A place for those who "Trust the Fungus"

It took about a decade and quite a few misfires, but Marvel comics are finally getting some good and often clever film adaptations. Outside of the early X-Men films, it seems the most popular movies are focusing on the Avenger heroes.

It's certainly an interesting prospect, since that means the upcoming Avengers film is essentially the sequel to as many as four different origin stories, with more to come between. Those currently out are:

Iron Man: Started the 'Avenger' boom with a reinvigorated Robert Downey, Jr.

Iron Man 2: A good sequel, though not as focused as the first. The elements are there for a fun experience, but it's just not as cohesive a continuation of the Stark character that you might like.

Thor: Probably the weakest, but the costume and set design is superb. Bringing magic into a modern setting is always fun. Great casting all around.

Captain America: The First Avenger: Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull? YES. And it's an actual face mask! It's surprising how well this film did, even overseas, but who doesn't love a supernatural period film? Really did the character justice.

The Avengers: All building up to this. I have my trepidations because I really, really dislike Joss Whedon, though early reviews seem to indicate that at least the action necessary for such a grouping of powder-keg characters merits. We may have to suffer through his 'trademark' dialogue issues, but at least the character interaction may be spot-on.

The real shame is that all these movies, while great and enjoyable, are less about introducing the characters and more about setting them up to be involved in The Avengers. This is the reason why Jon Favreau left Iron Man after the second; Marvel/Disney forced him to make it less about Stark and more about Nick Fury, Black Widow and The Avengers. The film clearly suffered in this regard, and now we'll have to deal with Shane Black and no Mandarin.

What are your thoughts on these films individually and the overarching universe of films as a whole?

I think a lot of them are over hyped, mostly comic movies in general. I feel like the only good comic movies anymore is Batman. But even that, I'm afraid the third installment with be so overly hyped it will just be bad. But I could be wrong.

I didn't like Sam Raimis versions of the Spider Man movies, but I liked the one everyone hated part 3. I'm really looking forward to the reboot. It just feels like everyone is doing a comic book movie now a days.

I appreciate the first Captain America flick from the 80's and even the Punisher. I kind of want to see the Avengers but at the same time I think it will feel like a rushed project and 2 hours of waiting just to see them all together in one final showdown with the bad guy.

Redstar wrote:Thor: Probably the weakest, but the costume and set design is superb. Bringing magic into a modern setting is always fun. Great casting all around.

I wholly disagree. Thor is probably one of my favorite Marvel Studios films so far. I had absolutely no expectations for this and it managed to blow me away. Great, great film.

You're also forgetting The Incredible Hulk with Ed Norton. Decent film--came out the same summer as Iron Man, but it always gets overlooked--like you just did

Phlibbit wrote:I wholly disagree. Thor is probably one of my favorite Marvel Studios films so far. I had absolutely no expectations for this and it managed to blow me away. Great, great film.

Don't get me wrong, I love it as well. My impression is that most people, audiences and critics alike, seem to have found it to be the weakest. I think it just wasn't as action-oriented as the others and perhaps relied more on its supporting characters in some regards.

Phlibbit wrote:You're also forgetting The Incredible Hulk with Ed Norton. Decent film--came out the same summer as Iron Man, but it always gets overlooked--like you just did

They just can't get the Hulk right, can they? I much preferred the Norton version of the character, but wasn't sure if it really fit into the 'Avenger Initiative' universe of films they're putting out now. Ruffalo's recasting as Banner seems to suggest it isn't.

I think the casting and plot was all-around stronger and more exciting in the Norton version, but it really does just fall to the wayside when you think of comic films.

The film does fit into the "Avengers" stuff. Norton was recast because there were problems between him and the studio. They tried to get him for the film but it just didn't work out. Not to mention there's the scene at the end of that film with Ross and Tony Stark

I think they're also taking some plot threads from that film for use in the Avengers, mainly the fact that Banner is beginning to have a little more control over the Hulk.

Phlibbit wrote:I think they're also taking some plot threads from that film for use in the Avengers, mainly the fact that Banner is beginning to have a little more control over the Hulk.

I love the Banner character so much and Ruffalo is definitely a great actor. Something about his mannerisms and movement is just a draw, so I'm looking forward to his Hulk the most.

