Tag: Marvel Cinematic Universe – Phase 1

Reviewing the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Redux

AVENGERS: ENDGAME is the culmination of 11 years of cinematic world-building. Starting with Iron Man back in 2008, a simple post-credits sequence starring Samuel L. Jackson has spawned a franchise model that few have attempted before, and many have tried to emulate since. By the time this epic is released, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will account for 10 years, 21 films, several TV series, billions of dollars, and one violent raccoon later, we come to the end of an era.

If we cast our minds back to 2008, the superhero landscape was very different at the time. We’d had a relative handful of X-Men and Spider-Man films, Fantastic Four had two cracks at the bat, and even Blade has passed its third entry. Yet all of these films were isolated in their own little universe. With the release of IRON MAN, a character who had not managed to become a household name yet, there was no reason to think that this would be any different.

PHASE 1

Iron Man (2008) ★★★★½

It all began here. Robert Downey Jr is every bit a star from scene one, completely aware that Stark’s redemption story mirrors his own (minus the weapons of mass destruction). Structurally similar to every other origin story on the horizon, director Jon Favreau wastes no time in blowing up the would-be hero. Cleverly combining elements and designs from one of the earliest comics through to more contemporary fare, the script manages to get us caring about billionaire Tony Stark and understand his motivation in less than the time it takes for a string of pearls to hit the gravel of Crime Alley. The action is all top-notch, and a few obvious CG elements aside, it’s also remarkable how much of this still works flawlessly. This was the very making of a major modern Marvel.

The Incredible Hulk (2008) ★★★½

This is sort of a bastard, green-skinned stepchild in the MCU these days, mostly because of Mark Ruffalo taking on the role since The Avengers. In fact, it’s entirely possible to take this out of the mix when rewatching the saga. Yet despite the lingering memories of Ang Lee’s Hulk only 5 years before, and the massive success of Iron Man only months before, it’s still a fun action flick that manages to tell a compact origin and get on with the business of a man trying to maintain his rage.

Iron Man 2 (2010) ★★★½

With the benefit or hindsight, and an additional 15 films to date, this sometimes messy first MCU sequel wasn’t sure if it wanted to be an Iron Man story or build a universe. In other words, it became the prototype for the next 8 years. Yet there’s still so much to love. Tony sticking it to the man over his right to party hard in a WMD. A (recast) Rhodey turning up in the War Machine armour. The first appearance of ScarJo as Black Widow, merely hinting at the character she would become. Tony in a donut hole. Everything that Sam Rockwell is doing as Justin Hammer. Howard Stark as a blatant Walt Disney figure. It isn’t always faithful to comic book lore, but the kick-ass finale in a beautiful garden is the roller coaster that we came to this theme park for.

Thor (2011) ★★★★

THOR will always hold a special place in our hearts. It was the first Marvel film we reviewed on The Reel Bits, and our first major interview (with Tom Hiddleston and Jaimie Alexander). Before Guardians of the Galaxy or Doctor Strange, this was Marvel’s biggest gamble. It would take Marvel another 2 Thor films before they realised that Led Zeppelin was absolutely necessary for heroes that come from the land of the ice and snow. Read full review >>>

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) ★★★★½

What we have here is Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first period film. What could have been a jingoistic, flag-waving bit of saccharine is given the perfect tone by Joe Johnston. Drawing on the same magic he pulled out for The Rocketeer, this is an unabashed tribute to a bygone era. Yet what makes this work the most is Chris Evans as Steve Rogers. We truly believe at all points he is simply a man who doesn’t like bullies. Read full review >>>

The Avengers (2012) ★★★★

The culmination of a four-year plan, this takes the principle of escalation and amps up the action incrementally throughout the film, leading us to a conclusion that is just as massive as the finales that have since tried to one-up it in later chapters. Read full review >>>

PHASE 2

Iron Man 3 (2013) ★★★★½

This one divides audiences, but we love it. Taking the Extremis storyline of the comic books and infusing it with Shane Black’s unmistakable rhythm, it began Phase 2 with right amount of scale and humour. A legitimate case can be made against Sir Ben Kingsley’s depiction of The Mandarin, but all is forgiven with the All Hail the King Marvel One-Shot anyway. Read full review >>>

Thor: The Dark World (2013) ★★★★

Continuing the divisiveness of Phase 2, it’s a film that certainly has its problems, not least of which is the lack of a strong villain and the occasionally inconsistent tone. Yet it’s also one of the first MCU films to fully embrace the full extent of the cosmic universe, and for that it will always remain jaw-dropping. Read full review >>>

