Puny demigod

[dr4b]

Saw the Avengers movie last night after work with Chris, Jordan, and one of Jordan's friends. It was pretty good, the reviews didn't lie, there really were a lot of funny moments, and I haven't seen any of the prequels and that didn't matter. Amusingly, Jordan didn't even notice the Stan Lee cameo, thus making him an even bigger dork than me. I wonder if I'd enjoy the Iron Man movies since I thought Robert Downey was the most amusing of the Avengers.

On the other hand, we sat down at 8:20 for a 8:30 movie and didn't get up until almost 11:20, thanks to the 18 minutes of previews beforehand as well as staying to the VERY END of the credits since we'd been warned in advance to. Pretty crazy, really.

Monday night I got pizza for a second dinner with Ben, and with Mauricio and Holly since they're in town for something-or-other. It's always a little weird trying to recount my Japan experience now since I haven't had to in a while and I'm more removed from it, but it always does remind me of why I left and why I want to go back. Sigh.

Comments

[tangerinpenguin.livejournal.com]

If you liked the Avengers and particularly Downey, I can definitely recommend the Iron Man movies.

[genuinekfc.livejournal.com]

Ditto, especially the first one. The movies were well written, acted, crafted, etc. Downey was a brilliant casting choice, and they backed him up with a great cast and script.

[megami.livejournal.com]

ABSOLUTELY. I've seen all 5 of the previous movies (some several times) and Iron Man 1 is, by far, the best. It was the best movie of 2008 too. :)

[dvarin.livejournal.com]

IM 1/2 are my favorites of the pre-Avengers movies. Mostly because I like smartass characters. :)

[damienroc.livejournal.com]

Prequel film quality, best to worst: Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2. There's a bit of a quality gap between IM and Cap, and then another, rather wider gap between Hulk and IM2.

Really, IM2 is pretty mediocre.

[februaryfour]

+1 ^_^

[februaryfour]

Pretty much with you here. The first three you listed in particular are better than the rest that follow.

[dvarin.livejournal.com]

I agree with your ranking, with the exception that I put Thor all the way at the bottom.

Edit: Well, maybe not--IM 2 was really not all that great. But 90% of Thor had me wanting to throw things at the writers.

[damienroc.livejournal.com]

I understand it's a minority opinion, but Thor is fantastic. There's a bunch of things going on in the film construction that raise it above the level of the other films. It's not just writing involved, but the direction, acting, casting, and such are astounding to consider.

Iron Man has Robert Downey Jr. doing a great job as Tony Stark. It's got some slick production design, a fairly solid introduction plot, and sufficient direction to not suck. Jon Favreau is good, but not great. On the downside, Jeff Bridges, much as I love him and enjoyed him here, is basically just hamming it up as the villain.

Captain American has a great Chris Evans as Cap, some wonderful supporting players, and slick production design. The direction is adequate but not great. And, unfortunately, the plot points are pretty creaky. Hugo Weaving is enjoyable, but doesn't really bring any depth to Red Skull. Plus the whole Hydra thing never gets beyond super-Nazis.

In contrast, Thor has a great Chris Hemsworth as Thor. It's got some amazing supporting players. Kenneth Branagh's direction is fantastic, and seems to be pushing more than just a strict adventure film at us. Beyond that, unlike the other films, Tom Hiddleston's Loki is amazing. There's a hell of a lot more depth to his character, such that we're not just watching a film about the growth of one character, but also the refusal to grow with another.

Additionally, it's the only film in the entire Avengers to pass the Bechdel Test. Actually, it might be the only major comic book film besides an X-Men one to pass it.

Also, Idris Elba is amazing on multiple levels here. And more Agent Coulson than any other Avengers film.

Iron Man 2, ironically, has perhaps the second best villain treatment. Two of them, in fact. It's unfortunate the plot was so disjointed it never really capitalizes on either. Rating the villains. Loki in Thor, Hammer in IM2, Vanko in IM2, Loki in Avengers, Blonsky in Hulk, Stane in IM, Red Skull in Cap.

[dvarin.livejournal.com]

I kind of felt like Captain America might have been better as two movies just due to the enormous amount of story compression, but that would probably leave the first one without much of a plot. And does Red Skull actually have any depth to begin with? Given the writing era, "Goes insane and tries to take over the world" may be sufficient to instantiate a villain. (His chief henchman was more interesting, really.)

I'm not sure Blonsky is actually the villain of the Hulk movie? considering that for the first 90% of it the primary antagonist was General Ross. (Relatedly, I'd throw Blonsky to the bottom of the villain list with Red Skull. They seem pretty similar. Stane at least had some level of intrigue, which gets him points with me. And I don't mind ham that much in an adventure movie. :) )

There's a hell of a lot more depth to his character, such that we're not just watching a film about the growth of one character, but also the refusal to grow with another.

I'll agree that the Thor characters have more depth than average, especially Loki. My main problem is that every single Asgardian irritates the %@#* out of me on a regular basis. That applies to Thor both before and after his "character growth", so I was not really that impressed with it. So he thinks that humans are kinda worthwhile now, whoohoo. Since he still calls himself a god, I guess he's only arrived at noblesse oblige rather than actual egalitarianism.

Also, Idris Elba is amazing on multiple levels here
I... guess? I didn't see it, as he seemed to be playing a straight type to me, so I'll have to take your word.

While I can believe that Thor has some aesthetic or production merit, I think I was too distracted to notice it, except among the humans.

Actually, it might be the only major comic book film besides an X-Men one to pass it.
Alas, most of them don't have enough major female characters to even try.

[damienroc.livejournal.com]

Re: Elba. First is the fact he is AMAZING no matter what he's in. But more importantly is that he was cast at all. Sam Jackson as Nick Fury wasn't too much of a stretch, considering his Ultimate Marvel depiction. But taking Heimdall, who was just about the whitest Asgardian possible and casting him black was a masterstroke. Cue racists. I've got to give mad props to them for doing that.

[daviticus.livejournal.com]

Thor goes at the top of my list, and Chris Hemsworth is gorgeous. I will present those as independent statements, you can decide for yourself if there is hidden correlation.