The Avengers - Official Trailer 2012 [HD]

So here we are now. After years of development and a few film establishing the main characters, we get to see a team of superheroes being, well, a superhero super group. My initial response was of dread as I could not see it working well but to my surprise it is one of the most entertaining films of the year.

With Earth being under attack from dastardly villain Loki and his evil plot to rule Earth and its inhabitants, it is down to Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) to pull together his group of superheroes to save the human race. Luckily for those of you who have seen all the individual films, the need for each characters origin and development is unnecessary as they have been fully established in their own stories.


The film does start off very well and establishes a plot (although very well worn) about an attempt by Loki (main villain from Thor), to take a mysterious cube (the Tesseract) which harnesses a power that can open a teleport/wormhole to allow an alien army which he commands to take over the world. Even with this simplistic and over familiar storyline the film has many entertaining moments and is littered with loads of Whedons trademark witty one liners.

The one truly great thing about this film is how well it manages all the superheroes characters and never does one character feel like it's just a film about them with a few extra superheroes tagging along. Each one of them have a similar amount of screen time and a specific purpose which drives the plot forward. Another thing is that the guy behind the film (Whedon) knows his material and creates a loving, authentic and workable story which means each character never feels like a bit character. A very balanced juggling act which allows the stars to shine and show their unique personalities.

The only minor criticism I would give is the over hype that this picture has garnered by many and judging by it's box office record breaking takings, people are going in their droves to see what all the fuss is about. Don't get me wrong, the film is good but not an all time classic. The plot is nothing new, and the alien invasion at the climax of the film is a bit reminiscent of Transformers 3, and a team that doesn't get on but eventually stand together and realize a common enemy, all very cliched.


Most impressive throughout is the dialogue. Each actor delivers and provides so many funny moments (even though Bruce Banners alter ego The Hulk only manages a couple of lines but what few lines he is given are the most hilarious lines in the whole movie!). Unfortunately with the smart lines, the tone of the film never feels quite right.  It doesn't take itself too seriously and because of this, the sense of danger never feels tangible as their is always a line to soften the blow.

A big fun movie which everyone will find something to like, thanks mainly to Whedon assured screenplay and character dynamics, a film that should have failed (and probably would have done under someone else's guidance) it is a true testament that under the right director even the impossible is possible, hopefully next time they could come up with someone a bit more menacing than Loki.

Acting: 3.5/5

Technical Merit: 4/5

Narrative: 3.5/5

Entertainment: 4.5/5

15.5/20

Iron Man 2 (2010) with Trailer

After the surprise success of the first Iron Man movie, came the obvious and apparent sequel. As with many sequels, the diminishing returns are unfortunately evident. Carrying on from the previous film where Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) has just announced to the world that he is, in fact, Iron Man. A playboy millionaire with a superhero alter-ego. What is very much a refreshing change from the norm of many superheroes characters, is the fact that he doesn't have to hide who he his. No conflict of personalities or change of persona. Or, that is what Stark is trying to portray to the public. Deep down, what he is hiding is a slow and painful death resulting in his antics as Iron Man. The suit that keeps him alive is slowly poisoning him.

Following the rigid format of a typical comic book film, where there is a superhero there must be a villain (or villains).This comes in the form of Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke playing a role not to dissimilar to his previous film The Wrestler except with less words and less grunting). A quick intro of Ivan shows how he feels his father (an ex-employee of Stark industries) has been deprived and bereaved of his accomplishments. He feels Stark's father has claimed these as his own. As well as Ivan, there is the (obvious) rival company run by Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), who wishes to develop his own army of Iron Men for financial gain. When Ivan fails at his attempt on Stark's life, Hammer see this as an opportunity to team up with Ivan to develop his technology to advance his own. With Stark hiding his own battle with health and continual conflict with the government over his reluctant co-operation over the Iron Man technology, everything begins to mount up as a climatic battle ensues when Hammer's super Military Drones (controlled by Ivan) to go up against Stark in a battle of man against machines.

What is considerably lacking in this film is the shortage of tension or any real sense of danger. This big screen comic book action adventure just doesn't fulfil your desired expectations. There's a sense of impression that no one is really in peril. It's just the way the film flows. Robert Downey Jr's performance is very relaxed and comes across as if there is no trouble or menace that cannot be overcome with a witty quip/one liner. The final battle fX between the drones and Iron Man are spectacular and eye boggling at times but the same can't be said for the Monte Carlo racing scene. It doesn't capture sense of speed or excitement, with the race cars looking very obvious like CGI instead of the real thing.

Another problem I encountered was the pace in which the lines were delivered by characters in the film. Particularly the exchanges between Stark (Downey) and Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow). The dialogue between the two of them goes at a hundred miles an hour at times and can be very annoying to decipher. Stark comes across like a man high on drugs. Uttering words like they are going out of fashion. The performance to me seem a little lackadaisical and not as genuine as it could (or should) have been.

Humour is scattered around throughout the film and allows the film to live in it's own universe which is probably what I found a little deviating and creates little or no suspense. If you can live with Downey's performance then you'll tolerate the whole flaw the film has created for itself. I feel they haven't allowed enough development in characterisation. Even with his apparent battle and struggle with his impending death, you never feel like he was ever in any danger of dying. If you can't make the hero look like he has any weaknesses then there is no jeopardy or endangerment. The other problem is the villain isn't villainous enough. No matter how menacing you make Rourke look, he never seems to be an even match for Downey's Iron Man.

With this also being a link to the forthcoming Avengers film (a super group of superheroes!) the film is continually referring to characters and plot points towards a bigger picture. It's not a major problem as long as you know your Avengers back story or group dynamics but for others it may look a bit out of place within the film and some of you may wonder what the hell is going on. Who is Nick Fury? Why are they going on about this Avenger initiative and how does it progress the plot? It doesn't really have any bearing except to allow some tentative link for a couple of films to crossover to allow for the up and coming Avengers movie. It's not a massive negative and fan boys would probably love it but for Joe public it may seem a bit disjointed.

A lackluster and laid back sequel which disappoints as well as annoys in places (the middle segment of the narrative almost put me to sleep). A decent enough fX to please the brain dead but the film's overall emphasis on fun and witty one liners doesn't allow any real danger to exist. A failure to expand and develop with a heavy reliant on fX and humour to pass off as progress is a sad state of affairs. A sequel which like many sequel's pales in comparison to the original, which should come as no surprise then. Vapid, hollow and regurgitates old grounds.

Acting 3/5

Technical Merit 3/5

Narrative 2.5/5

Entertainment 3/5

11.5/20