Today is the DVD and Blu-Ray release date. Being the big geeks we are, my coworker and I managed to bring it in to our store for viewing. Unfortunately around here, you need to drive a half-hour to get to a decent theater, so casual movie going is not something I do. So I watched it for the first time.
I liked it. It’s beautiful in 1080 high-definition. Colors pop out at you and details are so crisp that it’s like wearing glasses. There was plenty of fan service for comic book geeks with fights in between the various Avengers: Thor/Hulk, Iron Man/Thor, etc. Iron Man stole the show, of course, as the others felt a little dry or wooden.
The villains really didn’t command much of a presence. The alien big baddies were nondescript, and probably would have been better if they were Ultron clones or something. They felt a little too much like the Covenant from Halo. Loki was melodramatic. The fights were spectacular though. The geek in me likes how they took the Ultimates character design, but left the transgressive elements behind (like Thor being a hippie who we didn’t know was a real god or not, the Hulk eating people, Giant Man abusing his wife, etc…)
The post-credits teaser was…interesting. That particular villain belongs more to the cosmic wing of Marvel, and has a lot of history which they are going to have to completely ignore just to film him. The problem with the Avengers is that they really lack iconic villains compared to the X-men or the Fantastic Four, and while I can see why they would borrow him, they are going to have a tougher time adapting him, especially if they go the Infinity Gauntlet route.
The actors fit the heroes well. I’m not sure I like the Ultimate-style Hawkeye, as without more focus on his violence he seemed just there, even if he was badass in action. The Bruce Banner character seemed a little too buff and self-possessed for my tastes, but everyone else was cool.
I enjoyed it. Of course, the inner geek always suggests things I’d like to see. I have a weakness for both Ant-Man and the Wasp before they decided domestic abuse was a fine way to ruin Hank Pym’s character. Same with the Scarlet Witch and Vision. I guess they had to do the Ultimates version, but I kind of wish we could see some of the classic Avengers, even the dorky ones like Black Knight. The curse of making a film based on a comic with a rotating team of heroes that spans 30 years means no one is satisfied though.
Now I just have to watch the Spiderman reboot and the Hunger Games, and I’m good for mainstream Geek blockbusters for a bit.
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