The Avengers (2012)

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The Avengers (2012)

Now that all of the Avenger characters have been introduced in the previous six movies they combine forces in the seventh to battle Loki (Thor’s naughty adopted brother) who has the power of the Tesseract (glowing cube of awesomeness). The Tesseract was first seen in Captain America and temporarily used by Red Skull. 

But do not think too hard about any of the elements of this movie or like a house of cards it will fall in on itself. Loki with the backing of some decrepit looking fellow wearing a cloak, the use of his power stick and the glowing cube tries to invade earth and enslave humankind. This is effectively an alien invasion and why SHIELD (the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division) was formed. The Logistics part of SHIELD is basically to assemble resources in this case The Avengers (Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye) to defend earth.

After doing research it appears there are up to 100 Avenger members including honorary ones. This includes intriguing examples such as Spiderman, Daredevil, Wolverine and the Fantastic Four which have all been made into previous movies. [Gambit1024 2012] This could result in hundreds of Marvel movies. 

The big winner from ‘The Avengers’ was Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk who stole every scene he smashed, crushed and leaped in. Finally after the first two Hulk movies it was decided to make him more human than a destroying monster.  This meant the CGI Hulk, using the same technology as Gollum from the Lord of the Rings series and modelled on Mark Ruffalo’s face, could demonstrate humour and deliver some classic one-liners such as ‘puny God’ after throwing Loki around like a rag doll. The big fellow also had a major dislike of Thor and there is an amusing ‘Three Stooges’ like slapstick piece where he dongs Thor without looking at him. 

The only other mildly interesting character was Black Widow (Scarlett Johanssen) who used her intelligence and coordination to beat her foes and gave the female audience members someone to support. Perhaps She-Hulk or Spiderwoman may make an appearance down the track in ‘The Avengers 35- Enough already’.

The death of Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), a surprisingly emotionally void scene, is the catalyst for bringing the egos and the conflicting personalities together, as if saving the earth from invasion is not enough. Samuel L Jackson as Nick Starr is charismatic but he is just a human or a bureaucrat with a cool coat and an eye patch. The other nagging point is where is Natalie Portman’s character from Thor? Gwenyth Paltrow got an appearance. 

The settings range from the dark SHIELD headquarters to the flying aircraft carrier to Iron Man flying into space to blow up the invaders.

All of the special effects have been seen before. The crumbling earth, the portal, the fight scenes and Manhattan being destroyed not by Godzilla or the Cloverfield creature but by an armoured leviathan monster. Poor Manhattan. Combined with the sound effects of explosions, weaponry and destruction it all gets quite tedious by the end of the movie as the final battle scene seems to run for a long time. The music is military in nature and grandiose but ultimately just background noise that does not satisfyingly stir the emotions. Could definitely have done with some ACDC. The 3D effects were excellent but not in the James Cameron Avatar league.

Josh Weadon has made a Michael Bay Transformers clone with this movie. The emphasis is on action and special effects and it is aimed at males who spend way too much time on the internet and paid too much attention to audience focus groups. If only Iron Man or ‘Xmen: First Class’ could have been used as the role model. 

The most disappointing aspect of the movie is the ending where a character called Thanos, name/motivation/background withheld, shows his face. Reading up on Thanos in the marvel comics he at one point falls in love with death in female form and tries to make her happy by destroying the universe. [Ohitsme and Shadow1186]

There is no point in thinking deeply about any of the elements as it really is a reinvention of the ‘Three musketeer’s’ “one for all and all for one”. The Hulk kicks Loki in the bum.

Sometimes it is easy being green. (3 stars out of 4)
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Captain America- The First Avenger (2011)

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 Captain America- The First Avenger (2011)

Set in the 1940s this is an old fashioned style of movie where the hero Steve Rogers/ Captain America (Chris Evans) runs on heart, integrity and American values. He is one puny man who is determined to join up for the US military forces during the Second World War but keeps being rejected due to his weak physical condition. Along comes Dr Erskine (Stanley Tucci) who together with Tony Stark’s Dad genetically modifies Steve Rogers into a muscled and superhuman man, much like the East German athletes of the 1980s or ironically the Ben Johnson/ Marion Jones from the Western side of athletics. 