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) ★★★★★

It’s The Shield vs S.H.I.E.L.D.! Back in 2014, we rashly declared this “the best Marvel film to date.” Of course, Guardians of the Galaxy came out a few months later making it a short-lived title. A throwback spy thriller with impeccable action, it addresses the idea of what powerful organisations do with their influence during times of great fear, not just in the wider plot but within the interpersonal relationships as well. Read full review >>>

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) ★★★★★

There are some comics that are just made for the big screen, and this group pops straight out of the panels. A crazy concept pays off in spades as the group of misfits join the big leagues to show the rest how it’s done. It is hard to imagine a more perfect comic adaptation, or a straight-up more enjoyable film, than this. Now: where’s that new Howard the Duck movie? Read full review >>>

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) ★★★½

The capstone sequel takes everything up several notches, and can barely keep it all inside. The first film to actually show a fully-functioning Avengers coming out of the gate, it’s a film that has its problems. Whedon’s biases are on his sleeve, including a second wisecracking Tony Stark in Ultron. It becomes increasingly obvious in the final scenes that Whedon was more interested in bringing Scarlet Witch to the screen that anything else, so it’s best to view this as a hinge in a bigger story. Read full review >>>

Ant-Man (2015) ★★★

There’s a lot to like here. The rapid-fire dialogue (especially from Michael Peña) and the deadpan Paul Rudd makes this instantly distinguishable from its predecessor. The climactic Thomas the Tank Engine train fight is ridiculously inventive and clever, a throwback to high-concept films from the 1980s. Yet the tone is also incredibly inconsistent. Humour slaps up against a familiar plot of corporate rivalry and conflicting ideals for technology – in fact that it was largely the basis for the Obadiah Stane character in 2008’s Iron Man. Read full review >>>

PHASE 3

Captain America: Civil War (2016) ★★★★

Sure, both Tony and Steve go from rational to jerk far too quickly, and the length is more noticeable in a repeat viewing. This is one of the instances where less would be more. Having said that, the film distills 100+ comics down into a manageable debate. It’s also the film that introduced Black Panther and Spider-Man to the MCU. Read full review >>>

Doctor Strange (2016) ★★★★

One of most straightforward origin narratives, but also surrounded by the MCU’s most visually inventive and beautiful worlds, opening up a vast Multiverse for the first time. In Mikkelsen’s Kaecilius, the series finally overcomes Marvel’s issue with uninspiring villains. Although single-minded, and to some extent one-dimensional, he provides a solid focal point for Strange’s mono-mythic journey. Also: TILDA. SWINTON. Read full review >>>

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) ★★★

An all-out melee happens just off-camera, and our attention remains on the adorable Baby Groot. Drax might mistake this for a metaphor for the entire film. If we’re going to criticise Marvel films for underdeveloped villains, we need to point out GOTGV2’s total absence of one until about 90 minutes in.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) ★★★★

Larb. The Infinite Spider-Verse expanded a little more with this outing. Or is it Iron Man 3.5? After 5 Spidey flicks in 15 years, it’s amazing there’s still an original take to be had. Larb. Plus: a Spidey fully integrated into the MCU was worth waiting for. How many times do I have to say larb? Read full review >>>

Thor: Ragnarok (2017) ★★★★½

One of Marvel’s most grand and epic stories is also one of its funniest. It’s disarming, charming, and ridiculously fun: so now you’d better stop and rebuild all your ruins. 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. Read full review >>

Black Panther (2018) ★★★½

The first half of this film is magical, mystical, and magnificent, one in which the Afrofuturism of Wakanda is given ample time to evolve. Most criticisms can be confined to the final act of the film (and arguably the South Korean car chase) in which the digital rag doll fight could have been lifted out of literally any film. Still, in the marketing for Avengers: Infinity War, Wakanda serves as a large part of the narrative. The superb Shuri (Letitia Wright) needs her own movie. Read full review >>>

Avengers: Infinity War (2018 ) ★★★★½

Some films change the world, while others just make it more awesome to live in for a few hours. The tenth anniversary Marvel Studios film falls somewhere in between and is a joyous celebration of comic bookery and beloved characters. 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 only the first half of an epic. Read full review >>>

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) ★★★★

The highly ant-icipated next chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a ridiculously fun saga of ant(i)-heroes, inventive action, and enough humour to leave you with a perman-ant smile. (That last one was a small stretch). After the massive event of Avengers, it’s nice to know Marvel can still tell low-stakes stories that have high levels of fun. Filled with sight-gags and emotional moments in equal measure, this shows us that the smallest heroes get to have the biggest amount of fun. Read full review >>>

Captain Marvel (2019) ★★★★

The twenty-first entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe goes back to its roots, exploring the dream of the 90s action blockbuster while paving a path to the future. The twenty-first film in the MCU returns to the roots of hero-building that began with Iron Man in 2008. Like every fledgling hero, she has a few missteps along the way, but emerges out the other side as a fully-fledged Avenger ready to defend the planet. So, for everyone that tried to review bomb this film prior to its release, Carol answers them unblinkingly: “I have nothing to prove to you.” Read full review >>>

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Which brings us all the way to the endgame. The reason for the season. We find ourselves at the climax of one of the greatest pieces of modern storytelling and world-building in the history of the medium. Yeah, I went there. It arrives in cinemas this week.

