So, you’re Bong Joon-ho. Your film Parasite unanimously wins the Palme d’Or, becomes the highest-grossing South Korean film in history, and pulls off the Guinness World Record feat of scoring Academy Awards for Best Picture, International Feature Film, Original Screenplay, and Director. Naturally, your next move is a sci-fi black comedy romance with Robert Pattinson.
For those only half-watching Bong’s career, this might seem like an odd, left-field pivot into Hollywood. But let’s not forget: Snowpiercer already took him there, and Okja brought the titular genetic super pig to Netflix screens. This is hardly new ground for a filmmaker whose tongue has always been planted firmly in cheek.
Based on Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel Mickey7, writer/director Bong leans into the same over-the-top satire as Okja, landing somewhere near Starship Troopers. The film follows Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) and his childhood friend Timo (Steven Yeun), who flee Earth for the offworld colony of Niflheim after falling into debt over a Macron business.
Without reading the fine print, Mickey signs on as an ‘Expendable’—a human drone sent in for the dangerous work. When he dies (which he has, sixteen times by the time we meet him), he’s simply printed again with his memories intact. Things get complicated when Mickey 17 is mistakenly presumed dead and Mickey 18 takes his place.
There’s very little subtlety to MICKEY 17, which might be one of the most glorious things about it. The expedition is led by failed political candidate turned cult leader Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), whose followers wear red caps with slogans on them. Yes, it’s that kind of picture. Yet in a film where Pattinson regularly flops out of a printing tube like meat, and Marshall’s wife Ylfa (a wonderfully unhinged Toni Collette) has an unhealthy obsession with sauces, you can’t afford to take half-bites.
One of the joys of the first half of the film is watching Pattinson’s take on the monotony of functional immortality. Between the daily grind and being dispensed in increasingly absurd fashion, Mickey 17 has resigned himself to eke out existence just as it is. A light romance with security agent Nasha (Naomi Ackie), who has remained his girlfriend since his first iteration, adds a sliver of emotional grounding.
With the arrival of Mickey 18—and a wonderfully chaotic dual turn from Pattinson—the film shifts gears. The discovery of giant bugs on Niflheim sets up broad satire on the nature of colonisation, religious fanaticism, and arguably, immigration as well. Here, Ruffalo and Collette deliver their batty best, skewering everything from conservative televangelists to political leaders like, well, you know.
There’s possibly too much happening in the last act of MICKEY 17, particularly during an extended denouement that tries to pull the rug out from under us more than once. Still, Bong’s film remains a sharp and enjoyable sci-fi flick with a brain—one smart enough to know when to be stupid.
2025 | USA, South Korea | DIRECTOR: Bong Joon-ho | WRITERS: Bong Joon-ho | CAST: Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo | DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros. Pictures (USA), Universal Pictures (Australia) | RUNNING TIME: 137 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 6 March 2025 (Australia), 7 March 2025 (USA)
It’s hard to be neutral about something as huge as AVENGERS: ENDGAME. After 22 films, multiple television series, and countless mixed-media tie-ins, either you’re invested in at least some of these characters or wilfully avoiding them. Either way, producer Kevin Feige and directors Joe and Anthony Russo bring home this saga in a way that fans and casual viewers alike will be unable to forget.
Picking up on a sombre note, several weeks after the dramatic cliffhanger to Avengers: Infinity War, the galaxy ponders how they will move on after the loss of half their people to Thanos. When the remaining Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy are reunited with some old friends and new, they hatch a plan to undo their losses and restore hope.
How does one even begin to write about something like this? Aimed squarely at the people who have been following the story since 2008, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely’s screenplay leaves no stone unturned in pulling together a unique combination of a sci-fi, heist, thriller, melodrama, and epic battle film.
In doing so, every character is given their due. It’s difficult to discuss many of them without revealing some spoilers. Indeed, anything that’s not in the trailer is probably a spoiler. (#DontSpoiltheEndgame) Yet the original six Avengers all get conclusively suitable arc closures, whether it is through a natural progression of their stories or via some clever narrative looping. Some other odd pairings, like Nebula and Rocket, nod to the success of the unlikely breakout hits on the way to this climax.
Is the back half of the film shameless fan service? You’re damn right it is. Do large chunks of the film feel like a greatest hits package? Of course they are. Yet after almost two dozen films worth of world-building, Feige and the Russo brothers can be forgiven for feeling that the kitchen sink is not nearly enough. As Natasha says earlier in the film, “I get emails from a raccoon. Nothing seems crazy anymore.“
Taking that as a cue, the Russo brothers turn everything up to a scale hitherto unseen. It’s not up to 11. It’s beyond 11. It’s at least one more. While it’s hard to know exactly how much of the reported $316–400 million budget (shared with Infinity War) went into this finale, we can probably guess that a large part of it was on the battle that takes place in the heart of the third act. It’s like Lord of the Rings made love to a Jim Starlin comic and the child of that union grew up to be AVENGERS: ENDGAME.