With his super strength and undoubtable courage Steve Rogers can now face Schmidt/ Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) in German territory to stop the forces of the evil Hydra. Steve Rogers is a character the viewer can get behind as he is the classic underdog. Bullied, underestimated and mocked even in hero form. He also has a love interest Peggy (Hayley Atwell), depicted in true 1940’s style where the most raunchy romantic activity is kissing. 

Captain America as the first avenger uses a knight’s shield, which he throws like a rare metal Frisbee/boomerang that somehow knocks out his foes and bounces back to his hand. The characters are transported in time from 1940s America and Germany to present day New York. What struck me most about this movie is the emphasis on tragedy and loss with best friends and girlfriends lost to wartime battles and the passage of time. While this was not overly deep or mentally challenging it definitely moved me with its innocent sensibilities. I believed in the relationship between Steve and Peggy, perhaps because they appeared more as respectful friends than sex crazed lovers. Peggy loved the character of the man within and Steve Rogers had the qualities of the gentle skinny nerdy man within.

Tommy Lee Jones and Hugo Weaving were excellent. Tommy Lee provided good humour with his brash one-liners delivered with great comedic timing and Hugo Weaving had a wonderful German accent. He was disturbingly believable as a psychotic megalomaniac rivalled only by Hitler perhaps reprising his Mr Smith character from The Matrix (1999) or V from V for Vendetta (2005).

The special effects were injected well into the storyline supporting the scene being presented. The CGI depiction of the action scenes, in particular the tragic train scene look seamless. The transformation scene from nerd to hero is exciting and the sound is crisp and energetic. The Zeppelin aerial fight scene was also well imagined from a technical perspective reminding me of the Star Wars scene on the Millennium Falcon where the tie fighters are shot at like a video game. When combined with the 1940s full orchestral arrangements of Alan Silvestri this creates a stirring atmosphere, particularly the theatrical piece ‘The Star Spangled Man’. (Baadassss 2011)

Joe Johnston has directed a superhero movie that romantically matches Richard Donner’s Superman (1977) but unlike its predecessor is not a classic movie. It is a solid movies with as much heart as its hero preaching messages about old fashioned values of loyalty, truth and justice that hark back to an America I’m not sure exists anymore.

(3 spangled stars out of 4)
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Thor (2011)

Thor (2011)

There are major issues when watching a superhero action movie and one starts thinking about other mundane matters like washing, work and what to eat. This is staggering given the Director is Kenneth Branagh who directed Henry V (1989) and Hamlet (1996). Thor is from Norse mythology featuring King Odin and Beowulf, all interesting characters. What went wrong?

The plot is so classically tragic it is boring. Thor is set up by his step-brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) resulting in his Dad Odin (Oscar Winner for Best Actor in Silence of the Lambs 1991 Anthony Hopkins) taking away his big hammer (Mjölner) and banishing both him and the hammer to earth. There is a sub-sub plot with an Excalibur (1981) type edge where only the one worthy person in the universe can wield it. The movie also features one of the most awkward romances in superhero history as Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman Oscar Winner for Best Actress in Black Swan 2010) have no chemistry and almost act as an AC or DC frequency repellent.  

Thor the movie and character (Chris Hemsworth) more closely resemble Conan (1982) the movie and character (Arnold Schwarzenegger) At least Conan had a sense of camp humour, gratuitous nudity and James Earl Jones as a snake.

The story is set on Asgard, Earth and Jotunheim (where the Frost Giants live).  Thor basically goes between the three locations and indiscriminately belts up their inhabitants. He likes beer and eats and acts like a pig. In short he is like an Australian Viking Bogan. The motives of Thor even when he has supposedly learnt his lessons on Earth and gained insight into his actions are highly dubious. To stop Loki, Thor once again uses brute animalistic strength to dismantle the beautiful rainbow bridge with his all-powerful hammer to block off the Frost Giant army from entering Asgard.

The only performance of any note is Anthony Hopkins as Odin who must be wishing he was locked up in his Hannibal Lector face mask eating fava beans and conversing with Jodie Foster about cannibalistic serial killers. 

