To those who have seen The Avengers (contains spoilers)

WOW. Just wow. A monumental accomplishment for Marvel. Kudos to them for handing and trusting the movie to be in Joss Whedon's hands. A perfect ending to the 1st phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. All the characters were given a chance to shine. It didn't feel like the Tony Stark and Chums show. A lot of classic material fanboys would scream at (Hulk/Thor match up!! Finally!!). Incredible dynamic between characters. To see Cap challenge Iron Man to a fist fight was just intense! That one shot fight sequence in Manhattan is to die for. To see Iron Man fucking shoot lasers at Cap shield to deflect it towards the attacking Chitauri; never in my life did I think that I'd see that in a movie. And of course the end reveal of a new villain. Total nerdvana.
 
The movie currently has a 96% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, and is continuing to break box office records in its first 4 days of release! Assemble!

This was really really good.  I had so much fun watching it.  Good pacing, not all just action, but they gave each character a story and the dynamic/dialogue was just class Whedon.
 
One question though - why was the Hulk able to control himself in the finale but went mental the first time he turned green?

The main villain was boring as hell and his motivations for doing what he did were the usual cliched crap. Still, I thought it was a good popcorn flick but nothing more. Don't feel any need to see it again. 

Question to liquidsr:  did you expect something different when you went into the theater?  You sound very negative about the movie, but basically described the typical tentpole summer movie - the vast number of overwhelmingly positive reviews (your excepted, of course) notwithstanding.  So... am I correct in inferring disappointment in your comment?  

sarcophage


Question to liquidsr:  did you expect something different when you went into the theater?  You sound very negative about the movie, but basically described the typical tentpole summer movie - the vast number of overwhelmingly positive reviews (your excepted, of course) notwithstanding.  So... am I correct in inferring disappointment in your comment?  

Didn't mean to sound too negative since it wasn't bad. I expected what I got, actually I was just a little bit underwhelmed by it. I guess all the hype about Josh Whedon directing/writing mislead me and got my hopes a little too high for this. It is an okay film in its genre (summer blockbusters/popcorn flicks), but nothing to get too excited about. Nothing for me to get WOW about. Action scenes these days tend to get pretty boring but some scenes in this movie, especially ones with Hulk, were good. 
 
To go a little further, I felt that the script was well balanced and gave every character a chance to shine. But the main villain was just boring, the main reason why I didn't get immersed into the story that much. So yeah, yet another popcorn flick but not a bad one at that. 

@Karansaraf
 
I assume that while he maintains full control of the Hulk, the Hulk still dominates him during high times of stress.

Sooo..I know about the big reveal...But is it during the endcredits or after the credits are done?

Wait...was there some kind of sneak preview today?

I'd say during mid-credits. After the whole animated credits are over. What a reveal huh?

As I have never read the comics, could someone explain to me who that was at the mid-credits sneaky peek?
 
BTW, superb film. I've been mentally hulk-smashing every I've seen since I saw it.

The movie was awesome! of course it´s not an Oscar flick, but at what it is... it´s very very good. I can´t wait for the next Thor and Iron Man to see how they build up from this movie into the next thing.

danielreid


As I have never read the comics, could someone explain to me who that was at the mid-credits sneaky peek?

BTW, superb film. I've been mentally hulk-smashing every I've seen since I saw it.

That my friend was Thanos, the Mad Titan. Basically he's a different kind of villain. The one only the likes of Thor/Hulk could take on given the right circumstances. Plus he isn't Earth based so expect a whole new level of evil and power from him. I assume they're going for the Infinity Gauntlet storyline soon.

Cool.. I have something to look forward to on Blu-Ray this fall :)
 

Holy shit! Its nearing 200M and its not even released in China, Russia, Japan, and the US.

A few friends and i did the 12+ hour Marvel Movie Marathon yesterday, ending with The Avengers at midnight. Brilliant movie! I felt like it definitely had the Joss Wedon style dialog, and the action was top-notch. I was really happy that everyone had their moment to shine, especially the Hulk. I like Mark Ruffalo's portrayal, and IMO, some of the funniest scenes were due to him (the delayed punch after he and Thor teamed up, beating the sh*t out of Loki, his method of "reviving" Iron Man, etc).
 