April 22, 2019
Reviewing the Marvel Cinematic Universe

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR is the culmination of 10 years of cinematic world-building. Starting with Iron Man back in 2008, a simple post-credits sequence starring Samuel L. Jackson has spawned a franchise model that few have attempted before, and many have tried to emulate since. By the time this epic is released, the MCU will account for 19 films worth of content, 5 short films, and about 17 seasons of television. Try binge-watching that.

If we cast our minds back to 2008, the superhero landscape was very different at the time. We’d had a handful of X-Men and Spider-Man films start a series, Fantastic Four had two cracks at the bat, and even Blade has passed its third entry. Yet all of these films were isolated in their own little universe. With the release of IRON MAN, a character who had not managed to become a household name yet, there was no reason to think that this would be any different.

Follow Richard’s Great MCU Rewatch on Twitter and Letterboxd.

PHASE 1

Iron Man (2008) ★★★★½

It all began here. Robert Downey Jr is every bit a star from scene one, completely aware that Stark’s redemption story mirrors his own (minus the weapons of mass destruction). Structurally similar to every other origin story on the horizon, director Jon Favreau wastes no time in blowing up the would-be hero. Cleverly combining elements and designs from one of the earliest comics through to more contemporary fare, the script manages to get us caring about billionaire Tony Stark and understand his motivation in less than the time it takes for a string of pearls to hit the gravel of Crime Alley. The action is all top-notch, and a few obvious CG elements aside, it’s also remarkable how much of this still works flawlessly. This was the very making of a major modern Marvel.

The Incredible Hulk (2008) ★★★½

This is sort of a bastard, green-skinned stepchild in the MCU these days, mostly because of Mark Ruffalo taking on the role since The Avengers. In fact, it’s entirely possible to take this out of the mix when rewatching the saga. Yet despite the lingering memories of Ang Lee’s Hulk only 5 years before, and the massive success of Iron Man only months before, it’s still a fun action flick that manages to tell a compact origin and get on with the business of a man trying to maintain his rage.

Iron Man 2 (2010) ★★★½

With the benefit or hindsight, and an additional 15 films to date, this sometimes messy first MCU sequel wasn’t sure if it wanted to be an Iron Man story or build a universe. In other words, it became the prototype for the next 8 years. Yet there’s still so much to love. Tony sticking it to the man over his right to party hard in a WMD. A (recast) Rhodey turning up in the War Machine armour. The first appearance of ScarJo as Black Widow, merely hinting at the character she would become. Tony in a donut hole. Everything that Sam Rockwell is doing as Justin Hammer. Howard Stark as a blatant Walt Disney figure. It isn’t always faithful to comic book lore, but the kick-ass finale in a beautiful garden is the roller coaster that we came to this theme park for.

Thor (2011) ★★★★

THOR will always hold a special place in our hearts. It was the first Marvel film we reviewed on The Reel Bits, and our first major interview (with Tom Hiddleston and Jaimie Alexander). Before Guardians of the Galaxy or Doctor Strange, this was Marvel’s biggest gamble. It would take Marvel another 2 Thor films before they realised that Led Zeppelin was absolutely necessary for heroes that come from the land of the ice and snow. Read full review >>>

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) ★★★★½

What we have here is Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first period film. What could have been a jingoistic, flag-waving bit of saccharine is given the perfect tone by Joe Johnston. Drawing on the same magic he pulled out for The Rocketeer, this is an unabashed tribute to a bygone era. Yet what makes this work the most is Chris Evans as Steve Rogers. We truly believe at all points he is simply a man who doesn’t like bullies. Read full review >>>

The Avengers (2012) ★★★★

The culmination of a four-year plan, this takes the principle of escalation and amps up the action incrementally throughout the film, leading us to a conclusion that is just as massive as the finales that have since tried to one-up it in later chapters. Read full review >>>

PHASE 2

Iron Man 3 (2013) ★★★★½

This one divides audiences, but we love it. Taking the Extremis storyline of the comic books and infusing it with Shane Black’s unmistakable rhythm, it began Phase 2 with right amount of scale and humour. A legitimate case can be made against Sir Ben Kingsley’s depiction of The Mandarin, but all is forgiven with the All Hail the King Marvel One-Shot anyway. Read full review >>>