The best special effects are limited to the battle with the frost giants. The CGI rendering of Asgard looked fine but for a place where Gods hang out it looks less impressive than actual footage of the Beijing CBD. The effects for Jotunheim made it look cold and icy and the music accompanying the special effects was used solely as background, very similar to The Incredible Hulk. The filming was limited to New Mexico on Earth inside a recreational vehicle, a shop, a bar and the plastic military facility. The best sound effect was when the giant suit of hollow armour shot out a fire beam with a metallic ‘zwanggg’ noise. 

The major issue with the movie is the pacing. At times I just dozed off, especially when Loki kept going backwards and forwards between the various worlds. I’m also not sure how a plastic covered quarantined military area can stop someone, let alone a God? Why did he have to walk along plastic corridors to get to his magic hammer? The movie also introduced Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) and Clint/ Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) who play such minor roles that their presence in this movie is so they can reappear with some minor familiarity in The Avengers (2012).

The film is about family betrayal and if you are an older sibling watch out for the younger ones and if you are the younger sibling make sure your Dad really is dead before you attempt a coup or challenge his Estate. 

Thor-out your brain after this one. (1.5 stars out of 4)

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Iron Man 2 (2010)

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Iron Man 2 (2010)

This time Tony Stark is facing a new foe Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) after his triumphant performance in The Wrestler (2008) where he basically plays a similar meat head tattooed character with seemingly savant abilities in electro engineering technology. Plus he has a passable Russian accent. There really is not much to this plot. There is also a thinly veiled link between the old Cold War days with a modern twist. Mr Vanko could be well placed to say on behalf of Russia and himself “thank you America for ruining my country’s economy, social system and taking my Dad’s scientific ideas!’ Basically Ivan wants revenge facilitated by Tony Starks bumbling lesser competitor Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) who provides liberal doses of humour to the movie.

There is also a subplot where Mr Stark’s mini-arc reactor is contaminating his blood. What is keeping him alive is also killing him. The veins are spreading from his heart like a mini nuclear reactor leak or bodily Chernobyl. This fatal flaw in his own technology is possibly the main driver for Tony Stark’s reckless fatalistic behaviour as he parties like it is his last day on earth. Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and this time Lt Col Rhodes (Don Cheadle) trying to keep him together through regular interventions. This eventually leads to a showdown with Ivan Vanko’s remote control drone-like robotic army.

Like the first Iron Man movie there is gratuitous product placement for Audi and an expensive Maybach car that is cut up by Ivan Vanko with his electro whip gloves. I was also hoping Ivan Vanko could possibly endorse Smirnoff or Pepper Potts Dr Pepper soft drink but it was not to be.

Robert Downey Jr is as crazily cool as his first performance. He nonchalantly carries the movie on his back. There are also small parts for Scarlett Johansson as the feisty Natasha Rushman/Romanoff/Black Widow and Samuel Jackson as the imposing Nick Fury. Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) is again present in the film as he is in all Avenger series movies as the pivotal linking character. 

The special effects are blended well into the movie and it is the interaction of the various characters that takes precedence. Jon Favreau’s direction keeps the movie moving at an exciting pace but the freshness of the first version is now gone. This feels more like one of the second series of George Lucas special effects laden Star Wars movies. 

There is an amusing Senate enquiry scene where Garry Shandling plays Senator Stern who is shown up when Justin Hammer’s robots malfunction in hilarious ways. It is this sense of humour and fun combined with Robert Downey Jr’s eccentric performances that give the Iron Man series their edge and uniqueness, particularly in the superhero genre. 

The standout music scene is at the start of the movie where ACDC is again played with dancing girls and a stadium full of adoring Iron Man fans. 

There is a grungy sordid feel to this movie whether it is the Russian setting in the cold and decrepit looking apartments, Ivan Vanko’s gold capped teeth, tattooed body and bedraggled hair or seeing Iron Man drinking like a fish and shooting weapons at stationary objects like a second rate cowboy. These are not the actions of a hero let alone a superhero. Seeing Dan Cheadle in another Iron Man suit somehow takes away from the unique nature of the superhero. Is it the suit or the person within who makes the hero? The final sequence where Iron Man disposes of the robots one by one is fairly mundane and filmed at night with innocent women and children in jeopardy. 

