Considering The Avengers

I don’t actually go to the movies very often. Way too expensive to happen as often as when I was younger. So, I wait for the movies that beg for the big screen: action. The Avengers is one of those movies whose siren call I could not resist. And I was not disappointed.

I really wasn’t into comic books as a kid. Some of my friends were. The medium was just lost on me. Seemed too much like the children’s books. I don’t know. But I’ve always enjoyed the movies starting with the Superman series when I was a teenager. Okay, just the first two. Did they make any others?

This year will be comic book hero heaven as they wrap up the Batman series, re-boot the Spider-Man series with a darker take (why did they do this again?) and introduce The Avengers series. They have been building toward this with the 2 Iron Man movies and then both Thor and Captain America last year. Those two movies introduce some key elements to the plot of The Avengers. I only saw Captain America, but I was fully able to follow along with what was happening in The Avengers. Some of the other characters appeared in some of the Iron Man movies.

Mark Ruffalo is in there, somewhere

So, you walk into the movie having back stories on some of the Avengers. This is the third movie for Hulk, and the third actor playing him. The second was essentially a reboot of the first (and much better). Edward Norton did a great job as Hulk, but apparently fans just miss Bill and Lou because Hulk, despite his incredible strength and jumping ability can’t get off the ground as a series of movies. Enter Mark Ruffalo with his take on Hulk (this is turning into the first Batman movie series: both Kilmer and Keaton were very good, and Clooney utterly horrendous). It is almost like the other two movies didn’t exist. Mark is sort of the hippie Hulk. The laid-back genius who is supposedly angry all the time. He was better than Eric Bana, but … Apparently I am in the minority because Ruffalo has been signed to additional movies. Sadly, Edward Norton has gone the way of Val Kilmer: a great actor with a bad reputation for working well with others (rumor has it, that in Val’s case the directors probably should have listened to him more often but you know how that goes).

Hawkeye and Black Widow share a moment

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Considering Iron Man 2

The last few weeks have been pretty busy.  The final push before vacation will be busy too, so I took a “mental health” break.  I caught an afternoon showing of Iron Man 2 at the local 2nd run theater.

Iron Man is giving Spider-Man and Batman a run for their money.  While all 3 are based on comic book heroes, they are very different in tone.  Spider-Man has had a playful sense of humor to balance off the relational issues and conflict.  Batman is very dark with sparse humor as Batman also struggles with relational issues in addition to the criminals.  Iron Man’s style of humor is sarcastic and the enemies are not limited to one city- Iron Man is world wide.

They all have relational issues.  Spider-Man didn’t know his father, though was raised by an uncle.  His disobedience opened the door to his uncle’s death.  This haunts him.  He is broke.  There is a woman he loves, but is afraid of putting her in danger.

Batman watched his parents die.  As their sole heir, he is rich.  He uses his riches to protect people from evil men.  He loves a childhood friend but she fears his dark hobby as a vigilante.   His father was a strong man, however, and his strength is extended in his son.

The Woman He's Afraid to Love

Iron Man is different.  He is not a hidden hero.  Everyone knows it is him.  Like Master Wayne, he is the rich heir of a strong father.   But he was estranged from his father while alive.  Part of his irreverence and sarcasm is connected to this lack of approval from dad.  He too has a woman he loves.  But he is afraid to let her know.

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