That's why I don't get the whole Avengers vs TDKR feud. While both are CBMs, they are seem to be completely different in so many ways that you can't really compare to each other all that easily.
Basically anytime I see it going on, I just roll my eyes at the back and forth since it's just so petty and I bet that most comic book fans and general audience members will see both. Right now, I'd consider myself more of a Marvel/Avengers fan due to the fact I love the fun tones that they have. I like the Nolan Batman movies because they are so well acted and have the feel of a gritty crime drama, which I love, but with recognizable comic book characters filling them.Co-sign. And watching the back and forth from either side stresses me out.
Co-sign. And watching the back and forth from either side stresses me out, harshes my buzz for either movie.
Anyways, well sucks that the Slate reviewers were mixed. I'm anxious about NY Times. I'd love for Dhargis to get it over Scott because she gives fair shake to this type of movie. I remember a media writer for NYT raved about the movie on Twitter after that first screening Poni Boy went to. Sadly, I can't remember his name and I don't think he's a critic.
At least TA has the majority of positives from the Top Critics.
Dargis is an odd reviewer. When she doesn't like a particular movie but can't really come up with a good rationale for criticizing it, she reverts to merely giving a summary of the film rather than an actual review. She will run down plot points and character beats without giving the reader her analysis of them. That leads to empty but seemingly neutral reviews for genre films like the Harry Potter series (I believe she did the same with LOTR). Those reviews gave one the strange feeling of having read a whole lot of nothing.
The best thing that ever happened to the LA Times entertainment desk was Dargis' defection to the NY Times. The quality of its movie reviews went up considerable once she left and Turan was cemented as their lead critic.
Hey, if burgers are still on the menu, I'll take one with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and ketchup and mustard. Please and thank you!
It clawed its way back up to 94%. It needs something like 20 straight freshes to get back to 95%.
those rotten tomato scores are pretty spot on with regards to the movies quality.
Yeah, those are definitely the upper tier of superhero flicks. Slot in X2 between TDK and Iron Man, then flip Iron Man and Spidey 2, and you'd have my exact ranking, not including Avengers (haven't decided where to put it yet).
Just like romantic comedies, comic-book movies pretty much all have the same plot; something along the lines of "impressive physical specimen saves the world from some appalling fate." And, like rom-coms, there's a world of variation within that basic plot, and a wide range of quality. "The Avengers," written and directed by Joss Whedon (creator of TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Firefly"), is pretty much exactly what you might expect, which is to say that an entire crew of impressive physical specimens save the world from an appalling fate. But it's a first-class production all around, from the acting to the 3-D special effects to the touches of wit throughout. It delivers, in grand style, the thing we demand most from a comic-book movie: fun.
[...]
On a big screen (I saw the film in IMAX 3D) it's all-encompassing and a kick. This crew, likely to unite for a sequel someday, can save my city anytime.
as a comparison
94%
TDK
IM
93%
SM2
89%
SM
88%
X2
87%
X-men: first class
85%
batman begins
How was this going to work?
All those Marvel superheroes, many of them with their own action franchises, packed into one epic, save-humanity-adventure.
How will the retro patriotism of Captain America mesh with the flippant cynicism of Iron Man? Could the brooding Hulk bond with the regal brawn of Thor?
How could anybody balance the inter-connection of back stories, the clash of personalities, the need for shared screen time, the utter necessity of building up a villain capable of putting fear in this fearsome foursome and then some?
But it works, because Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") brought his A-game to "The Avengers." It works because he never loses sight of the fragile humanity of the characters, even in their special effects brawls. It works because somebody finally got The Hulk's blend of rage, guilt and bull-in-a-chandelier-shop fun right.
[...]
But Whedon has managed a feat akin to last summer's "Thor," finding the fun in what should be, by any rights, an exhausted genre. "Avengers" isn't deep (yes, we really should all work together) and it doesn't reinvent the comic-book movie. But it is fun, and if it's an indicator of the season of cinema to follow, this summer is going to be epic.
Wait....James Bond liked it?!?
Everyone better get around the movie now!![]()
Roger Moore, McClatchy Tribune: Fun 'Avengers' is almost too much of a good thing (3/4)
Moore is another top critic weighing in with a Fresh review, whenever RT's editors get around to adding it. I'm happy to see that he gets it, despite the fact that he seems to think the movie is too long.
It's amusing that so many critics are itching to declare the superhero genre dead, while other over-worked genres aren't considered tapped out (gross-out comedies and rom-coms spring readily to mind).