The Avengers and the condition of Hollywood summer blockbuster

Hello movie fellow fans, I saw only one thread on the Avengers movie, still more on the trailer than the movie itself. While I'd like to take a moment to write about the film itself, I also wanted to open a discussion on a condition of American blockbusters, especially the summer, huge ones, which in my opinion were lacking a lot lately.



I suppose the Avengers and this summer, summer 2012, shall change this sad course.

Personally I'm not really into the Marvel Universe, yep, I've seen all the previous films (Iron Man 1&2, Thor, Cap, Hulk) but still wasn't on the hail Marvel bandwagon, prefering Dark Knight's realism or second's Ghost Rider's stupid camp. Having seen the film I have to say it was really, really well crafted. The characters weren't cardboard cut-outs, they were meaty, funny, edgy and had some really well written lines and quips.The jokes were nice relief and weren't circling the crotch areas. The action wasn't a huge 'let's blow up NY' crappola, it was very well shown, one could easily follow who fought whom and how. With the leght clocking at 2.5hrs I wasn't bored even once.

So... what the hell happened? What did the Whedon guy do, that his film didn't look like Bay's Transformers, soulless, trivial mess that no one cared about?

My opinion? Target. I was really expecting to see lots of zitty teens at the screening, and being there with a girl, that had no idea about Marvel (she loved the film btw, and had great time, which also means something), I was afraid she'll be the only girl there. To my surprise I saw fans of 20-45 yrs old, many women ang girls, everyone had awesome time, people cheering, clapping and sitting in silence in all right moments. These are the guys who read the comics back when they were teens, now being 25-45 yrs old. They are the target and not teens, who I suppose do not give a crap for sych superheroes nowadays, when they have facebook with 789233 friends and Call of Duty. The film was crafted for adult fans, while still being attractive for younglings. This is what was a recipe for success for blockbusters such as Jurassic Park. This is what only magicians of cinema managed to do, magicians like Spielberg, Zemeckis in his best days, Lucas, when he was still sane.

Let's just look what previous summers proposed us as a huge popcorn adventure from Hollywood:





Established, however weakening franchises, reboots, remakes, girly men in unrealistic thrillers for no one. In my opinion Rise of The Planet of the Apes was last summer's best film, however one cannot take it as a blockbuster - it was a great sf with real characters.

Please do note understand me wrong. I do not say that Avengers is a cinema masterpiece everyone should see. I just miss the old days when the mindless fun was smart, meaty and gave a real cinema pleasure of enjoying the rollercoaster. I love some good drama, love Asian, Australian and European cinema, but that moment when you looked for entertainment and had to sit through ~3hrs CGI mess, or old actor pretending to be young in a tired franchise happened too often recently.

Seriously speaking the suits in Hollywood are taking notes right in this very moment I think, having seen the numbers, the warm critiqe and fan response maybe, just maybe thay will put 'smart' back into movie popculture.

People are tired with PG13 nonsense and it is obvious now with Expendables 2 and Prometheus being rated R - that's completely other thing, I know, but it was a cancer devouring popular cinema for the last decade. Remember Live Free or Die Hard rated PG13? Me neither. Funny how in one moment a gossip taht Expendables 2 shall be rated PG13 because of Chuck Norris condition of being cast stirred an angry fan response:




But that, fellow movie fans let's leave for another discussion I hope to start soon. This forum needs more serious movie discussion!

So. To sum it up - do you think summer popcorn blockbusters will go in the right direction after Avengers or still dwelve in CGI soulless nonsense?

Cheers!

This forum needs more serious movie discussion!

it would be nice if there was a movie worth talking about. hollywood have lost their way.

Originally posted by jazzguy

This forum needs more serious movie discussion!

it would be nice if there was a movie worth talking about. hollywood have lost their way.

Hollywood is not the only place that produces movies, jazzguy. There are gems being screened all around the world you have no idea about. Still Hollywood is not lost. Being such a monster of a movie machine you always can find a gem among the rubbish.

Being harsh on Hollywood became a sad fad lately, I know it's cool to hate on something but generalising is the worst thing to do in such vast area.

reply to post by gigaherc

Speaking as a movie lover I can only say "Bring It On!"

For those that don't seem to get it, some films are pure entertainment and nothing more. Anything (good) with superheroes, well-known actors or quality effects must be watched, depending on the quality of the movie and a persons personal wishes.

In other words, I like some of the things Hollywood and other countries (UK, Japan, South Korea, Honk Kong, France, Canada....) are doing with a lot of these films. Perhaps people should better inform themselves over movies via sites like IMDB instead of just watching random movies in the hope that it will appeal to them.

Originally posted by LightSpeedDriver
reply to post by gigaherc

 

Perhaps people should better inform themselves over movies via sites like IMDB instead of just watching random movies in the hope that it will appeal to them.

That is exactly what is to blame - mainly - for all the "Hollywood hate" thing. People go to cinema randomly, not being really intereted in films, not knowing much about the techniques, the background, etc. and then bitch how studios went mad and the films are crappy because vampires can't sparkle in the sun!

The main problem with Hollywood these days is that you've got Corporations making movies instead of artists and people who are truly passionate about what it is they're making. Whedon is a fanboy, so his love of the Avengers and everything Marvel is what lead to the film's greatness. I don't think Michael Bay cared two $h!ts about the Transformers. For him it was just another payday and a chance to blow things up with robots.

