Friday, May 4, 2012

DBB 599 - Robby Reviews the AVENGERS MOVIE!

32 comments:

baab said...

very fair review

Al Bigley said...

I have to disagree about the alter-ego characters and such. This film needed more of that! We were robbed of the scenes of Cap getting used to the present day world, reconciling the Super-Soldier formula and Howard Stark's role in it (I know it was touched on briefly), How Hulk once fought a "Cap" (the early "super spy" pre-Abomination in the recent HULK film) etc...I knew that, in a film with SO many characters and so much action to cover, those kinds of scenes would go out the window, but...

And, you only want superhero scenes? Do you buy comics only for 25 pages of Spider-Man? Without the other part, it's just silly action stuff.

Didn't mind Hawkeye and the Widow, but, yeah, coulda used Ant Man and Wasp, even in non-powered roles...

And I have no problem with Cap's outfit. It's pretty much a nice cross between his long-time suit and his recent (last ten years!) ULTIMATES suit!

LOVED the Banner scenes and, yes, fans (young and old) I've talked to LOVED the Hulk and how he stole the show!

And, can't Thor wear his danged helmet just once? Doesn't his head need protection in battle? It sure seems it couldn't hurt! :)

A real blast, tho! If you had told me, in 1977, that one day there'd be a big-screen AVENGERS film...

Al Bigley

Jason Nambe said...

Yeah Hulk! He and Iron Man stole the show in my opinion .. I'm planning on seeing this again once the crowds die down

Anonymous said...

Robby being smart boy. Of course is all communist plot! Why you think Nikita make producers put his spy Black Widow in movie? First for taking over America, and then for real goal of taking over Disney! Will be ultimate Soviet triumph!!!
Of course Robby must now be disappearing before spilling beans, and no internets in Siberia gulag so no more Dial B.
Is tough luck but that life!

- Nikita Kruschev

Robby Reed said...

Nikita, I was thinking of you when I wrote that "communist plot" line!

Anonymous said...

I went to a 1 pm showingyesterday. Every seat was taken. The line for the 4 pm show stretched from the theater, into the lobby, out the door, and around the building!

Anonymous said...

I almost always agree with everything you post, Robby, but like Mr. Bigley's comment above, I not only had no prob with Cap's Avengers duds, I even rather liked them. Even the shoulder stripes!

Robby Reed said...

Hey, to each his own. I still hated it, though. I was expecting something more like Cap's look in his OWN movie! (aka "Ultimate" Cap)

Anonymous said...

I agree so much with your review and very brave on your part to post. My biggest problem with Marvel is there shame for there own characters and history. They refuse to leave the costumes or history of there Characters intact. They create this incrediable unbelieveable world and somehow there own unbeleiveable characters have to be changed. Love your site by the way big props to you

Robby Reed said...

Well, it seems not many agreed with my mixed review of Avengers. But as I said, I did not attempt to produce a consensus report, but to state my own opinion. Right now, Avengers is the #6 movie of all time, and despite my review I am thrilled about that!

Captain Blog said...

Have to agree with Al. You say you want a human element with the big 4 but complain about the human "face time"? Hmm.
You don't seem to have a grasp on the Ultimates universe either. Fury was fully involved in the formation of the Ultimates/Avengers in his own corner of the Marvel Universe. See also Maria Hill who is a modern character that is respected in her own right in the comics you profess to be an expert of.
You did hit the nail directly regarding the Cap costume. Horrible! It is so 'super-hero-y" as to be embarrassing. Made me miss the old motorcylcle helmet suit from the tv movie!
Oh and Al, hope to see you and STAN LEE at the Charlotte HeroesCon next month!

Dennis said...

I actually thought the costume in that Captain America movie from the 1990s looked pretty good, despite the movie itself being crap. Why'd you leave that one out of the Cap costume comparison? Why couldn't they just have done something like that? Except, y'know, with more money.

I guess I must be the only comic book fan in America who still hasn't seen this movie. But then I didn't see the Captain America or Thor movies either. But since you already posted the Hulk/Loki clip, I guess I've seen the most important bit. Thanks. The more of these comic book movies they make, the more I think Alan Moore's not so crazy after all.

Robby Reed said...

Capt Blog -- it's true! I don't read the Ultimate line, and certainly do not profess to be an expert on it. I've read a few, but mostly I hate them. I was talking about the original origin though, which didn't involve Fury.

Robby Reed said...