For all the sturm und drang, it’s a film full of characteristic humour as well. Some of this is quite broad – including anything involving a physically altered Thor – while other moments are sly winks to knowing audiences. Which isn’t to say that tears won’t be shed before bedtime. Filled with emotional departures, reunions, and other huge moments, there are points where I wasn’t sure if I was going to laugh, cry, cheer, or emit a strange combination of all three. AVENGERS: ENDGAME has its cake and devours it whole. It deserves every damn crumb.
Even with the Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer playing in front of most screenings here, where the MCU goes next is something we can only guess at. The door is left open for alternate tales from elsewhere in the universe, even if it is the end of the road for some characters. Yet it scarcely seems to matter. AVENGERS: ENDGAME lives up to its title by letting a monumental story come to a close, bringing together a group of of remarkable people to see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to, and to fight the battles that we never could.
2019 | US | DIRECTOR: Joe Russo and Anthony Russo | WRITERS: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely | CAST: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Brie Larson, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Josh Brolin, Chris Pratt | DISTRIBUTOR: Disney | RUNNING TIME: 181 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 24 April 2018 (AUS)
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a decade old and, as of AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, a total of 19 films deep. It’s a fact that will get bandied about a bit in the countless reviews that will pour onto the the Interwebs over the coming days and weeks. Some will speak of Marvel fatigue, while others will sploosh in fanboy and fangirl delight. Yet what both sides of the fence are getting at is the significance of the series on the cultural landscape.
Whether you connect with the Marvel films or not, the series of movies that began with 2008’s Iron Man have all meant something to the viewers. Whether you were introduced to the characters on the screen, or have been reading their printed adventures for decades, this series has offered an unprecedented chance to develop superheroes across a multitude of platforms. Now it’s all coming to a head.
Picking up immediately after the events of Thor: Ragnarok, the Asgardian god of thunder runs afoul of universe conquering Thanos (Josh Brolin). With the Mad Titan intent on collecting the six Infinity Stones and taking over the universe, the worlds of the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man, Black Panther, and Doctor Strange intersect to stop the coming threat.
Given the scale of the film, there’s so much to process here. For much of the first act, invested audience members will sit with our sloppy grins agape at the spectacle. Some of it is simply the unique couplings of characters, such as the unlikely success of Thor and Rocket, or the Sherlocks in stereo of Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch. This is as much as celebration of character as it is an event, and it would take a separate review to list all the wonderful quips, cameos, and nods to lore.
Structured around these small clusters of teams, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR is mostly an accelerating car with scant regard for the destination. A legitimate complaint might be that this bloats out the running time for the sake of giving every character time to play. This might be true, and at 149 minutes it tests audience endurance levels and bladders. Still, at this late stage in the game, isn’t that what we’ve signed up for?
The effects and photography are unsurprisingly top-notch, which is not exactly a shock for a film that reportedly cost between $300 and $400 million to put on screen. There are at least half a dozen points in the film that will rattle the roof off with audience applause, from the Wakandan battlefront to the lightning filled arrive of a certain Asgardian. Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely’s script tempers this scale with some sharp dialogue and innumerous one-liners. Indeed, James Gunn is said to have had a hand in the Guardians of the Galaxy’s lines.
Ultimately AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR needs to be considered as part of a larger whole. On one hand, directors Joe and Anthony Russo have never made any secret about this being intrinsically tied to the as-yet-untitled fourth Avengers film. More than that, it’s the culmination of an idea that began as a post-credits sequence a decade ago. It’s an emotional, sometimes downbeat, and always powerful piece of storytelling. The best part? It’s not over yet.
[stextbox id=”grey” bgcolor=”F2F2F2″ mleft=”5″ mright=”5″ image=”null”]2018 | US | DIRECTOR: Joe Russo and Anthony Russo | WRITERS: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely | CAST: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Josh Brolin, Chris Pratt | DISTRIBUTOR: Disney | RUNNING TIME: 149 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 25 April 2018 (AUS) [/stextbox]
Comic book movies have often been labelled “too serious,” as if the fantastical nature of the medium doesn’t warrant sophistication. So it’s a pleasure to see that Taika Waititi’s approach to THOR: RAGNAROK is one of pure absurdist fun that’s also reverential to the source material.