Thor: The Dark World (2013) ★★★★

Continuing the divisiveness of Phase 2, it’s a film that certainly has its problems, not least of which is the lack of a strong villain and the occasionally inconsistent tone. Yet it’s also one of the first MCU films to fully embrace the full extent of the cosmic universe, and for that it will always remain jaw-dropping. Read full review >>>

Captain America: The Winter Solder (2014) ★★★★★

It’s The Shield vs S.H.I.E.L.D.! Back in 2014, we rashly declared this “the best Marvel film to date.” Of course, Guardians of the Galaxy came out a few months later making it a short-lived title. A throwback spy thriller with impeccable action, it addresses the idea of what powerful organisations do with their influence during times of great fear, not just in the wider plot but within the interpersonal relationships as well. Read full review >>>

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) ★★★★★

There are some comics that are just made for the big screen, and this group pops straight out of the panels. A crazy concept pays off in spades as the group of misfits join the big leagues to show the rest how it’s done. It is hard to imagine a more perfect comic adaptation, or a straight-up more enjoyable film, than this. Now: where’s that new Howard the Duck movie? Read full review >>>

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) ★★★½

The capstone sequel takes everything up several notches, and can barely keep it all inside. The first film to actually show a fully-functioning Avengers coming out of the gate, it’s a film that has its problems. Whedon’s biases are on his sleeve, including a second wisecracking Tony Stark in Ultron. It becomes increasingly obvious in the final scenes that Whedon was more interested in bringing Scarlet Witch to the screen that anything else, so it’s best to view this as a hinge in a bigger story. Read full review >>>

Ant-Man (2015) ★★★

There’s a lot to like here. The rapid-fire dialogue (especially from Michael Peña) and the deadpan Paul Rudd makes this instantly distinguishable from its predecessor. The climactic Thomas the Tank Engine train fight is ridiculously inventive and clever, a throwback to high-concept films from the 1980s. Yet the tone is also incredibly inconsistent. Humour slaps up against a familiar plot of corporate rivalry and conflicting ideals for technology – in fact that it was largely the basis for the Obadiah Stane character in 2008’s Iron Man. Read full review >>>

PHASE 3

Captain America: Civil War (2016) ★★★★

Sure, both Tony and Steve go from rational to jerk far too quickly, and the length is more noticeable in a repeat viewing. This is one of the instances where less would be more. Having said that, the film distills 100+ comics down into a manageable debate. It’s also the film that introduced Black Panther and Spider-Man to the MCU. Read full review >>>

Doctor Strange (2016) ★★★★

One of most straightforward origin narratives, but also surrounded by the MCU’s most visually inventive and beautiful worlds, opening up a vast Multiverse for the first time. In Mikkelsen’s Kaecilius, the series finally overcomes Marvel’s issue with uninspiring villains. Although single-minded, and to some extent one-dimensional, he provides a solid focal point for Strange’s mono-mythic journey. Also: TILDA. SWINTON. Read full review >>>

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) ★★★

An all-out melee happens just off-camera, and our attention remains on the adorable Baby Groot. Drax might mistake this for a metaphor for the entire film. If we’re going to criticise Marvel films for underdeveloped villains, we need to point out GOTGV2’s total absence of one until about 90 minutes in.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) ★★★★

Larb. The Infinite Spider-Verse expanded a little more with this outing. Or is it Iron Man 3.5? After 5 Spidey flicks in 15 years, it’s amazing there’s still an original take to be had. Larb. Plus: a Spidey fully integrated into the MCU was worth waiting for. How many times do I have to say larb? Read full review >>>

Thor: Ragnarok (2017) ★★★★½

One of Marvel’s most grand and epic stories is also one of its funniest. It’s disarming, charming, and ridiculously fun: so now you’d better stop and rebuild all your ruins. 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. Read full review >>

Black Panther (2018) ★★★½

The first half of this film is magical, mystical, and magnificent, one in which the Afrofuturism of Wakanda is given ample time to evolve. Most criticisms can be confined to the final act of the film (and arguably the South Korean car chase) in which the digital rag doll fight could have been lifted out of literally any film. Still, in the marketing for Avengers: Infinity War, Wakanda serves as a large part of the narrative. The superb Shuri (Letitia Wright) needs her own movie. Read full review >>>

Avengers: Infinity War (Coming Soon)

Which leads us to here.: the culmination of 10 years of cinematic world-building, and the historic screen union of the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and a bunch of other heroes that will require wider screens for us to fit them all in. You better believe a full review is coming soon.

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR is in Australian cinemas on 25 April 2018, despite Karl Stefanovic’s best attempts to get us to sit quietly in a darkened room and think about ourselves. It hits (most of) the rest of the world on 27 April 2018.

