I think WETA would knock The Avengers SFX out of the park, not only for our heroes, but if any galactic battles took place, such as the Kree/Skrull War or anything of that nature. They have worked on a number of films, most recently The Last Airbender and Avatar. Before passing judgement, I will present to you, my top 5 reasons:
5. Multiple Award Winners
You may recognize WETA's work from their most famous project, The Lord of the Rings trilogy. This trilogy alone garnered this SFX studio a bevy of shiny awards, including 8 Oscars over the course of 3 years. That horde of golden statues has to say something about how awesome WETA truly is.
4. Not Just Special Effects
Granted, WETA is more known for the CGI/computer generated portion of any one of their films, but their prosthetic, weapons, armor, and costume work is purely unrivaled. Stan Winston would probably be the only other studio to give them a run for their money. Even then though, it would definitely be a close call between the two.
3. The Miniatures
Just look at what they can do with the sheer size and detail of miniature sets and add in the CGI. The HeliCarrier would be an amazing piece to use as a miniature. Especially for future sequels, such as an invasion of some kind.
2. The Variety of Tactics
You may not have noticed this, but the jaw-dropping visuals for the invasion of Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith both have various orcs and Uruk-Hai mixed in together. Therefore, more variety of soldiers. However, the variety in soldiers also meant that there would be different fighting styles. There are clumsy orcs who swing at anything that comes near and there are others that methodically plot out the battle. Sure, they're full of rage, but you wouldn't want to go into a one-on-one battle to the death half-cocked and end up losing your only weapon due to a wrong move.
1. The Epic Battles
The epic-scale battles this juggernaut studio were able to pull off are truly awe-inspiring. We're not talking Star Wars-esque effects. WETA has truly shown movie goers amazing things can be done with CGI, especially grandiose moments that often take your breath away just by the intensity and the size of it all.
And THOSE my friends, are why I think Marvel would be wise in hiring a top-notch effects team to work on potential sequels for their crown jewel franchise.
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