Apparently, they're filming an additional scene for the film tonight. With the movie out in just a few weeks what could they possibly be preparing? I love it when they do this kind of thing.

I would have to say that Thor was the weakest in terms of story, although it made up for that with the great characterization of Loki as well as the costume design for the Asgard.

Finally saw the Avengers. Meant to do a review awhile ago, but it slipped my mind. I won't go too much into detail but while it was no Dark Knight it was still a competent film with memorable moments. I would say that the main draw was the chemistry between Stark and Banner. I'm hoping the two continue that relationship into the sequels.

Is anyone looking forward to Phase 2? With Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Captain America 2 and Ant-Man this series of films is shaping-up towards a very cool Avengers 2.

Clous wrote:Is anyone looking forward to Phase 2? With Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Captain America 2 and Ant-Man this series of films is shaping-up towards a very cool Avengers 2.

I agree that the second Avengers will potentially be very exciting, but I'm concerned for the Captain America sequel. I feel that Steve Rogers awakening in the present day was a huge narrative mistake. While his original origin of awakening in the '80s was still unbelievable, adding another 30 years to his hibernation just stretches the imagination too much.

Not only that, but an '80s set Marvel film would have been very cool. It was the Soviet-era, after all. Steve would have still aged slowly and been just as young-looking for the Avengers films.

Marvel Studios has confirmed that they have regained the rights to the 'Daredevil' character from Fox. After the poor portrayal of the character by Ben Affleck can we expect anything better from Marvel? Will they introduce him separately or within the Avengers group?

Either way, it seems like we could be getting a wider Marvel film universe!

As far as Daredevil goes, I actually liked the director's cut of the Affleck film. Much better than the theatrical.

On a related Marvel note, the first trailer for Thor: The Dark World was released today:



And Iron Man 3 comes out this week! Wow!

Thor and Captain America were nothing more than flashy two hour commercials for the ultimate letdown that was The Avengers. Any subsequent movies featuring those characters in the current Marvel canon are simply commercials for Avengers sequels.

Serum wrote:Thor and Captain America were nothing more than flashy two hour commercials for the ultimate letdown that was The Avengers. Any subsequent movies featuring those characters in the current Marvel canon are simply commercials for Avengers sequels.

I agree with your statement that they're "flashy" and essentially "commercials," but remember that Rocky and Annabel were commercial directors before film directors and even they were able to instill depth into their work. Commercials are very powerful soundbites for much larger stories and worlds. The Marvel film universe is no different.

I'm very much looking forward to Thor: The Dark World and, to a lesser extent, Iron Man 3. I just enjoy the fact that we have this large, interconnected universe of characters and stories. There are low points, but there are also high ones. Enjoy this franchise for what it is.

Serum wrote:Thor and Captain America were nothing more than flashy two hour commercials for the ultimate letdown that was The Avengers. Any subsequent movies featuring those characters in the current Marvel canon are simply commercials for Avengers sequels.

Like Redstar said, you just need to appreciate the films for what they are. Certainly not on the same artistic or technical level of The Dark Knight, but still something fun.

Phlibbit wrote:As far as Daredevil goes, I actually liked the director's cut of the Affleck film. Much better than the theatrical.

Daredevil is one of my favorite superheroes, so I'm glad to see him back in the Marvel stable. They'll surely know how to handle the character, although I hope that Disney doesn't mandate too light an interpretation. He should be rather dark.

Peculiar wrote:Like Redstar said, you just need to appreciate the films for what they are. Certainly not on the same artistic or technical level of The Dark Knight, but still something fun.

See, to me if I wanted something artistic and technical in a superhero movie, I'd watch Watchmen, but to me, movies like The Dark Knight are nothing more than dumb fun, because they're not inherently complicated. Thor and Captain America were just insulting to me.

Serum wrote: movies like The Dark Knight are nothing more than dumb fun

Hmm...a superhero movie that just happened to win multiple Oscars...

I think the academy would disagree with you there.

Batman Forever won an Oscar, too. Just because a movie is nominated for or wins an Oscar doesn't mean it's as overly sophisticated as everyone makes it out to be. Besides, the Academy has lost its mind, lately-- they gave Best Picture an silent French film a couple years ago.

