Avengers: Let's Get Real

Avengers: Let's Get Real

Avengers is very good, but come on man!

Review Opinion
By BlazeCage - May 13, 2012 07:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Avengers

I went into Avengers a skeptical viewer. I liked the first Iron Man film hated the second one. Thor and Captain America were decent films but nothing to rave about. And, I have yet to see the Hulk. The Avengers far outclassed all the other Marvel films, that is not debatable. However, I do have to dispute the idea that Avengers is the greatest comic book movie ever made. The Dark Knight was a great film, not just a great CBM. And, I suspect that the The Dark Knight Rises will also be a greater film. The Avengers was not a great film. It was a fun movie. And as pure 'comic bookiness' goes, it may be the best adaptation of the form. But, it is a movie, not a comic book.

The Avengers lacked some of the basic elements of a great film. Despite the cataclysmic possibility of an alien invasion, the movie had absolutely no tension. Whereas the Dark Knight has the viewer on the edge of their seat from the opening credits to the final scene, the Avengers creates about as much tension as a Looney Toones cartoon. Captain America and Thor could have easily been replaced by Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny. And as far as the characters go, Joss Whedon did a nice job of playing their difference off each other with all his cute quips. But, they just don't feel genuine as real people. Tony Stark, and this is probably because of Robert Downey Junior's abilities as an actor, is the only character that the audience can really connect with. When Agent Coulson dies, you don't really feel any emotion at all.

Avengers is a great summer popcorn blockbuster. It is well done. Whedon is a very capable director and writer. But, to say this movie is better than Nolan's Batman films is a terrible injustice to film-making. It is akin to saying that Independence Day is a better film than the Lord of the Rings trilogy, or that Michael Bay's talents are equal to Spielberg.

I liked and enjoyed Avengers a lot.

Blaze Rating: 7.8/10

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jessepostal
jessepostal - 5/13/2012, 9:27 AM
@blazecage isn't this your article? it all depends on what kind of movies you like, some people like the fun popcorn adventure movies more than crime based darker batman movies. duh haha
Zarog
Zarog - 5/13/2012, 9:43 AM
The Avengers is the best comic book movie ever. Period. Nolan's Batman films are based on the characters, but that is it. The source material is completely thrown out in Nolan's films. The films are good, but even they are exaggerated to how good they are. Especially TDK. Jesus. When Joker wasn't on screen that movie was boring as hell. Batman Begins was awesome, but I wouldn't call it a comic book film. More of a crime drama, and a damn fine one at that.
EdgyOutsider
EdgyOutsider - 5/13/2012, 10:07 AM
I respectively feel that The Avengers is the greatest comicbook movie ever made, The Dark Knight in some ways is the superior film when keeping people on the edge of their seats, well most people anyways. I didn't quite get the tension from The Dark Knight, I personally just felt it was another Batman film but that it was the best Batman film. As a film filled with drama, action, even suspense, I feel that The Avengers is superior. I felt real emotion and I reacted emotionally because it felt that real. When I felt the potentional threat from the nuke as well as when *Spoiler* it seemed as if Tony Stark died or was about to, I felt scared and very sad quite a bit.
coolguy
coolguy - 5/13/2012, 10:20 AM
I have to agree with blaze on the coulson thing. I didn't mind him dying but I didn't really feel like he had brought the avengers together. They were already together and would have stayed together. Heroes don't need anyone to avenge when the worlds at stake. Perhaps if they made it seem as though they werent taking the threat seriously then that would have worked for me. That was basically my only complaint about the movie but one that really bothered me.
justified1
justified1 - 5/13/2012, 10:37 AM
I saw The avengers last night. It was great.

The greatest comic book movie ever? well... the beauty is in the eye of the beholder isn't it? I personally enjoy TDK more.