Iron Man 2 is following in the footsteps of Spiderman 2 (2004) but pales in comparison. Both movies show the vulnerabilities of the main character when his power and self-belief are at their lowest point. Yet Tony Stark looks like a spoilt broken man while Peter Parker fights all the way.
It is fine to show a hero’s frailties but don’t turn him into someone the audience does not want to support.

More Alcoholic man than Iron man. (2.5 out of 4 stars)

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Iron Man (2008)

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Iron Man (2008)

This movie is like the ‘muscle car’ of superhero movies as a back to basics, raw and powerful depiction of patriotism and patriarchal sensibilities. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Junior) is a billionaire genius who, like his father, makes sophisticated weapons for the military. He is ironically blown up by his own bombs and is captured by middle-eastern terrorists. It is during his capture that he creates the rudimentary ‘Man in the Iron Mask’ crossed with a ‘Ned Kelly’ like iron man prototype suit. Tony Stark battles the terrorists, the military and his own capitalist money fixated company to standby his new anti-war values.

A notable aspect of this movie is the product placements by Audi and Burger King. As a result of this movie I now have an ongoing fantasy of owning an R8 V10 Audi sports car and using it to order a drive through burger meal. (Greenspan S 2008)

Tony Stark is the quintessential male hero with brains, money, women and adventure. Not unlike an American take on James Bond. He is also a good guy who while having the occasional fling as a batchelor, does have a crush on his assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).

There are obvious reasons the main villains are middle-eastern based given the events of the September 11 terrorist attacks and the resultant Iraq War. There is also a corporate rival in the form of Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) who worked with his father and is a real sheep in wolf’s clothing. The battles are fought in the desert, in the air, in the boardroom, in the garage and the media. This is more than an action movie and is a thought provoking humorous rollicking ride commenting on US Government sales of weaponry to terrorists, corporate greed, the morale use of technology given the flying drone debate and that scientists with high IQs can get the girl and be uber-cool.

What is interesting with Iron Man is he is someone who fights mano a mano at close quarters but with a technological edge, fitting nicely into the present digital technology environment. His life threatening heart issue is now his greatest asset as a power generator is converted like an alternative energy source to energise his incredible suit.

Robert Downey Jr is laid back, intelligent, playful and in total command of his character. He is arguably the best superhero actor ever. Every scene he is in he enhances with his magnetism and presence. His interactions with the computer and the robotic arm are reminiscent of Three Stooges sketches.

The performances of Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges are what complete the movie. Gwyneth Paltrow is very cute while also smart and sassy as Pepper Potts. Jeff Bridges depiction of the backstabbing villain is a ruthless, strong and worthy adversary for Tony Stark. The supporting cast is also excellent with Christine Everhart (who also appears in Iron Man 2) and Raza Faran Tahir putting in solid performances as the respective sexy journalist and chief terrorist.

The effects are cleverly imagined. The transition from the rudimentary iron man suit with pull cord missiles, what looked like an 1980s Apple computer driven suit of armour that falls apart on impact, to the streamlined artificial intelligence and state of the art Ark technology powered suit is extremely clever and engaging.

The scene where Mr Stark flies to the edges of the earth’s atmosphere covering him in ice are used twice in the same movie and in Hulk (2003). I am not sure why there is a fascination with this scenario other than it potentially saves money to use the same special effects. 

Director Jon Favreau has made a self-assured smoothly paced movie with the same sense of laid-back style as a Richard Donner Superman (1978) and George Lucas Star Wars (1977) capturing the excitement and creativity of the 1970s stylisation. There is wonderment, there is adventure and above all there is entertainment.

What a soundtrack. ACDC blasts out of the speakers making a perfect companion to the sports cars, exploding missiles and supercharged suits. The general music, especially when accompanying Tony Stark’s first test flight around the coastline is very well matched adding to the excitement and drama with a driving rhythm.