It’s been two years since the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, and twice that since Thor: The Dark World. After Thor (Chris Hemsworth) unmasks his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), posing as the Allfather Odin (Anthony Hopkins), he sets in motion a chain of events that leads to the resurrection of Hela (Cate Blanchett), the goddess of death. Stranded on a distant planet, the Grandmaster (Jeff Golblum) makes Thor fight for his life against old “friend from work” Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).
From the opening scene, it’s clear that THOR: RAGNAROK will never miss an opportunity for a gag. It’s a rather self-deprecating humour too, as if Flight of the Conchords had organically grown into a show about space vikings. Waititi himself plays a character named Korg, and his distinctive Kiwi accent acts as a laidback tourist in this fantastical world. It’s actually going to be interesting to see how audiences from outside the Antipodes relate to this singular sense of humour.
There’s little in the way of an emotional core to the film, as Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost’s script flies by the seat of its pants through a narrative that is equal parts Norse mythology and pure comic bookery. Strangely this is never a detriment to the film, and it should come as no surprise that the god of thunder works best when placed in the heart of a swirling maelstrom.
Against phenomenal CG environments, making full use of the existing Asgardian world, Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh backs the visuals with a retro synth-heavy set of ambient sounds inspired by Jean-Michel Jarre. Hemsworth pulls on the comedy chops of Ghostbusters‘ Kevin while kicking ass to the tune of Led Zeppelin. The elements combine to make Thor every bit the cinematic hero he has always deserved to be.
It’s also a delight to have Hiddleston back on screen as something other than the primary antagonist too, using all his charm and guile to serve as Hemsworth’s foil rather than his foe. Similarly, Ruffalo (as both Banner and the Hulk) gets to expand on his green goliath in the absence of another solo outing. Indeed, the events of this movie are partly inspired by the 2006 Planet Hulk comic book event.
On the side of villainy, the Grandmaster reaches peak Goldblum, quite literally stopping speeches in the middle of sentences to add to the wackiness of it all. Blanchett shows a massive appetite for munching on large chunks of the scenery, but both she and pseudo-villain Karl Urban have a ball doing it.
THOR: RAGNAROK sits quite happily alongside the original Guardians of the Galaxy as a tale that both expands the Marvel cosmic universe and provides plenty of laughs while doing it. As always, be sure to stick around through the credits for a taste of things to come, and one last gag on the way out the door. Avengers: Infinity War may promise to have the most Marvel characters in a single film, but they will be hard pressed to have as much fun as this one.
[stextbox id=”grey” bgcolor=”F2F2F2″ mleft=”5″ mright=”5″ image=”null”]2017 | US | DIRECTORS: Taika Waititi | WRITERS: Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost | CAST: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins | DISTRIBUTOR: Disney (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 130 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 25 October 2017 (AUS) [/stextbox]
This sequel that pulls a hat out of a rabbit, and feels pretty good about doing it.
Despite missing out on a golden opportunity to call the film “Now You Don’t,” the Horsemen return from their exile only to be thrown straight into a new box of cards. After eluding the FBI for several years and framing Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) for their crimes, thanks largely to “Fifth Horseman” Dylan Rhodes’ (Mark Ruffalo) misdirection from inside the bureau, the team is itching to get back onto the stage. They get the chance when Danny Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) and newcomer Lula (Lizzy Caplan) are lured to perform a public takedown of a tech magnate. However, their flamboyant act is a trap, as Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe) uses their outing to blackmail them into performing a seemingly impossible heist.
Which is where NOW YOU SEE ME 2 significantly differs from its predecessor. While there were heist elements to the first film, there was also a mystery around the Four Horseman and half the fun was in finding out how they were getting away with their “magic.” Here we are following the group as underdog heroes, rather than dubious anti-heroes, and the primary focus of the sequel is a caper in the vein of the Ocean’s Eleven franchise. Now having to follow these characters more closely, but keep their final reveal until the bitter end, scribe Ed Solomon (co-writer of the original) occasionally baffles with nonsensical occurrences and MacGuffins. Take for example the twin brother of McKinney, which gives Harrelson a chance to play two characters, both of whom are hams. With Ruffalo’s Dylan now on the side of the Horseman, we also miss an antagonist that we secretly want to see win.
Make no mistake: NOW YOU SEE ME 2 is an incredibly silly film, but while it isn’t always self-aware of this fact, it’s nevertheless endearing because of its devotion to that special brand of self-satisfying denouement. While the greatest trick this sequel pulls is making the memorable Isla Fisher disappear completely, and sliding Lizzy Caplan into place without too much fuss, there is also something uniquely charming about the series of final reveals and wrap-ups, each of which will make you smile despite the fact that they don’t actually make any sense upon closer inspection. Like a magic trick, you’ll believe that the curtain has been pulled back and some clever comforting truth has been revealed, even though you know at your core it’s all smoke and mirrors.