April 23, 2018
Blu-ray Review: The Avengers

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 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 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 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 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.

Director: Joss Whedon | Writer(s): Joss Whedon | Runtime: 142 minutes | Starring: Robert Downey Jr,Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo,Scarlet Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner | Country: US | Video: 1.78:1 (16:9)/1080p | Audio: DTS HD MA 7.1 English and Italian, Dolby Digital 2.0 Audio Descriptive English, Dolby Digital 5.1 Hindi | Subtitles: English, English HoH, Italian, Hebrew, Romanian | Extras: Featurette, Short Film, Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel | Distributor: Disney | Rating: Highly Recommended (★★★★) (?) |More info

August 30, 2012
Review: Marvel One-Shot – Item 47

Marvel Studio’s latest one-shot is the most ambitious to date, adding a whole lot of new ingredients to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But is it missing the most important one?

[stextbox id=”grey” caption=”Item 47 (2012)” float=”true” align=”right” width=”200″]

Director: Louis D’Esposito

Writer: Eric Pearson

Runtime: 12 minutes

Starring: Lizzy Caplan, Jesse Bradford, Maximiliano Hernández, Titus Welliver

Distributor: Disney

Country: US

More info

[/stextbox]

We were privileged to be invited to a special advanced screening of Marvel’s latest One-Shot by Disney at the Heroes and Villains exhibition in Sydney. The following review, provided by contributor Sean Riley, contains some spoilers. Read on at your own peril!

Item 47 sees Benny (Jesse Bradford) and Claire (Lizzy Caplan), a pair of hapless lovers and criminals (with more than a hint of Pulp Fiction’s Honey-Bunny and Pumpkin to them) manage to lay their hands on a piece of Chitauri weaponry lost in the climactic battle of The Avengers. Faced with a handheld howitzer in the general populace, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Agent Sitwell is dispatched to recover the gun and ‘neutralise’ Benny and Claire. Will Benny and Claire get away from their pursuer? Will Sitwell have the cold blooded ruthlessness to carry out his orders? Will Nick Fury personally review whatever policy sends out a single agent to stop two people with high powered weaponry?

I’ve been a great fan of the “One-Shots” series of short films; I loved the way that The Consultant acted as some spackle for the inevitable cracks that emerged in something as big and heavy as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the surprisingly charming and interestingly shot A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer. But Item 47 has a surprising amount of pressure on it, being both the first film of “Phase Two” of the mega-franchise, and the first One-Shot not to star fan-favourite Agent Coulson. It’s also the most technically demanding one-shot so far, without question. The short features a lot of flashy CGI, and multiple sets! (Believe it or not, that’s a first for the series!)

Sadly, it also doesn’t really pull together into anything much memorable. While we can’t really know how much set-up it’s doing for the future films, it notably fails to excite any sense of fannish speculation; although it’s a decent bet that one of smitten sackers might make a return appearance. (I was convinced for a brief second that the short was setting up an alien angle on the rumored Extremis inspired plotline for Iron Man 3.) As a novice of the comics, I might well be missing a tie-in to a key part of the comics universe, but short of that, it seems a very modest tale with little of major import to the wider setting.

And as Marvel’s first attempt to show what S.H.I.E.L.D. will look like post-Coulson, it does little other than emphasise just how good Clark Gregg was in the role. I liked Titus Welliver’s grouchy paper-pusher Agent Blake fine. Being more or less the lead, Maximiliano Hernández has considerably warmed into the role of Agent Sitwell since The Consultant, and as an actor he comes across as much more confident and assured, but it feels like he’s doing a Coulson impersonation instead of developing his character into its own thing. Hernández has a certain wonderful dorky humanity to his screen presence (he gets a lovely little moment upon receiving his orders; not a word, but a clear flicker across his face making his fear and distaste at them palpable) and I’d like to see him go more in that route. The panicky, oh-shit-making-it-all-up-as-I-go action hero has a grand history, and Hernández could kill in that mode.

But as a new Coulson? Well, he just can’t deadpan a line the way Gregg could. The script doesn’t help; there’s no wonderful discussion about Sitwell’s admirable qualities as a patsy here, or any lines as good as “Excuse me? I also have this gun.” Sure, Gregg turned even so-so lines into gold, but he also had more to work with than Item 47 gives. The line that most sticks in my head is one given to Sitwell, speaking of Agent Coulson: “We all miss him.” Yes we do.

Item 47 is released on The Avengers Blu-ray on 29 August 2012 in Australia, and 26 September 2012 in the US from Disney.

August 25, 2012
DVD Review: The Avengers

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.

