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transemacabreNO SPOILERS version: it was a bit different from what I expected. The Whedonisms weren't annoying, everyone got their moment to shine, and Black Widow haterz can go sit on a stick and rotate. Avengers is so big and bombastic, its more like 3 movies crammed into one.
SPOILERS ahoy, so don't come cryin' to me, behbies.
The Team. The best aspect of the whole movie IMO is that the plot couldn't have happened without the *entire team* being there. Without someone keeping an eye on this, the movie could've devolved into Iron Man 3 co-starring the Avengers. But the character evolution neccesitated every member being there and being vital: Clint's effect on Natasha, Natasha's on Bruce, Bruce's on Tony, Tony's on Steve, Steve's on Tony and Coulson, Bruce's on Thor, Thor's on Steve, etc. If you removed any member from the lineup, you would've gotten a different and ultimately less special movie.
Iron Man. As I mentioned before, the movie could've devolved into Iron Man 3, and that's because if the movie has a central character, its Tony. Iron Man 2 raised the troubling question: should this guy even be a superhero? Can he be trusted with the power he has? And in Avengers, we get to see Tony fulfilling some of his promise, showing himself to be a true hero and someone who's capable of empathy, self-sacrifice, and loyalty. Arguably, he gets the most character development aside from Natasha, although he and Bruce may be neck-and-neck for the second spot.
Best moment: Tony carrying his nuclear payload into Chitauri space, and placing one last phone call to Pepper -- and falling unconscious with her screen picture the last thing he sees.
Second best moment: Tony facing down Loki in Stark Tower. This scene is critical because it shows that Tony has more than bravado: he has faith not just in his *technology* but also in his *team* that they will save the day.
Black Widow: Undoubtably the most character development took place with Natasha. We got to know very little about her in IM2, and I heard that ScarJo fought for more screentime and more chances for Natasha to show what she's got, and that shows. Natasha, like her comics counterpart, is someone with a dark past, hinted at by herself and Loki, but she's also someone capable of realizing when the bad guy's gotten to her, someone who could honor a debt and move heaven and earth to see it repaid, a woman who can kick ass but also know when to speak softly. In short: she's an actual human being. And ScarJo is the bomb diggity.
Best moment: when she plays Loki like a fiddle. She pulls one over on the god of lies!
Second best moment: When Natasha is trapped next to the rapidly transforming Hulk, and the other SHIELD agents run up to help her and she shooes them off. Although she's terrified of the Hulk, Natasha's priority is to send others to safety before her -- and that's why *she's* an Avenger, bitches.
The Hulk: It amuses me to see all these reviews about how the audience 'just discovered' how awesome Bruce/Hulk is, because I've known since The Incredible Hulk movie. But any time the Hulk was on screen the audience in my theater was cheering and clapping; he is obviously the big new fan favorite. Mark Ruffalo did a fine job. And the way Bruce and Tony took to each other almost immediately is so adorable, and I hope there'll be lots of shipping and friendshipping for these two in the fandom.
Best moment: Bruce's revelation that he attempted suicide. Arguably the most shocking -- and adult -- moment in the movie.
Second best moment: HULK SMASHING Loki. So unexpected, and the theater erupted! Hiddleston sells the fuck out of it when he's laying there, embedded in the floor, with this look of shock and horror on his face.
Thor: It was killing me how they were going to explain Thor's appearance without Jane Foster being involved, and I'm so grateful there was a little scene stuck in there explaining what happened to her, instead of pretending she doesn't exist or that Thor doesn't give a fuck. His scenes with Loki are some of the most touching in the movie, and the thing that kills me is that if Loki *would* relent, I think Thor would take him back as his brother and companion in a heartbeat, and advocate on his behalf to Odin and the rest of Asgard. Of course, *Loki* doesn't think that and therein lies the tragedy. Also, we get to see Thor being the GOD OF THUNDER and its awesome!
Best moment: His confrontation with Loki on the mountain. Just... this.
Second best moment: His fight with Hulk, which is everything any fanboy could've dreamed it would be!