NOW YOU SEE ME 2 releases in Australia on 2 June 2016 from eOne Films. It releases in the US on 10 June from Summit Entertainment.
2015 | US | DIR: John M. Chu | WRITERS: Ed Solomon | CAST: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Daniel Radcliffe, Lizzy Caplan, Helder Rei, Jay Chou, Sanaa Lathan, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman | DISTRIBUTOR: eOne Films (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 115 minutes | RATING:★★★ (6/10)
Marvel Studios has confirmed online that the casting for THOR: RAGNAROK will be a particularly huge one. Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, and Mark Ruffalo have all been confirmed to be in the third Thor film, following Thor: The Dark World, and the seventeenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Blanchett is set to play a new villain called Hela, who has traditionally been the Asgardian god of death in the comics. Introduced in 1968, the likely source material for the film saw her reawakened in her mortal guise following Ragnarok, due to Loki’s schemes. Goldblum’s role of the Grandmaster suggests that THOR: RAGNAROK will also be setting up much of the Infinity War storyline for the next Avengers film as well. Tessa Thompson will play Valkyrie, an ally and one-time love interest for Thor, while Urban will add his existing comic book cred as Skurge, an Asgardian warrior who has fought on both sides of the hero/villain divide.
“The continuation of the epic Thor franchise will be powerful and unique, and with the additions of Cate, Jeff, Tessa, Karl, and Mark to the cast we have the makings of his most dangerous and heroic adventure yet,” said Producer Kevin Feige.
Returning casting members include, of course, Chris Hemsworth as the titular lightning wielder, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Idris Elba as Heimdall, and Sir Anthony Hopkins as Odin.
THOR: RAGNAROK will be shot in Australia by New Zealand director Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople). It will be released in Australia on 26 October 2017, and on 3 November 2017 in the US, by Disney.
NOTE: This review originally appeared at our sister site, BEHIND THE PANELS. Please visit there for more comic book content, and our weekly podcast.
The coming together of geek god king Joss Whedon and the world of cinematic comic bookery was enough to make even the most cynical fan reach for his or her swooning couch, and the box office success of that union proved that superhero popularity extended well beyond the chaise longue. In the last three years, the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has continued to grow in unexpected but equally successful ways, across television and mixed media, so it’s a very different landscape that AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON lands in.
Whedon wastes no time in throwing the audience into the action, perhaps responding to audience reactions of the slower beat of the previous film’s first act. In a refreshingly exposition free set-up, it’s evident some time has passed since the last time we saw any of these characters, as they are now a fully-fledged team on the last of a series of recon missions. Discovering not only Baron Von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) in possession of Loki’s sceptre, but the “enhanced” twins Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), they unwittingly set in motion a bigger plan, and kickstart the artificial intelligence Ultron (James Spader) to life.
It’s difficult to be too critical of AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, for in every way it mostly achieves what it sets out to do by being a bigger and rompier version of its predecessor. This doesn’t begin as the origin story of a team, but rather an established group of characters interacting in a way we’ve never seen on screen before. The opening raid sequence is one of the impressive displays of superheroics ever, placing the characters in real peril and surrounding them in a swirling chaos. It’s a pace that the film rarely lets up on, with the already infamous “Hulkbuster” sequence, several Ultron attacks and a literally earth-shattering climax all coming in rapid succession.
Yet the film shows some of the weaknesses that the Avengers themselves face during their latest outing, in that the individual parts are all vying for a bigger piece of the whole. There’s a conscious decision with Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), for example, to give him a significant amount of backstory to make up for his perfunctory role in the 2012 film. While it’s a positive step, Renner isn’t the only star in the game, and every single one of the characters is given their own arc. This may sound like a good thing on paper, and works well within the context of a monthly comic, but many of the arcs get buried in the cacophony of concurrent threads. With the multitude of storylines – not to mention the introduction of several new lead characters – it’s occasionally hard to keep track of what’s happening and it really does feel as though bits are missing between scenes. Ultron escalates from newborn to global threat in the space of a scene, barely giving us time to take in the enormity of the issue.
In many ways, Whedon is trying to ape the compressed storytelling movement of the comic book world, lurching from one scene to the next to keep momentum going while tying up as many threads as possible in a short burst. This works brilliantly until you stop and try to piece together some of the disparate scenes, such as why it was necessary to have perfunctory visits to Africa and South Korea. For this reason, the middle act feels a bit messy on occasions. Instead of developing a fuller narrative, we instead get a series of tried-and-true shortcuts: a repeated gag about Rogers swearing, a trip to a farm to recuperate after a loss, and even an evacuation sequence with both a last minute child and a dog making it onto the last ship.