I also loved the Thanos reveal. Man, if they could keep the cast together and do a movie or two based on the Infinity Wars storyline, that would be mind-blowing.

Also, did anyone see the second post-credits scene? I left after the Thanos reveal but apparently there's another scene w/the main cast sitting and eating some schwarma (great callback to a Tony Stark line earlier in the movie).

karansaraf

 One question though - why was the Hulk able to control himself in the finale but went mental the first time he turned green?

I was wondering the same thing, but I think that it was because he chose to turn into the Hulk then. Earlier in the film the change happened involuntarily and due to stress.
 
That's my theory, at least. That seems to be a common question though, so maybe Whedon should have explained that a little better (or maybe he did, and it had to be cut from the final release).
 
I am so looking forward to the BluRay release for this one. Joss Whedon always has the best commentary tracks, and the bonus material should be superb too. I'm also hoping for a director's cut, but I guess we'll have to wait and see about that.

I have to say it's one of the most entertaining superhero movies I've ever seen. I honestly wasn't expecting it to be this good. In the category of action flicks it's one of the best I've really seen. Great story and great execution. I've never read any of the comics but I was never felt I missed out. I'm definitely getting this movie on DVD or Blu-ray and may even try to see it again on the big screen. 
 
Loved the last extra scene after the credits lol. 

Just got back from seeing it. It was good, but I think a bit overhyped. I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars. The trailers were great though. Lots of cool movies coming soon. Battleship is NOT one of them though!

They need a character that could somehow level the "cosmic" power of Thanos besides Thor/Hulk, even to the lowest extent. I'm thinking Dr. Strange!
 
I really hope they do add Giant Man instead of Antman. Antman is a character thats kinda hard to market to a non-comicbook reading audience. I'm pretty sure a character who can shrink down and communicate with ants won't be taken seriously. What do you guys think?

Antman for the movies would be lame. Giant man, on the other hand, would be all sorts of cool. I think of the scene in the comic "Marvels" where you're looking up at Giant Man as he's walking over people.
 
I enjoyed it. It was better than any of the single Marvel movies that support it, but still not as good as X-Men 2 or Spidey 1 or 2 for me.
 
3D still sucks. Can't die fast enough. Unfortunately, due to circumstances, I had to see this one in 3D. It pains me that I actually supported that. I have a bad taste in my mouth still.

Just saw it (in 2D)...and I really enjoyed it.   Joss Whedon absolutely did not disappoint.
 
I also think the "greatest superhero film of all time" tag is getting thrown around a bit too much.   It's really great...but it doesn't touch either of the Nolan Batman films IMO...and I don't think it will come close to The Dark Knight Rises either.   What an awesome trailer.  
 
This could be one of the better "summer tent pole popcorn" film I've ever seen...but I put the Batman films at a level above that.   They are technically superhero movies, but they are such good *films* that they almost transcend the entire genre. 

"Good Times".

I really wish people would stop bitching about 3d. Don't go to the movie if you don't want to support the medium. It's not that hard. This movie isn't going to change your life. Either deal with it or just don't go.
 
This is a superhero movie. It's supposed to be somewhat ridiculous, and appeal to a younger audience. Which 3d does. 

As for Ant-Man vs Giant Man, I'd like to see a version of Hank Pym that we see in the Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! cartoon thats on right now.  He has access to two different buttons on his belt that control Pym particles that can make him shrink or grow to different amounts any time he wants.  So he'll like see a bad guy, go giant, punch him in the face, and then a laser will be coming towards him (which would be hard to miss since he's as tall as a building) and he presses another button and goes super tiny so it misses.  It's really really cool when they give him a lot to do.  It's also just cool when they don't even know he's there, and the rest of the heroes are in a bind, and Hank will just call on thousands of ants that completely cover up the bad guy and scare him to death (think of the scene with all the ants in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull).
 
I'd also like to see Wasp.  I just like her.  I like that she's practically useless but still finds ways to save the day sometimes.  I could even see that she's tactically important since she can get even smaller than Ant-Man and can fly without needing to ride an ant.  Plus she's always funny and we need another girl.
 
