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Avengers spoiler alert: all sound and no fury — or how marvelbotched a nuclear apocalypse by ferujkll sdff
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Avengers spoiler alert: all sound and no fury — or how marvelbotched a nuclear apocalypse by FERUJKLL SDFF
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| Article Posted: 10/03/2012 |
| Article Views: 90 |
| Articles Written: 2023 - MORE ARTICLES FROM THIS AUTHOR |
| Word Count: 940 |
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Avengers spoiler alert: all sound and no fury — or how marvelbotched a nuclear apocalypse |
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(Major spoilers throughout) I strolled into The Avengers hungry ravenous for a summer blockbuster. I wanted carchases, fireballs and toppling skyscrapers. I also expected a fewmeaningful characters and lines of dialogue. Because when it comesto the greatest of popcorn flicks, the former really only works ifyou have the latter. Sure, the shark in Jaws was cool, but you kind of needed Roy staring back in disbelief,right? I loved the Batmobile in The Dark Knight , but what really lodged that particular caped crusade in my memorybank was the Joker waxing maniacal.
Generally speaking, I loveblockbusters not just because of the explosions but also because ofwho is doing the shooting. So like millions of Americans this past weekend, I lined up for The Avengers with high hopes. Robert Downey Jr., who made Iron Man rock with his egomaniacal charm, was returning in the role thatlaunched a new Marvel franchise. Mark Ruffalo, the epically talented thespian, was going to bring a fresh twist to Bruce Banner. Themarketing blitz had already tantalized us with the prospect of aHulk-vs.-alien duel atop the skyscrapers of New York City.
I wasprimed to love this darn thing, to get swept up in the mythologyand the mayhem. And yet, ever since that viewing, I haven'tbeen able to shake the feeling that they blew it. I stuck with theAvengers right through to the final scene, but it was less avisceral thrill ride than some sort of Marvel Appreciation Day. Iwas watching without caring, kind of faking the oohs and aahs in a bid to prove that I had a good time.
( MORE: See TIME's Review of The Avengers ) If I'm being honest here, the highlight of the film was theIron Man joyride right at the outset. Our introduction to TonyStark is a smiling face inside a metal mask, as Iron Man zipsthrough the steel canyons of Manhattan (this might be thefilm's most absorbing use of 3-D). For a brief and shiningmoment, being a superhero was dizzying, euphoric, fun. I thought wewere on the right track. Then we got bogged down by the politics (and the outfits!) ofAsgard, the inner-office politics of S.H.I.E.L.D.
and the roboticlizards that fly above New York City with seemingly unlimitednumbers of henchman huddled in their bellies. Now, I admit,I'm not a devout comic-book fan. But when I think back to somany of the best superhero spectacles Superman , Spiderman II , The Dark Knight , Watchmen , Iron Man , Hellboy , Blade II you didn't need to be a comic-book guru to get hooked. The appeal of those greatfilms was the character flaws, the superskills and the missions.But in The Avengers , I couldn't help but feel that priority No.
1 was continuingeach of the respective franchises and story lines. And once JossWhedon was done with the procedural requirements, there was littleroom left for the asides, in-jokes and character quirks thatdistinguish the best of the genre. I felt as if I were floatingfrom one laugh line to another, each separated by 20 minutes ofobligatory, sobering Marvel-speak. Still, through it all there was the promise of an epic showdown inthe Big Apple. So I held out hope.
But by the time the wormhole toAsgard was being opened (or should I say, the wormhole to thequadrant of space near Asgard) and the Avengers were rallying on Park Avenue, my boredomstarted the slide into despair. Here was The Avengers , and it looked less like recent Marvel successes and more like Transformers . Against a meticulously detailed backdrop of skyscrapers and GrandCentral Station were a computer-animated red robot and greenmonster waging an air war against flying metal animals. It soundsamazing, and the tenets of chaos cinema were being followed to the letter.
But none of it meant anything.The choreography of the action, the spatial dimensions of this LastStand, the emotions on the line it was all a big fat zero. ( MORE: Clark Gregg of The Avengers on Wrangling Superheroes in Spandex ) Further proof of my point: the almost second-hand, absent-mindedinclusion of a nuclear bomb. Rarely has a summer blockbuster sosquandered a development as big as this the officiallysanctioned use of a nuke against a population of 8 million NewYorkers. This should be the dramatic pinnacle of the film, and yetWhedon realizes we are so far into the weeds, we have been sopummeled by relentless and mindless action, that he needs Iron Manto swoop in and divert the path.
No real tension or release, just amercifully rushed conclusion to the redundant spectacle. It's telling that one of the biggest laugh lines in the film and one of the highlights I keep hearing people mention iswhen the Hulk gets his arms on Loki and whips him back and forthinto the concrete like a rag doll. It's funny and unexpected,a character-related surprise that is complimented by a surrealvisual. More than that, it's something physical and tangible a tactile refuge from the endless sea of CGI bad guys that floodthe screen.
It was moments like this that let a little bit of soulback into the computer software. Maybe it's just me, but The Avengers was a letdown because those moments of soul and wit were moreoften drowned out by the software churning away in the background.A whole lot of supereffects, but not many three-dimensional heroesto back it up. Plenty of sound and fury, signifying nothing. LIST : Top 10 Superhero Movies. I am Mouse Pads writer, reports some information about biodegradable packing material , yard machine parts.
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