Whedon’s vision is a singular one, and there is little denying that he has still got a finger placed firmly to the pulse when it comes to delivering exactly what the audience wants to see on a grand scale. Yet that also unfortunately means discarding those elements he seems to disagree with from previous films. Tony Stark’s profound decision and resolution at the end of the divisive Iron Man 3 is ignored for favour of cool new toys. Any substance in the Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov relationship in Captain America: The Winter Soldier is dismissed in a one-liner about flirting. Indeed, the closeness of Black Widow to Clint Barton/Hawkeye that Whedon himself set up in The Avengers is cast aside for a new revelation about Barton’s personal life that feels more about plot necessity than character development.
The cinematography of Ben Davis (Guardians of the Galaxy, Kick-Ass), a regular collaborator with Matthew Vaughn, replaces the sometimes cramped photography of Seamus McGarvey. This gives the film the epic look it needs, and it is a revelation to see these characters assemble in a wider scope with darker shades surrounding them. This is necessary for the introduction of the robotic Ultron, captured as one of Whedon’s sarcastic “Big Bads” by James Spader, filling the impossibly large frame with swagger and ponce. Yet it also gives newcomer Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch a realistic stage to play her mind games on the team, and it’s evident by the end that Whedon may have just used this film as an excuse to bring her into the fold.
AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON nevertheless ends on a massively positive vibe, setting us up for the next phase via a wickedly funny mid-credits stinger, and is bookended by action sequences and liberal doses of humour that the writer/director is known for. If the middle act is a little emotionally uneven, or compressed to the point of brevity, perhaps it is through being overly ambitious. With Avengers: Infinity War planned to be two films, it is evident that the scale of the storytelling in these films is getting larger. Indeed, the first cut of this film was reportedly over 3 hours, and despite the scale, this chapter is actually slightly shorter than the first outing. It’s one of those rare instances where a longer film was justified in giving the film some breathing room, albeit it still remains a worthy romp in the end.
AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON releases in Australia on 23 April 2015, and on 1 May 2015 in the US, from Disney.
Want to keep up with all the latest? Got a comment? Start a conversation below, or take it with you on Behind the Panel’s Facebook and Twitter!
If you are an iTunes user, SUBSCRIBE to our weekly podcast free here and please leave us feedback. That’s how we get more attention on the Interwebs and move up the iTunes charts!
Marvel’s Avengers assemble for the first time on the small screen, in a satisfying union that requires some assembly but ultimately achieves its ambitious collision of worlds. However, the Australian ‘Limited Edition’ Blu-ray lives up to its name in every way.
It may have seemed like a crazy idea half a decade ago, when the release of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk within a few months of each other signalled the start of something entirely unique in the film world. Marvel Studios had begun gathering together its mightiest heroes not simply for a series of adaptations, but to reconstruct its comic book universe for cinema audiences. The so-called Marvel Cinematic Universe gained momentum with the addition of Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger to the roster, not to mention an Iron Man sequel, and suddenly the impossible seemed possible. While DC Comics struggled through Superman reboots and Green Lanternmisfires, Marvel had a legitimate cinematic institution on their hands.
With The Avengers, the disparate elements from four thematically different worlds come together. When an alien force threatens the Earth, under the charge of Asgardian wild child Loki (Tom Hiddleston), über spy organisation S.H.I.E.L.D is compromised. Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) desperately summons together Earth’s mightiest warriors to analyse the threat. Yet Captain America (Chris Evans) is a man out of time, and Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) an unstoppable egotist with other pursuits on his mind. Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) is emotionally compromised, uncontrollable demigod Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is conflicted when it comes to his brother Loki and the newly calm Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) keeps the Hulk in check. Will this ragtag team be enough to keep the extraterrestrial hordes at bay?
Given that The Avengers is the culmination of a six film world-building saga, much of the first act of the film is confusingly spent in a dragging set-up not just for this film, but for the chapters that will inevitably follow. Indeed, one would be forgiven for thinking this was the prematurely released Iron Man 3for at least half of the exposition. Yet as director Joss Whedon‘s script rapidly ticks off the whereabouts of all the players, getting us up to speed with their various misadventures in the cracks between films, some of the immediacy of the spectacular opening is lost. Here even master team-builder Whedon, seasoned through Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, struggles with the essential problem this film was always going to face: keeping four fan bases happy but simultaneously moving the story forward.