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Director: Joss Whedon

Writer(s): Joss Whedon

Runtime: 138 minutes

Starring: Robert Downey Jr,Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo,Scarlet Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner

Country: US

Video: 1.85:1 (16:9)/PAL

Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, English Audio Descriptive, Italian 5.1

Subtitles: English, English HoH, Italian, Hebrew, Romanian

Extras: Making Of

Distributor: Disney

Rating: Highly Recommended (★★★★) (?)

More info

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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 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 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.

August 15, 2012
Exclusive Q & A: Joss Whedon on The Avengers

There’s been a flurry of activity around Joss Whedon today, with the announcement that he will be taking on the task of bringing us The Avengers 2 along with a Marvel-themed TV series. To this end, Disney has sent us a semi-exclusive Q & A* with the writer/director discussing his thoughts on the making The Avengers, along with his love of the franchise.

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders with Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. The film’s story follows Nick Fury – head of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D. – as he initiates a daring, globe-spanning recruitment effort to assemble the world’s mightiest Super Heroes together to defeat an unexpected enemy threatening global safety and security.

With the Blu-ray and DVD of Marvel’s The Avengers about to be released in Australia later this month, we’ve been sent a chat with the movie’s writer and director Joss Whedon to find out more…

How did you get involved with Marvel’s The Avengers?

I’ve known [Marvel Studios president] Kevin Feige for a number of years and I knew this project was coming up, so I was eager to find out more about it. I’ve been reading The Avengers since before Kevin was born, so this project was extremely appealing. However, I wasn’t sure I’d actually do it until I became incredibly intrigued by the proposed story of the movie. I became so obsessed that I couldn’t shut up about it!

Why did you become so obsessed with the movie project?

I am a huge fan of what Marvel has established. The films they have released are extremely informative, useful and fun – but when they first came to me, Thor and Captain America were not even close to being finished. I thought to myself, ‘Okay, you have all these moving parts, but how can you possibly bring them together?’ Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and Captain America don’t seem like they could co-exist, and ultimately that is what intrigued me and made me think, ‘This can be done and this should be done.’ These people don’t belong together and wouldn’t get along, and as soon as that dynamic came into focus, I realized that I actually have something to say about these people.

How tough was it to balance the script between the Super Heroes to ensure they all had their moment to shine on screen?

It was very, very tough. It was difficult to ensure structurally that everybody matters in the narrative and isn’t just there to have a funny line and a bit of cool action. I also had to make sure that whatever they do with their particular skill set is correct for their level of power. There are so many stunts in the movie, but you have to make sure, for instance, that there’s something Captain America could do, but not Thor. You have to make sure that you are always respectful of the characters.

How did you balance the action of the movie with the humor?

You can’t put these characters in a movie together without a certain amount of humor. It’s an inoculation against the unreality. When you see these characters laughing at their own situation or about how strange they are, then you are able to accept more readily that it’s fine to wear a cape. You can also accept that it’s fine to be enormous and green, or to shoot arrows at aliens racing through the sky. It all makes sense if you’ve been able to laugh at it and with it.

Marvel’s The Avengers is the largest superhero movie ever created. What was the most daunting aspect of the project for you?

I hadn’t worked with big movie stars before, so I was a little concerned about that aspect of the production. I thought to myself, ‘Am I about to go into a viper’s nest of egos with this movie?’ However, I shouldn’t have worried because I ended up delving into a box of kittens. There were no egos on the set. The thing that I was scared about the most didn’t happen. In fact, it was one of the happiest sets I’ve ever worked on.

How closely did you work with each of the actors on their action scenes and dialogue?

I worked on everything that they wanted to work on. I got the opportunity to sit down with every single one of them before I put pen to paper and say, “Here are my thoughts, what are yours?” Some had played the character before, in Robert Downey Jr.’s case twice already, while some were approaching their role for the first time. I let them know my intentions and then it was up to them to comment. Some actors like to take what they have in the script and make it work, but others like to say, “Can we shake this a little bit more?” To be honest, I was grateful for all of the actors who came to me with input because sometimes they understood their characters better than I did.

Which of the actors had a biggest hand in shaping their character?

Robert Downey Jr. really likes to keep the creative process fluid; he likes to be there from the beginning. He also likes to try his hand at different ways of approaching scenes. He’s always saying, “Is there more? Is there something we missed? Can we try something new here?” And it keeps his energy fresh. Mark Ruffalo and I also got to spend a lot of time working on the character of The Incredible Hulk together, which was very gratifying. Mark had one of the hardest jobs in the movie because playing both Banner and the Hulk are very complex things to pull off.

The cast reported a genuine excitement on the set of the movie. Can you take credit for any of that?

I will take credit for all of it, because that’s what I do! No, seriously, making a movie is an exhausting process – but the cast has been great because they were able to have a lot of fun with the project. There is a little bit of a geek in all of them and a little bit of, ‘I can’t believe I get to do this.’ Also, because it’s a movie with so many characters, nobody had that tough a filming schedule. Well, apart from me, because I had to direct every scene.