Making movies can't be about making money. It's gotta be about passion. If the passion is there, the money will follow.

Just my two cents.


[eta]: Just watched The Avengers last night. It was everything I thought and hoped it would be.
There were a few missed opportunities in there, but overall it was... Marvelous.

reply to post by FugitiveSoul


FugitiveSoul I think you're spot on with the passion and corporations making movies. The best example is - speaking of Marvel - the licensing (Spidey went to Sony, Fantastic 4 to Fox) and how it impacts the whole franchises is obvious.

btw I liked Bays earlier work (The Rock, I think being in my opinion his finest work, Bad Boys being very efficient action flick and first half of The Island being - dare I say - quasi ambitious) however something has to be in it, maybe some kind of explosion fetish, but surely he likes to blow stuff up more than Emmerich.

reply to post by gigaherc


Yeah, Bay's earlier work wasn't bad at all. There were some solid action flicks in his roster back then, and like you, I didn't mind The Island. I thought the ending was a little "blah", but the concept and visuals were great.

Passion is the key. If the people making the movies don't care, then no one else will. That passion comes across in the direction, the visuals, the acting, effects, and even the soundtrack. Too many whores in the industry these days, working for money instead of art.

reply to post by gigaherc


I think it will continue to be hit and miss with the summer blockbusters.

The last Transformers movie was an example of what NOT to do. Sure, it made money, but many of us who saw the first two stayed home with the omission of one of the TWO main characters (i.e. no Megan Fox..not worth the ticket, VS model or not...). In addition, the fight scenes are a blur of CGI mechanical parts. In the first two, this was done a bit sparingly. In the trailer for the third, that's nearly all we saw! No thanks. I'd at least like to be able to see who the heck is hitting who.

MIB 3 coming out this summer is a good example of what to do. Use the existing franchise as a springboard, and just do a little bit of change-up to make it interesting (time travel, for this one). From the previews, it seems Brolin NAILS the part of a younger Tommy Lee Jones' "K". I am so psyched to see this film.

The Avengers also got it right. Already successful franchises, combined in one feature means guaranteed audience. Good thing too, this must have cost a MINT to make, in salaries and effects alone.

films are crappy because vampires can't sparkle in the sun!

That's more the fault of the source material...but it hits on an important point. The audience isn't nearly as stupid as Hollywood thinks it is. For me, "sparkling" isn't enough of a handicap to counter the other strengths of being a vampire. If this were the case, we'd all be in harvest-like blood farms while vampires ruled the planet centuries ago, as there was nearly nothing man could have done to them on the battlefield. So, to tell me the reason they stay anonymous is because they "sparkle" in sunlight is simply a direct insult of my intelligence.

I haven't seen this yet but plan on it my next day off. I am a HUGE Joss Whedon fan. He is a really good writer and I was thrilled when I heard he was involved in The Avengers.

I have followed all his shows, Buffy being my favorite. I really liked Dollhouse, which was about mind control and programming. It was a good show and cancelled too soon, but I do look forward to seeing what he did with The Avengers.

reply to post by mblahnikluver


I don't understand why people have issues with CGI. You can do wonderful special effects with it that you can't do with traditional FX techniques. Personally, I like both styles.

I can understand if they have eye problems though, but other than that, I think it's a bunch of hooey.

You just can't trust the hype any more. I now research nearly every movie I watch beforehand in case I'm wasting my time and money.

I've heard the Avengers movie is fantastic. Is that the truth though, or just the best of a bland bunch? Watched Cabin in the Woods not too long ago, and quite liked that.

I just did a short review thingy about new Asian flick My Way on my Korean movie thread. It's epic. But I'm severely biased towards foreign movies, mostly Asian, probably because I'm off the same faces, the same regurgitated stories, the same old Hollywood thing altogether.

I think action movies, especially the action hero, cartoony X-men, Batman, Iron Man, Spiderman, Superman blah blah, is not my cup of tea . Maybe it's just an American thing. I'm Scottish I want grit, not gung ho.

I don't understand why people have issues with CGI.

I don't have problems with CGI. I have problems with fight scenes shown at full speed with unsteady cameras, to try and simulate the chaos of battle. Instead, it's just a mish-mash of images the eye can't follow, and time to look down at my soda cup and nachos until someone's lying on the ground.

I like my fights with cheesy one liners, and a few ridiculous slo-mo moves, etc. But most of all, I like to be able to SEE who is fighting who, and who is getting the crap kicked out of them.

It isn't just CGI (it's just magnified with CGI)... For example, the first Craig Bond flick did it too...without CGI. Was a very confusing fight to watch.

I think i am the only person who thought Avengers was ho hum. The plot line has been done so many times. lets beat the aliens, again, and again, and again.
Especially surprising for Joss Whedon.


What I am actually looking forward to this summer is Brave and total recall.

reply to post by EvilSadamClone


i have issues with movies being nothing but cgi, and the actors can barely act because they are too busy trying to keep their positions in front of a green screen.

Star Wars was ahead of its time for special effects. IT helped make the movie great.But what made the movie great was the plot and character development.

The special effects should enhance the movie, but they shouldn't BE the movie.