Once all of the pieces are in one place, however, The Avengers becomes the cracking piece of event cinema that it was always destined to be. Here Whedon plays in his element, as humour and character building mark this just as much his film as the work of Marvel Studios’ producer Kevin Feige. Downey Jr naturally gets all the best one-liners, but exchanges between him, Evans, Ruffalo and Hemsworth in particular are evenly paced and frequently side-splitting. Whedon is not afraid to use visual humour either, playing on the Hulk’s size or his ability to fling about mortals like rag dolls. More than anything, he recognises that these are already well-defined characters from previous films and comics, and allows their natural charms to emerge within the story where possible.
Hiddleston builds on his powerfully sympathetic portrayal of the conflicted villain, although the nature of The Avengers beast requires that he be a little more cut and dry in his villainy. On the flip side, Captain America’s transition back into the world after decades on ice is one that requires more exploration, but we will have to wait several years for this to eventuate in its own sequel. The only new cast member is Mark Ruffalo, who replaces Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/The Hulk. Effortlessly slipping into the role, he provides genuine warmth and a glimmer of what has transpired to the character off-screen. Although a third standalone Hulk film is not currently on the horizon, Ruffalo is the first actor to take on the role who actually makes us want to see more of his charmingly gentle take.
Yet this is, above all things, an action film and this is where the film ultimately delivers and overwhelms. Once the invasion force descends from the heavens, the Michael Bay gene of the film takes over, favouring spectacle over all else. There is undoubtedly far more intelligence behind this action, from the Hulk’s encounters with individual enemies to Stark’s quips in the heat of battle. It would be a cold-hearted fanboy who didn’t get all aquiver as the team comes together on the battlefield for the first time, and a giant creature snakes its way around an embattled New York. In the climactic moments, some of the cracks admittedly show. The Hulk’s domesticity is a convenient occurrence rather than a naturally occurring one, but does make for some spectacular imagery. After literally using archer Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) as a pawn in the opening chapter, Whedon is left with not having an effective place for him (or Johansson for that matter) in the final battle of super-beings.
As a cinematic achievement, The Avengers requires a firm salute of respect for giving the fans exactly what they wanted and pulling together one of the first epics of the year. Yet as fans will know, sticking around until the post-credits sequence is mandatory in a Marvels Studios film, although this time non comics readers will be left scratching their heads. Either way, what The Avengers mostly achieves is an end to one chapter and opening a door to another, filled with sequels, spin-offs and a growing legion of fans who have had their expectations raised by the unnecessarily high quality of this series.
The Disc (★★★):
In a word, disappointing. This 3-Disc (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy) is also spruiked as a limited edition with a slipcover, but in every other way lives up to the term ‘limited’. The audio/visual aspects to this disc are actually outstanding, and if you are region locked, then this is the only way to see The Avengers. The crystal clear video is easily a 5/5 and the bombastic audio is an impressive equaliser, rattling the windows suitably. We’re also pleased to report that it contains both of the end-credits sequences from the US edition of the film.
The bonus features on all Australian editions are another story. In fact, there are just over 30 minutes worth of bonus features on this disc, making this a virtually bare-bones outing. The Marvel One-Shot: Item 47 (12 minutes) is the most substantial single feature, and is an ambitious and mostly satisfying expansion to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Deleted and Extended Scenes (15 minutes) are most worthwhile for the alternate opening and closing sequences featuring Cobie Smulders (detailed here), and pieces with Harry Dean Stanton/Mark Ruffalo along with more Captain America. There’s also a pretty standard Gag Reel (4 minutes) of line flubs, dropped hammers and general silliness on set. The Blu-ray also shares a featurette with the single disc DVD (also in this set), A Visual Journey (6 minutes), in which Joss Whedon and his creative team take us through the design of the S.H.I.E.L.D areas of the film.
What’s missing? We hate to say it, but this one is definite an import recommendation. The film alone is the best ‘feature’, but it seems the price to pay for getting this a month early is missing out on an audio commentary from Joss Whedon, the Soundgarden music video, the alleged ‘second screen’, and worst of all, a 90-minute documentary called “Assembling the Ultimate Team”. The UK Blu-ray is out 17 September, while the US Blu-ray is out on 26 September.
Marvel’s Avengers assemble for the first time on the small screen, in a satisfying union that requires some assembly but ultimately achieves its ambitious collision of worlds.
It may have seemed like a crazy idea half a decade ago, when the release of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk within a few months of each other signalled the start of something entirely unique in the film world. Marvel Studios had begun gathering together its mightiest heroes not simply for a series of adaptations, but to reconstruct its comic book universe for cinema audiences. The so-called Marvel Cinematic Universe gained momentum with the addition of Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger to the roster, not to mention an Iron Man sequel, and suddenly the impossible seemed possible. While DC Comics struggled through Superman reboots and Green Lanternmisfires, Marvel had a legitimate cinematic institution on their hands.