There are so many Marvel comic books on The Avengers. How did you decide which stories to follow for the movie?

Kevin Feige did most of the deciding before I joined the project. However, I knew it was going to be an origin story for The Avengers. That was part of the appeal of the project. I was incredibly interested in bringing them together.

Was The Incredible Hulk always part of the movie?

We always knew the Hulk was going to be part of The Avengers. There was a question about how big a part he would get to play – but once we had Mark Ruffalo on board and we knew how the character was going to be integrated into the group, we knew he was going to have a big role.

How did Mark Ruffalo get involved in the movie?

We were looking for the right actor for this iteration and Mark was definitely on my radar. I think he’s such an open, honest, intelligent everyman; he seemed like the perfect guy for the role – but he doesn’t look like the wimpy scientist that they usually draw in the comics. I thought to myself, ‘There’s no way Marvel is going to go for this.’ However, one of the first things Kevin Feige said to me was, “How about Mark Ruffalo for the Hulk?” I was overjoyed. The Incredible Hulk was the most difficult task in the film, both structurally and in terms of animation – but I am really proud of him.

Was it a challenge to have The Incredible Hulk speak in the movie?

His speech is definitely something you’re going to use sparingly in a movie like this. You don’t want to hear him saying things like, “This is Brooklyn. You know, the first time I was here…” The Hulk is like a haiku; you’ve got to find just the right words. I think, and I hope, we did that with The Avengers.

Who provides the voice of The Incredible Hulk?

That’s Mark Ruffalo. We’ve tweaked his voice a little, but that’s all him. You know what? Mark did performance capture before the movie, during the movie and after the movie – and the extraordinary conceptual artists at Marvel worked very hard to design a classic Hulk face that’s clearly also Mark. It was very important to me that they look like the same character. I’m really pleased with the outcome.

Was it always your plan to include Gwyneth Paltrow [who plays Pepper Potts] in the movie?

It was Robert Downey Jr. who spearheaded having Gwyneth Paltrow in The Avengers because he felt that she would really add something to the movie. He was interested in not playing Tony Stark as this crazy loner, even though Tony’s bad at being a team player; Robert wanted to show him as a functional guy. In general, I kept the characters away from their support systems because it forced them to be a team and it left stuff in their movies that we can’t claim. If we had all the ancillary characters in The Avengers then I’m stealing from their sequels and that doesn’t work. But as soon as Robert mentioned Gwyneth, we were all excited – and then he and I spent a lot of time shaping that scene between the two of them. We had a wonderful time doing it.

Who is your favorite character from “Marvel’s The Avengers?”

Gosh, I love them all like they are my own children. It’s incredibly hard to pick one. At the moment, I’ve got a lot of time Agent Coulson. He’s my favorite character from The Avengers because of his awesome man crush on Captain America.

And which of The Avengers would you most like to be?

Tony Stark is smart, he has a huge amount of money and he goes out with Gwyneth Paltrow… I’d like to be Iron Man please! You don’t have to work out in the gym all day if you’re the Iron Man, although you have to fit into the suit. I guess I can work on that…

Marvel’s The Avengers assembles on Blu-ray, DVD, Blu-ray 3D and digital download on 29 August 2012.

*This Q & A is provided by Disney.

August 8, 2012
Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One Box Set Revealed

It has been teased, given a trailer and been the subject of fan discussion for the last month or so, but now MTV has revealed a first official look at Marvel’s Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled, the 10-disc collection of all the films on the Road to the Avengers.

As we guessed, the mysterious case contains a briefcase with a Tesseract inside, just like in the movie, along with original artwork sleeves for each of the films.

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled includes all of the films on Blu-ray, with the three most recent films on Blu-ray 3D, and a bonus disc – “The Phase One Archives”.

The official blurb reads:

Immerse yourself in every aspect of Marvel’s elite Super Heroes with this limited-edition, 10-disc Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One Collection. Complete with glowing Tesseract, this exclusive replica of Nick Fury’s iconic briefcase includes stunning Blu-ray 3D™ and Blu-ray™ presentations of The Avengers; Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor, as well as Blu-ray™ versions of Iron Man; Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk in exclusive collectible packaging. Plus, now that you possess the highest level of security clearance, you have been granted access to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s most confidential files, including a top-secret bonus disc filled never before seen, classified information. Also featuring exquisitely detailed art, prop reproductions and artifacts from the motion pictures, the must-own Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One Collection will verify your status as the world’s greatest authority on the Marvel Super Hero mythos!