The cinematography zooms in on Miss Potts putting her hand into Stark’s chest cavity to connect wires, shows what it is like to be Tony Stark in his suit and takes a wide shot of an exploding mountain destroyed by one of the Stark missiles. The scene where Iron Man takes out the terrorists in the village is an iconic action sequence with equal amounts cool, vulnerability as he is shot down by a tank and humanity as he saves a family. 

The sound is thrilling with the incredible noise of Iron Man’s rocket thrusters as he accelerates across the sky crackling, through the speakers. There is also the scene featuring the Hummer carrying Mr Stark being shot by the terrorists and losing his hearing which muffles the sound of the explosions and gun fire around him.
 

Dealing with issues of war and terror, gender equity of Pepper Potts and the formidable female journalist together with scientific blending of technology and the human body make this a pleasure for the mind as well. 

Iron clad entertainment. (3.5 out of 4 stars)

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Incredible Hulk (2008)

Incredible Hulk (2008)

Oh Ang Lee where were you! It is not difficult to tell that this movie is aimed squarely at young males predominantly in the IT profession who wish they had big muscles and dated Liv Tyler.
In short, this movie starts where the first ended in South America. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is in Brazil and the US military in the form of General Ross (William Hurt) wants him as a weapon. Bruce in turn wants to cure himself so he can be with his girlfriend (Liv Tyler) and an English soldier (Tim Roth) wants to have the power of the Hulk. In a nostalgic touch Lou Ferrigno again features this time as the voice of the Hulk.

Edward Norton recreates the performance of the climatic scene in the original The Fly (1958) movie communicating in every scene with his eyes to “kill me, kill me”. The reasons to want to die for appearing in this movie are the absence of dialogue and the Michael Bay like (Armageddon) obsession with special effects as opposed to a storyline, character development and anything remotely concerned with intellectual pursuits. 

The main character is Bruce Banner who transforms into the Hulk when his blood pressure gets above 200 heartbeats per second. I know this because the Director regularly uses a heart rate monitoring device to show how Bruce struggles to remain in control.

Liv Tyler reprises her role from another Michael Bay movie called Armageddon where she is a beautiful woman who stands by her man. William Hurt is good as Liv’s father and Tim Roth is menacing and scary as the villainous character. The standout performance is by the scientist Mr Blue Dr Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) who engenders the only glimmer of humour and positive tone in the movie.

This movie is a special effects fest. The special effects for the Hulk and the transformation scenes are excellent but he seems more animalistic and brutish in his rendering than the first movie. There is a new character called the Abomination which is really an excuse for the special effects IT whizzes to come up with a grotesque inside-out version of the Hulk. The scene featuring the audio canon and the Hulk is a definite highlight from a SFX perspective. 

The Direction by Louis Letterier is like that of someone driving a car on cruise control. The plot is like something from an average child’s storybook and the setting is more like a physical obstacle course from a computer game featuring Brazillian slums or the city scenes in the final fight set piece. The scenes, settings, characterisation and dialogue appear two-dimensional as we watch the Hulk smash and break things. The technique showing the number of days since incident or turning into the Hulk, from my cynical view, seemed like an editing device injected after the movie was filmed to try and create drama and interest. 

The music and sound were incidental and background fillers and a lot like traffic noise. The use of lighting in the factory scenes where the Hulk could not be fully seen was well conceived and executed. The action scene at the University where the military were filmed attacking the Hulk were nicely filmed and provided a contrast between the refinement and sophistication of the university and the raw violence on its grounds. 

I do not honestly know what would be the take-out message for this movie. It is mostly likely do not mess with science and genetics by taking performance enhancing drugs or you will become majorly ugly and psychotic. The end of the movie keeps the Abomination alive which makes the heart sink about the possibilities of his reappearance.

The Incredible Abomination [1.5 stars out of four]

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The Hulk (2003)

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Hulk (2003)

The movie Hulk, the first in ‘The Avengers’ series, features an all-star cast bringing the giant green monster to life. Yet this is more than a ‘monster’ or even superhero movie. It has a complex and thought provoking storyline that keeps the viewer thinking about it long afterwards.