With The Avengers, the disparate elements from four thematically different worlds come together. When an alien force threatens the Earth, under the charge of Asgardian wild child Loki (Tom Hiddleston), über spy organisation S.H.I.E.L.D is compromised. Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) desperately summons together Earth’s mightiest warriors to analyse the threat. Yet Captain America (Chris Evans) is a man out of time, and Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) an unstoppable egotist with other pursuits on his mind. Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) is emotionally compromised, uncontrollable demi-god Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is conflicted when it comes to his brother Loki and the newly calm Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) keeps the Hulk in check. Will this ragtag team be enough to keep the extraterrestrial hordes at bay?
Given that The Avengers is the culmination of a six film world-building saga, much of the first act of the film is confusingly spent in a dragging set-up not just for this film, but for the chapters that will inevitably follow. Indeed, one would be forgiven for thinking this was the prematurely released Iron Man 3for at least half of the exposition. Yet as director Joss Whedon‘s script rapidly ticks off the whereabouts of all the players, getting us up to speed with their various misadventures in the cracks between films, some of the immediacy of the spectacular opening is lost. Here even master team-builder Whedon, seasoned through Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, struggles with the essential problem this film was always going to face: keeping four fan bases happy but simultaneously moving the story forward.
Once all of the pieces are in one place, however, The Avengers becomes the cracking piece of event cinema that it was always destined to be. Here Whedon plays in his element, as humour and character building mark this just as much his film as the work of Marvel Studios’ producer Kevin Feige. Downey Jr naturally gets all the best one-liners, but exchanges between him, Evans, Ruffalo and Hemsworth in particular are evenly paced and frequently side-splitting. Whedon is not afraid to use visual humour either, playing on the Hulk’s size or his ability to fling about mortals like rag dolls. More than anything, he recognises that these are already well-defined characters from previous films and comics, and allows their natural charms to emerge within the story where possible.
Hiddleston builds on his powerfully sympathetic portrayal of the conflicted villain, although the nature of The Avengers beast requires that he be a little more cut and dry in his villainy. On the flip side, Captain America’s transition back into the world after decades on ice is one that requires more exploration, but we will have to wait several years for this to eventuate in its own sequel. The only new cast member is Mark Ruffalo, who replaces Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/The Hulk. Effortlessly slipping into the role, he provides genuine warmth and a glimmer of what has transpired to the character off-screen. Although a third standalone Hulk film is not currently on the horizon, Ruffalo is the first actor to take on the role who actually makes us want to see more of his charmingly gentle take.
Yet this is, above all things, an action film and this is where the film ultimately delivers and overwhelms. Once the invasion force descends from the heavens, the Michael Bay gene of the film takes over, favouring spectacle over all else. There is undoubtedly far more intelligence behind this action, from the Hulk’s encounters with individual enemies to Stark’s quips in the heat of battle. It would be a cold-hearted fanboy who didn’t get all aquiver as the team comes together on the battlefield for the first time, and a giant creature snakes its way around an embattled New York. In the climactic moments, some of the cracks admittedly show. The Hulk’s domesticity is a convenient occurrence rather than a naturally occurring one, but does make for some spectacular imagery. After literally using archer Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) as a pawn in the opening chapter, Whedon is left with not having an effective place for him (or Johansson for that matter) in the final battle of super-beings.
As a cinematic achievement, The Avengers requires a firm salute of respect for giving the fans exactly what they wanted and pulling together one of the first epics of the year. Yet as fans will know, sticking around until the post-credits sequence is mandatory in a Marvels Studios film, although this time non comics readers will be left scratching their heads. Either way, what The Avengers mostly achieves is an end to one chapter and opening a door to another, filled with sequels, spin-offs and a growing legion of fans who have had their expectations raised by the unnecessarily high quality of this series.
The Disc (★★★):
This Australian single disc edition is Avengers-Lite™, and serious fans will be looking towards the Blu-ray edition or the multi-disc sets. The sound is still pretty amazing on this disc, actively using all of the surround channels and flat-out bursting through the speakers from the opening scenes. The picture quality does look somewhat compressed, but that is only in comparison to the 1080p transfer that our eyes have grown accustomed to. This is still an impressive display. This single-disc edition only comes equipped with a single featurette, A Visual Journey (6 minutes), in which Joss Whedon and his creative team take us through the design of the S.H.I.E.L.D areas of the film. We’re alos pleased to report that it contains both of the end-credits sequences from the US edition of the film. Bottom Line? Get the Blu-ray.
