Saturday, 28 April 2012

Avengers Assemble (2012) - Joss Whedon


Synopsis:
Loki, Thor's adoptive brother, seeks to rule over humanity with by bringing an army of aliens from the other side of the universe to help enslave them. Nick Fury, from secret government force S.H.I.E.L.D, enlists the help of the worlds greatest superheroes to stand against this threat.



I suppose that after all the time I'd spent complaining about films like this being made it's only fairly that I actually went and saw. Deep down I did want to hate it and scream at Hollywood, “I told you so!” but honestly... even though it pains me to say it. It was... okay. I mean it was nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to blockbusters but it carried me through it quite happily, even if it did drag a bit in places. Basically, when it comes to story with a fairly bland plot, you've got to make up for it with action, and intensity, and drama. There were splatterings of that throughout and the last scene is off of the chain when it comes to action. But it is a looOOoong film, and particularly when characters are talking about things me and no one else, or even any human beings, actually understand it does make your mind drift slightly. So what if your scenes are taking place on a hover craft the size of a small country? It's not going to make boring dialogue exciting. In this case bigger isn't better, bigger is stupid.

Thankfully for us though Hulk starts to smash! This guy is without a doubt the saving grace of the film, and who'd of thought the comedy value too. I could honestly watch an entire film of this guy tearing people to shreds and just decimating everything in sight. I was worried that other characters, particularly Hawk Eye, wouldn't get much attention and this would turn into Iron Man 3: plus Thor and Captain America, so I was pleasantly surprised to see everyone get a decent share of screen time and progression. Saying that Hawk Eye would more than likely end up an afterthought for most people. Not that I care, it's just if you're going to pick a team of avengers (and you've got quite a lot to choose from) why not pick someone on the same durability level as are the other main characters?

I loved the interaction and fights between the heroes too. There's that certain feel, like a game of one-upmanship that any fan of comics, or even movies, can enjoy. Watching their heroes go at it to see whose the best. They all get a fair showing too, everyone comes out looking tough, and I like that sense of equality (disregarding Hawk Eye of course).They're all lovable, and thank goodness because to be honest the fighting between our heroes is probably more enjoyable than the battle with the villains. Who quite frankly, suck.

Our main antagonist is Loki, a guy who Thor has already beaten by himself just last year. Loki could of course be on another level of badassery, if only he remembered to use his powers of teleportation and untouchable-ness, something the makers seem to conveniently forget. He's booked very weakly and is highly forgettable (also his costume looks like it belongs in a school play), I keep expecting a main bad guy to show but they never do. But things have changed, now he's back with an army of the most boring aliens I've ever come across. Just so bland and generic. I don't give a damn how good your CG is (or how bad your 3D is), I want to see something cool! Something with style. I've seen these things a hundred times in various games and movies, there has to be something interesting about them, I also don't care if they were in the original comic, if they suck, they suck, do something new. You cant make up for it with a giant snake transformer thing either. I mean it was cool when the first one came out, but after the next three or four are brought down fairly easily they kind of lose their threat value.

There's also a recurring theme of set pieces throughout, always smashing through the same building, fighting on the same roof terrace, battling infantry on the same bridge for about half an hour... mix it up people, you've got all of New York to play with! Choreography and VFX was good enough to save it from disaster but a film with a lower budget would definitely have been caught out and slated.


Overview:
Mixed emotions here. Although I can find a hefty amount wrong with it, the child in me wants to really love it. It's just such a weak effort I don't know if I can appreciate someone wrapping a turd up in tinsel, because quite frankly, it's still a turd... and this is generous.

Rating:


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