Captain America: Okay, I don't get why there's all this squeeing about how Avengers!Steve is better than his-own-movie!Steve. Aside from Clint, Steve gets the LEAST attention in the whole freaking movie. His whole plot consists of confronting Fury about the reverse-engineered Tesseract weapons [which is a whopping 3 minutes of screentime] and him and Tony working out their differences. 'He becomes a leader in this movie': So when you saw him leading the Howling Commandos against HYDRA bases multiple times in his own movie, that didn't count for anything? Don't get me wrong, Steve has some nice moments in this movie, but he's hardly the most developed character here.
Best moment: Him and Thor levelling the forest when the hammer meets the shield.
Second best moment: His dismissive comment about Loki's divinity.
Hawkeye: There is an interesting genderflip with him being the one controlled and violated, and Natasha being the one who comes to his rescue and guides him back on the right track.
Best moment: When he comes to, and immediately asks Natasha how many SHIELD agents he killed under Loki's control: his concern for others matches hers, even when he's still recovering from being mindraped.
Second best moment: Grabbing Natasha's hair during their fight -- at last, an acknowledgment that longish hair might be a weakness during a fight!
Loki: A lot of the reviews I've read focus on how he's the chewtoy of the movie and how much crazier Loki has gotten since Thor. If I may, I'd like to point out how Loki basically carries the movie on his able shoulders. I'm a big believer in how a superhero movie is only as good as its villain, and Loki (and Tom Hiddleston) had a BIG JOB to do! While the Avengers can split the load between themselves, Loki has to be establish himself as a threat, set up about eight or nine plotlines, and take part in the action, pretty much on his lonesome. Hiddleston has to make us believe that the entire Avengers team is needed to deal with this guy. Let's all appreciate his efforts, shall we?
Best moment: Loki with Thor on the mountain: "I have no home!" and "Odin is YOUR father." Ouch!
Second best moment: The creepy look Loki gives Bruce Banner as he's escorted past him on the Helicarrier.
SPOILERS ahoy, so don't come cryin' to me, behbies.
The Team. The best aspect of the whole movie IMO is that the plot couldn't have happened without the *entire team* being there. Without someone keeping an eye on this, the movie could've devolved into Iron Man 3 co-starring the Avengers. But the character evolution neccesitated every member being there and being vital: Clint's effect on Natasha, Natasha's on Bruce, Bruce's on Tony, Tony's on Steve, Steve's on Tony and Coulson, Bruce's on Thor, Thor's on Steve, etc. If you removed any member from the lineup, you would've gotten a different and ultimately less special movie.
Iron Man. As I mentioned before, the movie could've devolved into Iron Man 3, and that's because if the movie has a central character, its Tony. Iron Man 2 raised the troubling question: should this guy even be a superhero? Can he be trusted with the power he has? And in Avengers, we get to see Tony fulfilling some of his promise, showing himself to be a true hero and someone who's capable of empathy, self-sacrifice, and loyalty. Arguably, he gets the most character development aside from Natasha, although he and Bruce may be neck-and-neck for the second spot.
Best moment: Tony carrying his nuclear payload into Chitauri space, and placing one last phone call to Pepper -- and falling unconscious with her screen picture the last thing he sees.
Second best moment: Tony facing down Loki in Stark Tower. This scene is critical because it shows that Tony has more than bravado: he has faith not just in his *technology* but also in his *team* that they will save the day.
Black Widow: Undoubtably the most character development took place with Natasha. We got to know very little about her in IM2, and I heard that ScarJo fought for more screentime and more chances for Natasha to show what she's got, and that shows. Natasha, like her comics counterpart, is someone with a dark past, hinted at by herself and Loki, but she's also someone capable of realizing when the bad guy's gotten to her, someone who could honor a debt and move heaven and earth to see it repaid, a woman who can kick ass but also know when to speak softly. In short: she's an actual human being. And ScarJo is the bomb diggity.
Best moment: when she plays Loki like a fiddle. She pulls one over on the god of lies!
Second best moment: When Natasha is trapped next to the rapidly transforming Hulk, and the other SHIELD agents run up to help her and she shooes them off. Although she's terrified of the Hulk, Natasha's priority is to send others to safety before her -- and that's why *she's* an Avenger, bitches.
The Hulk: It amuses me to see all these reviews about how the audience 'just discovered' how awesome Bruce/Hulk is, because I've known since The Incredible Hulk movie. But any time the Hulk was on screen the audience in my theater was cheering and clapping; he is obviously the big new fan favorite. Mark Ruffalo did a fine job. And the way Bruce and Tony took to each other almost immediately is so adorable, and I hope there'll be lots of shipping and friendshipping for these two in the fandom.