The main character Bruce Banner, played by Australia’s Eric Banner, is the victim or beneficiary from a gamma ray scientific experiment gone wrong. The main story is about Bruce’s present day relationship with his girlfriend Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly) and scientist colleague. She is a green eyed dark haired beauty with brains who wants to help Bruce but is continuously thwarted by her military Father General Ross (Sam Elliott) who does not think they are suited. 

Nick Nolte plays Bruce’s Dad who is a woolly haired unshaven scientist himself and not in complete control of his faculties who wants to rediscover the power that altered his son and use it for his own nefarious devices. 

The subplot deals with Bruce’s Dad experimenting on himself and unwittingly infecting his son by planting the seed, so to speak, of the then dormant green demon  and lacing it through his DNA.

Baby Boomers and Gen X’ers will remember Bill Bixby as Bruce Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk in the 1970s television series The Incredible Hulk. 

Bruce Banner is the hero in a Jekyll and Hyde fashion who needs to control his heart-rate and temper to stop from transforming into the hulking green monster. His girlfriend’s Father and his own Father are the main villains, although it could be argued that the Hulk is also a villain due to his inability, like a steroid riddled bodybuilder, to manage his temper. 

The Bruce Banner character (Eric Bana) is on a personal journey of discovery battling himself more than his protagonists. The distant scientist with a number of distinctive autism spectrum traits is arguably more loveable and human in his Hulk form. There is no real winner from this story of tampering with nature and the quest for power.

He is harassed and bullied by the military, his own Father and society but ultimately protects his girlfriend from the prevailing threats. This makes him easy to support, while he is a ‘King Kong’ like indomitable force ‘it was beauty killed the beast’ within.

Jennifer Connelly’s performance is relaxed and heartfelt. The two leads have chemistry and this gives credibility to the story. Nick Nolte is a standout for his over-the-top portrayal of Banner’s Father.

The changes in time from present to past, environments from sterile labs to forest cabins to San Francisco Bay, to the stratosphere, subterranean bunkers and the desert where Banner’s childhood and post traumatic stress disorder originated are captivating. 

The use of the split-screen, in the editing process, to create a comic book style presentation was clever but not necessarily easy to follow. The rendering of the Hulk with his giant feet and hands, ungainly running and jumping style worked to some extent, although they made him more creature than human in appearance. Something rectified in The Avengers. This detracted from the believability of the character. The transformation scenes are brilliantly conceived and reminiscent of the werewolf morphing in the movies American Werewolf in London and The Howling.

Ang Lee the Chinese Director of Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger has made a complex story that is very intriguing for two thirds and then becomes confused and bogged down in the conclusion. Like Hidden Dragon, The Hulk changes settings and blends action scenes with romance and tragedy very adroitly. Ang Lee respected the comic book origins and fully explored the premise of the movie about what it means to be a male, messing around with science and genetics and what are the components of a human such as the ability to love, fight, show courage and be vulnerable.

The Danny Elfman score, yes the same guy who did the Spiderman movies, Batman Returns, Daredevil etc. uses a staccato and scale progression style that sounds almost scientific or molecular. It is very appropriate but I know I’ve definitely heard it all before in what is becoming a ‘cookie cutter’ staple.

The filming is very well done with close-ins on the main characters engaging with each other and wide sweeping shots for the outdoor Hulk scenes where his size and power needs to be emphasised. It is a visually interesting and textual movie  combining the special effects nicely with the story and is a tremendous showcase for San Francisco tourism.

The use of light and darkness is used masterly by Director Ang Lee. The Hulk lurks in Bruce Banner’s subconscious in the dark or hidden behind the condensation on the bathroom mirror. While the sound of the Hulk’s menacing guttural growl raised to a fury riddled raw definitely gets the blood flowing.  

In an age where bigger is better both in Western society’s obsession with materialism and the dominance of China as the biggest economic player in the world, terrorist attacks, middle eastern wars and performance enhancing drugs in sport this is one superhero movie that engages the viewer’s mind and imagination. 

Crouching Bana Hidden Hulk [3 stars out of 4]

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