Click images to enlarge

July 12, 2012
Poster for Marvel Studio’s Item 47

We were told it was going to be “the longest, most elaborate of the Marvel shorts so far”, but Item 47 is so big that it justifies its own poster. Part of the madness that surrounds San Diego Comic-Con means there’s posters for everything, and EW has revealed the first look at the poster for the short which will debut at the Con on Friday.

For the rest of us, we’ll have to wait until the release of The Avengers DVD/Blu-ray, which is out August 29 in Australia, September 17 in the UK and September 25 in the US.

Lizzy Caplan and Jesse Bradford star as a down-on-their-luck couple who find one of the discarded alien guns from the finale to The Avengers — and proceed to make some incredibly bad decisions.

Click image to enlarge

July 12, 2012
Marvel’s The Avengers Assembles to DVD/Blu-ray from 29 August in Australia
The third highest grossing film in Australia, Marvel’s The Avengers assembles on Blu-ray, DVD, Blu-ray 3D and digital download on 29 August 2012. That almost a whole month earlier than the US release date, making us incredibly awesome. Disney released the full details of the local release today, which mostly mirrors our American cousins. Hopefully the absence of the commentary, music video and visual journey featurette are an omission of the press release.

Viewers can now take home the ultimate Blu-ray experience with the 2 disc Blu-ray double pack. With two unique ways to enjoy Marvel’s The Avengers, fans can now bring to life the elite super hero group in their own home. For the first time ever Marvel is including a gag reel, along with the chance to hear directly from the cast. The highly anticipated bonus content also includes deleted scenes, a featurette, along with an exclusive Marvel created short film.

1-Disc DVD- RRP $39.95

Bonus Includes:
- Assembling the World of Marvel’s The Avengers
2-Disc Combo Pack Blu-ray, DVD- RRP $49.95

Bonus Includes:
- Deleted Scenes including:
  - Alternate Opening – Maria Hill Interrogation
  - Extended Scene – Loki & Barton Strategise
  - Steve Rogers – Man Out of Time
  - Nick Fury & World Security Council
  - Extended Viaduct Fight – Raw Footage
  - Nick Fury & Maria Hill Discuss the World Security Council
  - Extended Scene – Banner and Security Guard
  - Alternate Ending – Maria Hill Interrogation
- Gag Reel
- Marvel One Shot: Item 47- Marvel is proud to present a new original short film that exists within the continuity of the Marvel cinematic universe
- Assembling the world of Marvel’s The Avengers
3-Disc Combo Pack Blu-ray 3D,Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Copy- RRP $59.95

Bonus Includes:
- Deleted Scenes including:
  - Alternate Opening – Maria Hill Interrogation
  - Extended Scene – Loki & Barton Strategise
  - Steve Rogers – Man Out of Time
  - Nick Fury & World Security Council
  - Extended Viaduct Fight – Raw Footage
  - Nick Fury & Maria Hill Discuss the World Security Council
  - Extended Scene – Banner and Security Guard
  - Alternate Ending – Maria Hill Interrogation
- Gag Reel
- Marvel One Shot: Item 47- Marvel is proud to present a new original short film that exists within the continuity of the Marvel cinematic universe
- Assembling the world of Marvel’s The Avengers
- Marvel’s Building a Dream
July 6, 2012
Details on Marvel’s Item 47 One Shot Revealed

Set to appear on The Avengers Blu-ray and DVD, out August 29 in Australia and September 25 in the US, EW has revealed details on Marvel’s latest One-Shot short film, a series of shorts that have appeared on the home releases and expanded the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Previous shorts have included The Consultant and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer. This latest chapter is said to be the longest and most ambitious, with a full description over at EW. They’ve also revealed the first image from the short:

Lizzy Caplan (Party Down, pictured) and Jesse Bradford (Flags of Our Fathers) star as a down-on-their-luck couple who find one of the discarded alien guns from the finale to The Avengers — and proceed to make some incredibly bad decisions.

This is the longest, most elaborate of the Marvel shorts so far, and could be a first step toward using short-subject films to dive deeper into the Marvel universe and introduce beloved but less-familiar superheroes to the mainstream.

Item 47 refers to the gun itself, which S.H.I.E.L.D. would like very much to retrieve from the hapless young troublemakers. “The world is topsy-turvy now. There’s been an alien invasion, and things are crazy,” explains Marvel Studios co-president Louis D’Esposito, who directed the film himself. “So when this gun literally fell into their lap, this is a sign: We’re going to rob a few banks, we’re going to buy a boat, we’re going to the Caribbean, and all our problems will be solved.”

Two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents (Maximiliano Hernández, returning from Thor and The Avengers, and Lost’s Man in Black Titus Welliver, making his Marvel debut) are given the job of cleaning up the mess and stopping this modern Bonnie and Clyde (not coincidentally named Benny and Claire).

July 4, 2012