This makes no sense to me. For one thing, I would say there are more plot issues in Black Hawk Down, Saving Private Ryan, and Full Metal Jacket then there are in Hurt Locker.

But Michael Bay's movies have lazy plotting, thin characters, awful dialogue, incomprehensible action, terrible acting, grating over the top humor, and an overriding tone of misogyny and racism -- and you don't understand why people rail against him?

Whereas the Hurt Locker has one beautifully crafted suspense sequence after another, fantastic acting, finely observed dialogue, great characters, etc., and you don't understand its praise because it has some continuity errors? I don't follow that logic.

 

[Quasimod0]

Quite a few american critics have already gotten ahold of it though. And the reactions by fans and critics have generally been more positive for this than they were with thor