But really I just wanna see Hank and Janet as somewhat reluctant SHIELD employees like in The Ultimates.  Scientists working for SHIELD that would rather be kicking ass so Hank comes up with the Pym particles.  It'd be cool.  
 
Also, wtb Vision, Black Panther, and Ms. Marvel but I know I'm dreaming with those.  You need lots of storylines just to get them in there properly.  Ms. Marvel needs the Kree to come along, Black Panther deserves a whole Wakanda movie before he's in America at all, and for Vision you need Hank to make Ultron based on His own, Tony Stark's, or Wonder Man's brain waves (depending on the version), and then Ultron has to make Vision based on his own brain waves.
 
Anyway I really loved it.  lol

I hadn't heard people saying the best comic book movie ever. I agree that Nolan's batmans are better (Dark Knight for sure), but I liked X-Men 2 and Spiderman 1 & 2 better than this. This was better than the build-up movies of Hulk, Ironman, Thor, and Cap, but not even the best Marvel movie.
 
Doesn't much matter. It's a good, fun, enjoyable movie.

Saw it today, finally.  Thought it was good!  Took a while to get going, which was frustrating given that they already took several movies to set these characters up, but eh.  They did a great job of not giving anyone too much or too little screen time but I feel it was at the expense of relationships.  There wasn't much inter-character stuff going on, it was just a bunch of individuals.  That said, it was still fun and I laughed at several lines/visual gags.
 
Is it weird that Thor is probably my favourite comic book movie?  Goddamn I thought that movie got the tone absolutely spot-on.  Spiderman movies are too silly, Batman movies are too serious.  I think the Marvel* movies strike the balance really well, Thor in particular.
 
 
*I'm aware that X-Men and Spiderman are Marvel, but I'm referring to the Marvel cinematic universe...  All the rights stuff is weird with Fox owning Spidey and X-Men (shame... it'd be great to see Wolverine in the next Avengers movie!)

RocketSauce2112


As for Ant-Man vs Giant Man, I'd like to see a version of Hank Pym that we see in the Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! cartoon thats on right now.  He has access to two different buttons on his belt that control Pym particles that can make him shrink or grow to different amounts any time he wants.  So he'll like see a bad guy, go giant, punch him in the face, and then a laser will be coming towards him (which would be hard to miss since he's as tall as a building) and he presses another button and goes super tiny so it misses.  It's really really cool when they give him a lot to do.  It's also just cool when they don't even know he's there, and the rest of the heroes are in a bind, and Hank will just call on thousands of ants that completely cover up the bad guy and scare him to death (think of the scene with all the ants in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull).

I'd also like to see Wasp.  I just like her.  I like that she's practically useless but still finds ways to save the day sometimes.  I could even see that she's tactically important since she can get even smaller than Ant-Man and can fly without needing to ride an ant.  Plus she's always funny and we need another girl.

But really I just wanna see Hank and Janet as somewhat reluctant SHIELD employees like in The Ultimates.  Scientists working for SHIELD that would rather be kicking ass so Hank comes up with the Pym particles.  It'd be cool.  

Ohh the EMH version of Antman seems awesome! And practical! I have a really strong feeling they're gonna go for the SHIELD employee thing.

The best scene in the whole movie....when Hulk beats the living fuck out of Loki. I haven't laughed that hard at a movie in a long time. I know it wouldn't have worked, but if Loki had died, that would have been the best Death Scene ever.
 
I don't normally watch too many superhero movies, but before this Iron Man was my favorite, but I gotta give this one pros as my favorite superhero movie, at least in the Marvel world. Tony Stark is just a fucking boss!

^ Seconded. Hulk (and Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner) was a scene-stealer throughout.

The only Marvel movie I liked better than this was X-Men First Class.

JRundquist

 The best scene in the whole movie....when Hulk beats the living fuck out of Loki. I haven't laughed that hard at a movie in a long time. 

Most definitely. The entire theatre was in tears after that scene 

The Hulk was out of control on the heli-carrier because he was under the influence of Loki`s staff,that`s also why Stark and Captain America were squabbling i think.Also,Thanos` Infinity Gauntlet was visible in Odin`s safe room in Thor.