Best moment: Bruce's revelation that he attempted suicide. Arguably the most shocking -- and adult -- moment in the movie.
Second best moment: HULK SMASHING Loki. So unexpected, and the theater erupted! Hiddleston sells the fuck out of it when he's laying there, embedded in the floor, with this look of shock and horror on his face.
Thor: It was killing me how they were going to explain Thor's appearance without Jane Foster being involved, and I'm so grateful there was a little scene stuck in there explaining what happened to her, instead of pretending she doesn't exist or that Thor doesn't give a fuck. His scenes with Loki are some of the most touching in the movie, and the thing that kills me is that if Loki *would* relent, I think Thor would take him back as his brother and companion in a heartbeat, and advocate on his behalf to Odin and the rest of Asgard. Of course, *Loki* doesn't think that and therein lies the tragedy. Also, we get to see Thor being the GOD OF THUNDER and its awesome!
Best moment: His confrontation with Loki on the mountain. Just... this.
Second best moment: His fight with Hulk, which is everything any fanboy could've dreamed it would be!
Captain America: Okay, I don't get why there's all this squeeing about how Avengers!Steve is better than his-own-movie!Steve. Aside from Clint, Steve gets the LEAST attention in the whole freaking movie. His whole plot consists of confronting Fury about the reverse-engineered Tesseract weapons [which is a whopping 3 minutes of screentime] and him and Tony working out their differences. 'He becomes a leader in this movie': So when you saw him leading the Howling Commandos against HYDRA bases multiple times in his own movie, that didn't count for anything? Don't get me wrong, Steve has some nice moments in this movie, but he's hardly the most developed character here.
Best moment: Him and Thor levelling the forest when the hammer meets the shield.
Second best moment: His dismissive comment about Loki's divinity.
Hawkeye: There is an interesting genderflip with him being the one controlled and violated, and Natasha being the one who comes to his rescue and guides him back on the right track.
Best moment: When he comes to, and immediately asks Natasha how many SHIELD agents he killed under Loki's control: his concern for others matches hers, even when he's still recovering from being mindraped.
Second best moment: Grabbing Natasha's hair during their fight -- at last, an acknowledgment that longish hair might be a weakness during a fight!
Loki: A lot of the reviews I've read focus on how he's the chewtoy of the movie and how much crazier Loki has gotten since Thor. If I may, I'd like to point out how Loki basically carries the movie on his able shoulders. I'm a big believer in how a superhero movie is only as good as its villain, and Loki (and Tom Hiddleston) had a BIG JOB to do! While the Avengers can split the load between themselves, Loki has to be establish himself as a threat, set up about eight or nine plotlines, and take part in the action, pretty much on his lonesome. Hiddleston has to make us believe that the entire Avengers team is needed to deal with this guy. Let's all appreciate his efforts, shall we?
Best moment: Loki with Thor on the mountain: "I have no home!" and "Odin is YOUR father." Ouch!
Second best moment: The creepy look Loki gives Bruce Banner as he's escorted past him on the Helicarrier.
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no subject
Date: 2012-05-08 08:13 am (UTC)Agreed on most of your points, this film managed to sell Pepper/Tony to me (hated it in IM2 but then, I hate IM2 period) and Black Widow. My only quibble is with Steve - he was barely there. Also it seems some of Thor's scenes were cut out. They say there will be at least 30 min of deleted scenes, would actually prefer to see an extended cut of it.
Loki was the best, was scared they will woobify him too much but no, he's got issues but he's awesome. I half expected Thor and him to start making out.
DID YOU SEE THE POST CREDIT SCENE OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!
no subject
Date: 2012-05-10 03:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-10 01:13 am (UTC)Also his fight with Hulk was pretty much what any fanGIRL could dream for, too <333 though I might be an odd type of fangirl hot DAMN that fight was hot.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-10 03:34 am (UTC)And Thor -- that's the crux of Thor *and* Loki's emotional journey through the movie, is Thor's desire to forgive and redeem his brother, and Loki's inability to *let himself* be forgiven or redeemed. Of course, because fandom is Bizarro World, I'm sure some people will find a way to twist this so that Thor is an abusive fuckhead and Loki is a woobie who needs healing cock.