Now, I'm all for being artsy, don't get me wrong, I love needlessly complicated films filled with symbology and hidden deeper meanings-- but the Academy should reward Oscars to movies that people actually saw.

Actually, Batman Forever was only nominated for a few Oscars, it didn't win any. The Dark Knight actually won two Oscars, one of which was for acting. And it made over a billion dollars at the box office. I think that's enough to prove that people saw that film.

A nomination is as good as a win, especially a few nominations. Furthermore, the money a movie makes at the box office doesn't tell us how many people saw the movie, it tells us how much money it made-- they shouldn't count ticket sales in dollars, but rather by the number of tickets sold.

Everybody saw The Dark Knight, the only reason it got nominated for anything was because the Australian guy playing the Joker OD'd on sleeping pills and all of a sudden the fanboys cried out over how good he was as the Joker (and he was) but that doesn't mean it was an Oscar worthy movie.

So, what other heroes would people like to see introduced into the Marvel Film universe? Ant-Man/Giant-Man and Dr. Strange have all but been confirmed for Phase III, although there are still other characters known for their appearances in the Avengers team.

Many people are calling for Black Panther, who is a great character and would certainly round out the team racially, but would probably incite calls of racism from the more ignorant demographics.

Spider-Man has also been on the team would instill a youthful vibrancy lacking from the middle-aged line-up. Too bad his rights are locked up with Sony, although anything could happen. I hear that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch (of the X-Men) might make an appearance in Avengers 2.

How about you guys?

I'm all for having Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in future Avenger films, it just feels right, and I think the filmmakers could pull it off well.

If Spiderman were to ever be included in an Avengers film, that would probably be the only instance where I'd prefer the Ultimate Universe Spiderman, and I think there's already a perfect actor to possibly portray him: Donald Glover a.k.a. Childish Gambino.

I don't really have a preference for who shows up in the Marvel universe, as long as they do a good job bringing their characters to life. Since I'm much more into the DC side of things, I go into the Marvel films with an open mind, and am usually pleasantly surprised.

Well, looks like Marvel Films has regained the rights to the Ghost Rider and Blade characters, as well.

However, the article is quick to point out that, due to oversaturation and rating concerns, Marvel may not want to film these characters anytime soon. Still an exciting prospect!

I'm a pretty big Marvel fan, so I was overjoyed to be able to get the limited edition Phase One Avengers Assembled box set for my birthday last April. It came with a ton of cool documents and prop recreations from the movies (it even came with Thor's hospital band and Tony's "I don't make weapons anymore!" napkin complete with a coffee stain and a crumpled side; they were very thorough!), and it also came with a mock Tesseract Cube. It's pretty stellar! The movies themselves are great so far, and maybe it's because the movies are easier to follow and haven't had decades for writers to toss characters back and forth through silly plots, but I think I prefer the movie universe to the main comic universe.

Iron Man 3 was also spectacular and I have high hopes for Phase Two because of it.

Peculiar wrote:Well, looks like Marvel Films has regained the rights to the Ghost Rider and Blade characters, as well.

Ghost Rider is one of my favorites, but I'd be skeptical to him introduced to the Marvel Cinematic universe. He seems much more suited to his own thing like the Marvel Knights tried to do with him. But I guess we'll see soon how careful they are being with which characters they introduce. I'll be impressed if they do end up introducing Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch without giving mention to Magneto or the X-Men (aren't there still a bunch of licensing issues with Fox over those whole thing either way?). I love Marvel heroes a ton, but I can't help but worry a blanket universe for just Avengers in general could quickly overflow with loads of characters.

In an ideal world, however, the characters I'd like to see get the movie treatment most would be Iron Fist and Luke Cage. It's looking like Cage will be involved in the new S.H.I.E.L.D. tv series at least, judging by the super powered dude showing up in the trailers. I'm also really looking forward to an Ant-Man movie, he's pretty long overdue for getting one of his own, being one of the original Avengers and what not. Dr. Strange is also a wonderful choice for a Phase Three hero, and could be pulled off very interestingly depending on who they cast for the part.