Marvel’s Avengers assemble for the first time on the big screen, in a mostly satisfying union that requires some assembly but ultimately achieves its ambitious collision of worlds.
It may have seemed like a crazy idea half a decade ago, when the release of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk within a few months of each other signalled the start of something entirely unique in the film world. Marvel Studios had begun gathering together its mightiest heroes not simply for a series of adaptations, but to reconstruct its comic book universe for cinema audiences. The so-called Marvel Cinematic Universe gained momentum with the addition of Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger to the roster, not to mention an Iron Man sequel, and suddenly the impossible seemed possible. While DC Comics struggled through Superman reboots and Green Lantern misfires, Marvel had a legitimate cinematic institution on their hands.
With The Avengers, the disparate elements from four thematically different worlds come together. When an alien force threatens the Earth, under the charge of Asgardian wild child Loki (Tom Hiddleston), über spy organisation S.H.I.E.L.D is compromised. Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) desperately summons together Earth’s mightiest warriors to analyse the threat. Yet Captain America (Chris Evans) is a man out of time, and Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) an unstoppable egotist with other pursuits on his mind. Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) is emotionally compromised, uncontrollable demi-god Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is conflicted when it comes to his brother Loki and the newly calm Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) keeps the Hulk in check. Will this ragtag team be enough to keep the extraterrestrial hordes at bay?
Given that The Avengers is the culmination of a six film world-building saga, much of the first act of the film is confusingly spent in a dragging set-up not just for this film, but for the chapters that will inevitably follow. Indeed, one would be forgiven for thinking this was the prematurely released Iron Man 3 for at least half of the exposition. Yet as director Joss Whedon‘s script rapidly ticks off the whereabouts of all the players, getting us up to speed with their various misadventures in the cracks between films, some of the immediacy of the spectacular opening is lost. Here even master team-builder Whedon, seasoned through Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, struggles with the essential problem this film was always going to face: keeping four fan bases happy but simultaneously moving the story forward.
Once all of the pieces are in one place, however, The Avengers becomes the cracking piece of event cinema that it was always destined to be. Here Whedon plays in his element, as humour and character building mark this just as much his film as the work of Marvel Studios’ producer Kevin Feige. Downey Jr naturally gets all the best one-liners, but exchanges between him, Evans, Ruffalo and Hemsworth in particular are evenly paced and frequently side-splitting. Whedon is not afraid to use visual humour either, playing on the Hulk’s size or his ability to fling about mortals like rag dolls. More than anything, he recognises that these are already well-defined characters from previous films and comics, and allows their natural charms to emerge within the story where possible.
Hiddleston builds on his powerfully sympathetic portrayal of the conflicted villain, although the nature of The Avengers beast requires that he be a little more cut and dry in his villainy. On the flip side, Captain America’s transition back into the world after decades on ice is one that requires more exploration, but we will have to wait several years for this to eventuate in its own sequel. The only new cast member is Mark Ruffalo, who replaces Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/The Hulk. Effortlessly slipping into the role, he provides genuine warmth and a glimmer of what what has transpired to the character off-screen. Although a third standalone Hulk film is not currently on the horizon, Ruffalo is the first actor to take on the role who actually makes us want to see more of his charmingly gentle take.
Yet this is, above all things, an action film and this is where the film ultimately delivers and overwhelms. Once the invasion force descends from the heavens, the Michael Bay gene of the film takes over, favouring spectacle over all else. There is undoubtedly far more intelligence behind this action, from the Hulk’s encounters with individual enemies to Stark’s quips in the heat of battle. It would be be a cold-hearted fanboy who didn’t get all aquiver as the team comes together on the battlefield for the first time, and a giant creature snakes its way around a embattled New York. In the climactic moments, some of the cracks admittedly show. The Hulk’s domesticity is a convenient occurrence rather than a naturally occurring one, but does make for some spectacular imagery. After literally using archer Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) as a pawn in the opening chapter, Whedon is left with not having an effective place for him (or Johansson for that matter) in the final battle of super-beings.
As a cinematic achievement, The Avengers requires a firm salute of respect for giving the fans exactly what they wanted and pulling together one of the first epics of the year. Yet as fans will know, sticking around until the post-credits sequence is mandatory in a Marvels Studios film, although this time non comics readers will be left scratching their heads. Either way, what The Avengers mostly achieves is an end to one chapter and opening a door to another, filled with sequels, spin-offs and a growing legion of fans who have had their expectations raised by the unnecessarily high quality of this series.
The Avengers is released 25 April 2012 in Australia, 27 April 2012 in the UK (as The Avengers Assemble) and 4 May 2012 in the US from Disney.