The Hulk was out of control on the heli-carrier because he was under the influence of Loki`s staff,that`s also why Stark and Captain America were squabbling i think.Also,Thanos` Infinity Gauntlet was visible in Odin`s safe room in Thor.

 
You must not have seen the Hulk movie.

I third the Loki thrashing. Hell to the Yeah. I'm not even a comic geek, and I dug the heck out of this movie. Eye popping action, well-timed comic relief. And it was great fun seeing it with an audience that was jazzed at being there.

This becomes more appropriate every year:
 

I love how quietly and subtly they showed Captain America who he was later in the movie. Earlier, he's arguing with Stark, saying Stark wasn't a hero because he would never jump on a grenade to save someone. And then, what happens, there's a room full of civilians and a grenade on the floor... and the Captain doesn't jump on it either. I could see it all over his face as he's thrown out the window onto the car. Also, I could just be imagining things.
 
It's too early to tell, but this might rank at my number one comic book movie to date. Spiderman and Nolan's Batman are all well and good, but I think in both cases they miscast the lead pretty severely (one of the reasons I'm legitimately interested by the new Spidey movie coming out). X-Men movies are cool but pretty uneven. Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think I like this better than pretty much all of its predecessors.

The movie breaks $200 million mark in the weekend in the US. 
 
http://www.eonline.com/news/avengers_smashes_opening-weekend_record/314126?utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=imdb_topstories

600M in 12 days. That was fast.

I really liked the movie as well. Already planning on seeing it again (and maybe a third time). Major kudos to the cast, Joss Whedon and Marvel for pulling off what could have been a terrible disaster!
 
Now, I have some thoughts about why Marvel films are kicking DC films’ butts (except for Batman, of course): I saw a quote a while ago from some exec at DC saying, “We don’t want to copy Marvel,” yadda yadda yadda. Here’s what I have to say about that (and I’m more of a DC guy): “WHY NOT??” I mean, WHO CARES if you lead new solo characters (and actors) up to a Justice League movie, JUST LIKE MARVEL DID?? Everyone now knows it can be done, and there aren’t a lot of other (good) ways to do it.
 
I think DC is in the PERFECT position to start a similar character arc. You have the last Batman with Nolan & Co coming out this summer. You have a new Superman coming out with lots of hope for reinvigorating that character. There is supposedly a Flash movie in the works. There will certainly be another Batman film with a new Bruce Wayne and director.
 
So here’s what DC needs to do: Green Lantern needs to be “semi-rebooted” a-la “The Incredible Hulk.” You don’t have to “forget” the first movie, but you just move on with a new storyline. I don’t care whether or not you bring Ryan Reynolds back (but my wife does), but you probably should look for another director.
 
My opinion on why Wonder Woman is stalled is because of the likely internal debate over her costume and worries over sexism. But I say the box office returns will probably be worth a little criticism. “Captain America” proved you could bring a WWII character into the modern world, and Thor is a “god” who transcends time, and that movie did pretty well. Just bite the bullet and put her in the skimpy outfit, and put a really good story with it that lessens the jiggle-factor.
 
If they offer multiple-film contracts to these new actors portraying DC characters, which would include at least one Justice League movie option, they could start this process immediately. Put out Superman in 2013, Wonder Woman & Flash in 2014, Batman & Green Lantern in 2015 and Justice League in 2016, in which Aquaman is introduced (possibly at an end-credits button in one of the previous solo films).
 
I have heard the fear of "over-saturation" being thrown around to defend DC's decision to not do "lead-in" solo films like Marvel did, but I think we were worried about that already when Marvel's film schedule came out a couple years ago. It's proven to not be a factor (as long as you don't release Marvel/DC films the same week or within two weeks of each other).
 
The other idea would be for DC to do it "backwards": meaning, start with a JLA movie, thus introducing audiences to the "new" actors portraying the characters, and then do solo films. But I don't think it's a good idea for them to have separate actors for JLA and solo films. It would just confuse and frustrate the audience, I think (much like some casual Spidey movie fans are feeling about the new movie coming out).