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Okay, I'm breaking out into a new thread here because I'm itching to talk over the movie in detail.
The only thing I was really let down by was Hawkeye. Movie Hawkeye just doesn't work. I get the feeling that's because it's based off of Ultimate Hawkeye, who also doesn't really work.
Hawkeye is, in my limited 616 classic Avengers exposure, the everyman eye into Avengers' Mansion. He works because he's relatable surrounded by compatriots and, often, enemies of truly staggering power. It also helps that he's a sense of humor and the team's designated authority challenger.
Ultimate Hawkeye is none of these things. The anti-authority rebel gets swapped for the chain-of-command secret agent. The comic relief is abandoned for an attempt at an intimidatingly silent/gruff demeanor. He's not simply a world-class ex-Olympic archer, he's a bionically enhanced super-assassin. And ends up being utterly boring, a necessary but forgettable plot tool to be, along with the Black Widow, Nick Fury's loyal hand on the wheel within the Avengers.
Movie Hawkeye suffers from all of these same flaws, and then gets mind controlled to be even more bland. He also suffered from being pretty lame in the final battle. Setting him up as the eye in the sky was a pretty smart use of him, but it fell flat because there's, like, 2 moments in the fight where he actually spots/coordinates for anybody. The rest of the time he sits there shooting arrows with terribad form. The only moment of interest came from the light comedic note where Loki underestimates him by simply catching (and holding) his exploding arrow. The most positive thing I can say about Hawkeye in this film is that I thought the little arrow-head loader in his quiver was a neat idea. Too bad it's still a quiver of, like, thirty arrows.
So, now that the biggest letdown of the film in my eyes is out of the way, on to discussing the good points.
My favorite shot was at the climactic battle in Manhattan. There's this one shot that follows action from one Avenger to another, covering all 6 over the course of one shot as their battles rage through the streets. It was a snappily done shot, packing a lot of variety and interesting action into one sequence that flowed well and really did a good job of bringing together a lot of working alone towards a common goal and covering different aspects of the same fight. That was really great, and did a good sense of conveying the way the Avengers works as a team. It rarely works out that they combine their abilities into pooled power combos the way the Fantastic Four obviously do, yet the Avengers needs to convey a sense of teamwork. That shot helped a lot in that regard, and I think showcases Whedon's flair for ensemble-work, as well.
People say that the Hulk stole the show. And I'm happy to agree that this was, by far, the most entertaining Hulk we've seen to date, and really an excellent showcase of Hulk-combat as he gleefully leapt about, smashing one foe after a next at a whim. And the treatment of Banner was solid.
But Hulk wasn't the show-stealer, for me. Robert Downey, Jr. took the Whedon-scripted dialogue, melded it effortlessly with the snarky, disrespectful, and ego-run-rampant character he had cultivated with Favreau, and cut loose. Marvel made an incredibly smart choice using Iron Man as their debut character for their self-produced films, and Whedon scored big here by nailing all the same notes and themes of the character. Movieverse Tony Stark was born to speak Whedon's lines.
I also must credit Favreau with the brilliant pairing of AC/DC and Iron Man. It's truly become an iconic association with me, and I'm glad Whedon recognized it. The instant Shoot to Thrill started playing, I knew Iron Man was coming onto the scene -- and I love that Whedon works it into the scene by having Tony hack the PA system just to make an entrance and really play his image to the crowd. Or maybe he just loves imagining himself as the star of his own Superhero Movie, and recognizes that he needs a soundtrack. Or maybe some good old Arena Rock just keeps just keeps him sharp, the way artists and often thinkers listen to music while they work. But hearing Brian Johnson belting out in his high range just perfectly compliments and sets the tone for Iron Man's kinetic, high energy fighting scenes.
Anyways, those are my initial thoughts. I'm going to leave you with a most awesome mid-movie exchange between my comic-challenged friend and me:
Right after Thor hits Cap's shield in the woods and ends that fight:
Friend: "I bet Iron Man wishes he had a suit made out of that!"
Me: "That's probably the one thing on Earth he couldn't afford..."
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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades
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