The Summer movie season has come to a close. As the dog-days wrap up, and we enter the fall, it's time once again to look back on the past few months and revel in another great season of comic book movies. I wanted to wait a little longer than usual for this wrap-up, so as to not get too swept up in the Dark Knight fever. With that release, arguably two of the biggest CBMs ever hit screens in 2012. Up against each other, round by round, how did they do? We're duking it out, Academy Awards style!
Beware SPOILERS!
BEST VILLAIN
The stakes were bigger than ever in at least 2 of these 3 movies and the bad guys brought more than enough challenge for the heroes to overcome.
Loki (The Avengers)
The Lizard (The Amazing Spider-Man)
Bane (The Dark Knight Rises)
Loki once again was outstanding in his second Marvel appearance. However, he was played pretty standard, with nothing unique to bring to the usual 'take over the planet' scheme. He also became Hulk's bitch. Kurt Connors was best in human form, but whenever he became Lizard I was disengaged. His plan was lame, and it doesn't help that we see the same split personality we saw with Green Goblin in the original film.
Winner: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES!
You could joke about the voice, and the end twist, but overall, Tom Hardy was truly menacing. He had a hell of a task following Heath Ledger's Joker, and while he may not have matched the charisma, he far surpassed him in epic scale. The actor's bulk-up for the role is also impressive.
BEST COSTUME
One of the most endearing quirks for a fanboy is how much they care about a superhero costume. They should be pretty pleased with what they got this year.
The Avengers (Alexandra Byrne)
The Amazing Spider-Man (Kym Barrett)
The Dark Knight Rises (Lindy Hemming)
Spider-Man basically doesn't mess with the formula, and his costume is pretty traditional (slight flourishes with the eyes, logo and boots aside). Nolan, as usual, puts a unique stamp on more Batman rogues. The Bane mask is an...interesting design, but nothing was done with Catwoman or Talia, and for some reason Scarecrow can't even have his mask back.
Winner: THE AVENGERS!
Besides Hawkeye, The Avengers doesn't stray from what's been established either, however tweaks to Iron Man's suit and Captain America's overhaul really worked for me.
BEST ACTRESS/CHEMISTRY
This year, this is my toughest category. All three ladies are some of the best parts of their respective movies, and as far as I'm concerned they all won. Even if romance wasn't as strong a thread this year for a couple of these.
Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) in The Avengers
Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) and Peter Parker
Selena Kyle (Anne Hathaway) and Bruce Wayne
There was no love interest to speak of in The Avengers (some would say thankfully) with the closest spark being from a shared history between Black Widow and Hawkeye. But Natasha Romanoff was awesome on her own, anyway. Selena Kyle was arguably the scene stealer of TDKR, but I felt she could have spent more time with Bruce before earning that ending.
Winner: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN!
The obvious highlight of the movie is the chemistry between Peter and Gwen. The awkward teens hit a perfect note, even if some of it moves fast.
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
It's a super-sized offering this year, with too many great back-up roles to ignore. My only regret is dropping Avenger's Agent Coulson, but if someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. is going, its gotta be Sam Jackson.
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben
Michael Caine as Alfred
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk
Joseph Gordon Levitt as John Blake
Fury's most prominent Marvel universe role is in Avengers and more than anything, he's the one that sells the whole crazy thing. Uncle Ben is the standout of Spider-Man, and makes much more of an impression, but they botched his death. Alfred drives home the heart of the trilogy, in a couple of tour-de-force speeches. When he takes his leave half-way through, we notice, and we miss him. Blake can be seen as walking symbolism to the overall meaning of the Dark Knight trilogy. It helps that he is written really awesome.
Winner: THE AVENGERS!
I've dedicated a whole article to why I think
Ruffalo's Hulk is best, so I don’t even know what I can add. He completely steals the movie.
BEST FIGHT/ACTION SEQUENCE
Avengers and Batman each had both a fight and climatic battle that rocked for me. From a fanboy perspective how do you choose between a Thor-Iron Man-Captain America rumble or the slugfest that ends in the iconic "breaking of the bat"? Can't ask for much better than this!
The Avengers save New York
Spider-man vs Lizard above the city
The Bat destroys Bane's army
Spider-Man did have a great bridge sequence, but that was just a rescue. Nothing else stands out as "spectacular" to me action-wise. As great as some of TDKR's sequences were, I can't deny they are few and far between. And outside of a cool plane escape at the beginning, nothing matches the thrills from the previous film.
Winner: THE AVENGERS!
I find it impossible not to geek out seeing Earth's Mightiest Heroes standing side by side and kicking ass, as that great theme blasts in the background. It's orgasmic.
BEST ART DIRECTION
We won't get as much variety as last year, but its still important; The look of the world, these sets and locations are the best way to draw us into these universes.
The Avengers (Helicarrier)
Amazing Spider-Man (New York)
Dark Knight Rises (demolished Gotham)
Most of The Avengers takes place on the ship that doubles as S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, and its cool looking- but pretty standard super-spy stuff. New York looks great in Spider-Man as a place real and recognizable, but because of that it has less personality as a city than in prior films.