Re: Human element. YES, I do want to see only the heroes. They can be "human" even in masks, etc. I find secret identities hopelessly boring. They serve as info dumps, something I can't stand. Raw exposition bores the hell out of me. I want to see every hero on every page. Even in team books. Gardner Fox did it in JLA, Kirby did it for 100 issues of FF, so it CAN be done.

Odkin said...

Well, I finally saw it, and have been saving Robby's review until then. I agree wholeheartedly. I hated Caps' costume, mostly for the half-measures with the white armbands and the torso stripes not going around. It just looked lopsided and unmasculine. The painted on wings suck too, but at least they should be bold and art-deco, rather than frilly and weak.

Robby, you KNOW it's impossible to make a movie without making the US appear ruled by shadowy bodies of corporate-looking evil-doers. Besides, that helpd give Fury's mutiny its' MORAL AUTHORITY.

I don't "get" Black Widow and Hawkeye either. I hate it when ordinary people inexplicably have superhuman powers. In the early part of the movie Super-Soldier Cap was practically called useless. Why are Green Arrow and Diana Rigg suddenly capable of fighting next to superhumans?

Anyway, goodbye Dial B! Til next time-
Odkin

Robby Reed said...

Well Oddie, it was worth the wait for your comment, mostly because you agreed with me. Hee hee. Now consider this: in the Golden Age, the (powerless) Atom fought alongside the (omni-potent) Spectre. That's like Widow and Hawkeye fighting next to Thor times a billion.

Unknown said...

Nice review but , Cap's "Adamantium shield?". Vibranium I think you mean.

Robby Reed said...

You're right. Must've been thinking of Wolvie, of course. I corrected that. Thanks.

Frank Esposito said...

Just have to be a fact-checking nerd and point out that John Broome didn't write every 1940s Justice Society story. He wrote about 20, with most of the other 35 being written by Gardner Fox - who of course reincarnated the JSA as the JLA and wrote many of their original stories as well.

So, yes, tight multi-character plotting can be done.

- Frank Esposito
Wickliffe OH

Robby Reed said...

Frank, thanks for the info. No error is too small to correct, and I made the correction you mentioned.

Frank Esposito said...

Double-nerd status with another clarification here : Broome didn't write the first JSA story. That was Fox. Broome's 20 came toward the end of the group's 55-issue run. Fox's were in the first 35.

(And it's 55 issues because the JSA didn't debut until All-Star #3.)

- FE

Robby Reed said...

Well, whenever I make a mistake it almost always involves numbers. I am numerically challenged, and basically can't add 2 and 2.

So I decided to leave out the numbers entirely, which I should have done in the first place.

Thanks for pointing out the mistakes, though. I'm sure it's correct now.

John W said...

This was the most embarrassing Avengers review I've seen yet.

Your petulant whining about a contemporary movie not slavishly copying every single aspect of characters from 50 years ago shows how completely out of touch and unrealistic you are.

I could go point by point to show you how you missed the point of almost everything you commented on (except Cap's dumb-looking costume), but I don't want to waste one more minute than I already have here. I thought you, being obviously well-versed in comics lore, would use that knowledge to greater appreciate the absurd concept that a superhero movie just made a billion dollars and is accepted by the mainstream.

Hint - there's a reason why Coulson is in the movie.
There's a reason why Hawkeye and Black Widow are in the movie, and play vital roles:
It's to show that being a hero isn't just for super-powered characters.
Anyone who is willing to put their life on the line instead of running to save themselves can be a hero and save other people.

How can someone who's obviously read more comics than me, for longer than me, not get this simple and obvious concept, that was very clearly gotten across in the film?

You should be embarrassed that mainstream dunderheads who've never read a comic book in their lives understood more of this movie than you did, with all your background knowledge getting in the way and blinding you.

Robby Reed said...

So basically you're saying that because I know alot about comics, I should have identical opinions to yours. How ridiculous.

P.S. If you don't want to "waste time" on my embarrassing and petulant site, you should stop composing lengthy commentaries to post on it.

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Robby Reed said...

Uhhh ... yeah, NYC.

Sean Budde said...

Any review with DEFENDERS #10 in it, gets a glowing review from me. :o) Way back in 1973, DEFENDERS #10 was one of the very first comics i remember having at age 4. :o)

"See for yourself why it's the ROBBIE AGE OF REVIEWS all over again!"

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Anonymous said...

The movie  is great but less superhero.