The only thing i didn't like about the Avengers was the part where Hulk (Mark was exelent by the way) and Thor were fighting the aliens together and when they get done the Hulk punches Thor. It was funny but i felt they didn't need it in there.
MercMatt
MercMatt - 5/13/2012, 12:17 PM
I can understand your liking of The Dark Knight better, but this really seems like one long opinion rather than a review. The Dark Knight was an amazing film, but as stated above, the Joker's scenes were indeed the best parts of the movie. Now, I'm not about to say Avengers is my favorite CBM ever, seeing as how Watchmen still holds that spot for me, but Avengers has taken spot number two as the second greatest CBM ever made. As many have stated before, Nolan's Batman films are nothing close to being CBM's. They are all intense crime dramas with characters from comic books incorporated into them. Not once have I watched Nolan's Batman films and felt like I was watching a CBM. Avengers brought the world of Marvel to life. No other CBM, besides Watchmen and Spider-Man 2, have done what Avengers has done. At least that's my opinion on the matter. Cheers, man!
Asterisk
Asterisk - 5/13/2012, 7:31 PM
I do slightly prefer TDK to The Avengers (slightly) but I disagree with a lot of your points.
wedontdie
wedontdie - 5/13/2012, 8:33 PM
The Dark knight didn't have me at the edge of my seat... It might have had more of a plot, but hell, I was slouching in my seat through out most of the movie. I didn't really feel that it was a batman film. I felt like it lost touch to what batman was. Batman is about fear... nobody was really afraid of him in the dark knight. Call me crazy but I felt better watching Spider-man 3 than watching the dark knight.
Zarog
Zarog - 5/13/2012, 8:42 PM
@nowtheresaBATman Ummmm.....Ra's name is pronounced incorrectly..... Ra's minus the Lazarus Pits and Talia defeats a lot of the purpose of the character. The Joker is not like the Joker I remember from any comics. I'm sorry. He's not maniacal. Completely underpowered Scarecrow and made him a tool of the League of Shadows. He gets off on fear in the comics. He wasn't anyone's pawn. Even though the Tumbler is better in my opinion than the original Batmobile, it was completely reimagined. The Burton/Schumacher films were not as good of films, but to say they weren't closer to the characters pre-Frank Miller era is absolutely ridiculous. Frank Miller completely changed Batman and, frankly, Batman was just beginning to be known as something even remotely close to what Nolan portrayed. Nolan has recognized that he got rid of the mystical elements to create a more realistic Batman.....Yeah, it's really not close to the source material.
MarsivNayr
MarsivNayr - 5/14/2012, 12:40 AM
So tension is required to make a good film? Looney Toones? Tony Stark?

Sounds like you're comparing Michael Bay to Joss Whedon and Steven Spielberg to Christopher Nolan. If so, I very much disagree.

It is the opinion of the majority that The Avengers is the best CBM of all time. That's because it is a Comic. Book. Movie. The way Joss Whedon created this film, it could easily be translated to the pages of a comic book. And vice-versa. I'm not sure I can say the same about The Dark Knight.

Also, does "Fun" not qualify as something "Good" or even "Great"? A "fun" movie is automatically lesser than whatever you see TDK as? Since when were those rules written?

I'm just ranting cause I like the movie and I obviously want everyone to like it. lol
Darkhaven
Darkhaven - 5/15/2012, 5:20 PM
I don't know why I even read this beyond "The Dark Knight was a great film, not just a great CBM." Not one of Nolan's flicks is a CBM at heart, only in the barest of outlines.

If I want "just" a great film, I'll settle my ass in for Glory, War of the Worlds, Terminator 2, Aliens, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, or any of the LotR. When I hear CBM, I want, nay, I DEMAND there be more CBM in the film than "artistic innovation"...and only one movie has managed it so far. I'll give you a hint: it's still whipping the box office's ass, and it didn't need to be re-released to get where it is. Also, many of us think it's great film on its own merit without a bunch of white hairs or pretentious types telling us otherwise.
Coldblood6
Coldblood6 - 5/16/2012, 7:18 AM
Are nolanites still this desperate.

The only way tdk had me on the edge of my seat was by me constantly wanting to leave the cinema to escape the utter boredom. I have never been able to watch that tedious pretentious borefest a second time. Even bb which I liked I watched just once in cinema, although I caught it a couple times on cable.

After 2 movies, 4 1/2 hours of Batman I have yet to get an exciting, edge-of-your-seat action sequence. Not one!

I've seen THE AVENGERS 7 times in cinema already and plan on going again this Saturday (this time with a bunch of people from work who are eager to see it)!!!!!!!
Coldblood6
Coldblood6 - 5/16/2012, 7:31 AM
The problem with nolan fans it that they have adopted an academy-like mentality, i.e., serious drama is inherently better and has more artistic merit that side-splitting comedy or edge-of-your-seat action. That's pure BS!



Oh and just in case it was not clear: THE AVENGER is vastly superior to tdk and bb; it's not even close!!!!!!!
wedontdie
wedontdie - 5/16/2012, 7:56 PM
@Coldblood6 i somewhat agree with you. Dark knight superior in cinema. avengers superior in excitement.
foxfan
foxfan - 5/17/2012, 9:07 AM
As a fan of Marcel Cinematic AND the Nolanverse, I couldn't disagree more with the OP. I love BB and TDK, but they both have a brooding, moping element that is a bit off-putting. The Avengers shares their grand scale (or tops it, actually) and high character definitions, but the brighter ambiance and presence of humor (part and parcel to Tony Stark/RDJ) gives Avengers a slight edge "for the win," as the kids say.
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