Winner: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES!
Nolan's Gotham has always been like another character in his films, and here, its as bleak as ever. The prison also makes a cool idea, and we finally got a fully realized Batcave!
BEST FANBOY MOMENT
These are the bits we appreciate the most. The knowing nods to the people that made it all possible in the first place: the fans
The Thanos teaser
Dr. Connor's mysterious visitor
Talia Al Ghul's reveal
John Blake's name is Robin
The stranger in the cell was more frustrating than it was cool, because it extends the parents' plotline that should have gotten more focus in the first place. And doesn't need more than one movie to tell. We all predicted the Talia twist, but it was great to see anyway. Unfortunately it undermines everything Bane did up to that point. John Blake is the closest Nolan will come to having a "Robin". I dug it, although this fan service has had a very mixed reaction.
Winner: THE AVENGERS!
Awesome not for what happens but for what it means. This is a mega-move that is our first hint at what is being called 'phase 2' of Marvel's cinematic universe. They are going all out.
BEST SCREENPLAY
At this point in the life of CBMs we don’t really expect these movies to be as slavish to the source material as we used to. Or at least maybe for these three movies. But its always appreciated to see that they still take their comic origins to heart.
The Avengers (Joss Whedon, Zak Penn)
The Amazing Spider-Man (James Vanderbilt, Steve Kloves, Alvin Sargent)
The Dark Knight Rises (Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan)
The beauty of adapting Avengers is they are a constant revolving team of members. Fighting Loki was even right on the money. But I’m sure many missed the original lineup with Ant-Man and Wasp. A lot of lip service was paid to an “untold origin” for Parker, revolving around his spy parents. They barely really touched on this in the movie. Last minute cuts?
Winner: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES!
For their grand finale, the Nolans made TDKR an amalgamation of Bat-stories where you can find influences from Knightfall, No Man’s Land, Vengeance of Bane, The Dark Knight Returns, Son of the Demon, Gotham Central, even Catwoman: Her Sister’s Keeper, and more (Nightwing anyone?) For this reason, one could argue this is the most “comic book” of the Nolan trilogy.
BEST ACTOR
With all the action, and all the villainy, and everything, it still takes the leading man to anchor all the business, and drive the entire story. I’m arguing Avengers had two.
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark
Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker
Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers
For as much as Avengers is an ensemble, the friction between Iron Man and Captain America is more the central conflict than even the invasion. Both actors were great (Evans moreso for keeping up with RDJ). Many liked Garfield’s more tech savvy Parker, and he seems more contemporary and realistic.
Winner: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES!
Bale got kind of overshadowed in the last movie, so this time he got a really meaty role to sink into. This Bruce Wayne is broken (twice) and more than ever, really has to examine his role as a hero/vigilante, what he means to the city, what his quest has done to his life, and the decision to make the ultimate sacrifice. He is a man who learns throughout the course of a self-contained series, and it holds a lot of pathos and gravitas.
BEST DIRECTOR
No doubt about it, high expectations were put on all three of these guys to deliver the goods. I think there is only one obvious name that exceeded the challenge.
Joss Whedon (The Avengers)
Marc Webb (The Amazing-Spider Man)
Chris Nolan (The Dark Knight Rises)
Like many, Marc Webb is new to the genre, but unlike others I don’t think he put much of a personal stamp on the material. A more physical, less CG Spiderman was nice, and his work with romance was noticed, but other than that, this is essentially nothing very different from what we’ve already seen.
Nolan has done something no one else in CBMs has yet, and created a successful self-contained superhero trilogy with a beginning middle and end. It was epic for sure, and his mastery of IMAX is commendable. But he had a hell of a task with this last one, and maybe didn’t quite wrap things up as tightly as some would have liked.
Winner: THE AVENGERS!
Joss Whedon owned all. Fanboy royalty because of Buffy and Firefly, Joss was a TV guy. Serenity didn’t make money, and Dollhouse failed. How could he have pulled this off? I still don’t really know! But the comic scribe knew the material, expertly handled the characters and scope and with an entire studio banking on him, in my eyes, he accomplished one of cinemas great modern feats.
BEST PICTURE
This is simply a tally of the winners so far. Here’s How it looks:
The Avengers- 5 wins
The Amazing Spider-Man- 1 win
The Dark Knight Rises- 4 wins
Winner: THE AVENGERS!
With less nominees than
last year this was really a two-picture race, and what a back-and-forth slugfest it was! Of course this is totally objective, and argument can be made for Dark Knight Rises being better in certain categories or overall, depending on your tastes. I only wish I could praise ASM as much, but the movie just isn’t in the same league as the other two. I was pulling for it though, just like I'll be doing for the sequel. But for me, Avengers was just too much. I literally can’t find anything to complain about. Even as a “mindless popcorn movie”, it’s written pretty clever, with smart characters, and good themes about teamwork over selfishness. It struck all the right chords, and just as The Dark Knight changed the game for CBMs in 2008, The Avengers changed it right back!
Agree to disagree? Let me have it!