The Avengers

For those of you who are not in the know about The Avengers where have you been?  Seriously not only have there been two recent movies featuring The Hulk and Iron Man, but last year Paramount obviously rushed through production of Thor and Captain America to get the public ready for what could be a record breaking opening.  And while these two movies were nothing all that special, they both lay the ground work and have important information leading up to the first major blockbuster of the summer.  

For those who could not be bothered with the previous projects here is a recap, or you know just go and watch the other movies.  After the first Iron Man we meet Nick Fury, who is behind The Avengers Initiative, a team of Earth's mightiest heroes to come together should they ever need it.  From there we meet Thor, whose brother Loki was the featured villain in Avengers #1.  At the end of the movie we see The Cosmic Cube or the Tesseract in Nick Fury's possession.  We learn more about the cube in Captain America which is the source of many of The Red Skull's weapons of mass destruction.  While all independent projects, the stories of our heroes intertwine to build up to the summer blockbuster.

The Avengers is directed by major fan boy Joss Whedon responsible for television series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Angel, and Dollhouse.  To the uninitiated many out there may not know who Joss Whedon is, after all he has only directed one feature film before, Serenity, and it was based off a show that no one watched while it was on.  But anyone who recognized the name knew immediately that this was the perfect match for the movie. Whedon is a lifelong comic book fan and not only did he create comic versions of Firefly and Buffy he also worked on a version of "X-men" and helped to develop Marvels crossover hit "Civil War."  With such passion for the genre, there was little doubt of his success.  

With so many characters, stories, and battles to fit in it is not surprising that the movie runs a little long.  The only time the movie feels long though is while the crew is on board Nick Fury's helicarrier.  Throughout the rest of the movie Whedon finds a perfect balance.  With eight major super heroes, four of which have been featured in their own movie, it would have been easy to put the primary focus on Robert Downey Jr., whose Tony Stark character has undoubtedly the most successful franchise of the superhero team.  But instead he finds something interesting for all of his heroes to do and gives them all equal screen time.  Whether it be finding back story or a featured fight, we feel like all eight heroes share an equal part to the story.

The show stealer of the whole movie may be the Hulk.  While Mark Ruffalo played Bruce Banner very well, at the very least better than Eric Bana did, I'm talking about the big guy.  The big screen has not been kind to the green giant, having been played by several different actors with no movie nailing down success.  Due to a combination of Hulk's inability to speak coherently and complete dominance of the enemy's around him his story has suffered as a leading man.  But as part of an ensemble The Hulk excels and has many of the movie's best moment.  He will no doubt be a fan favorite, now we can only hope that those movie execs don't try to make him the leading man again, the other guy is best in small doses.    

The action in the movie is in a word awesome.  In a superhero movie like this an epic battle scene is always anticipated, but there has never been anything quite like this.  There are always groups of thugs for the hero to take out before getting to the final battle; this may be the first time a blockbuster like this features a climax against an army.  The final sequence of the movie is nothing but action, but unlike Michael Bay's action movies which feature similar pacing it feels like the audience is much more vested in the outcome.  There isn't just cool shots for the sake of cool shots, it is all building to something.  While all the battles were great, any comic book nerd will tell you the best fights are when the heroes go at each other.  Everyone wants to know if the Hulk really is unstoppable, or who would win in a fight Captain America or Iron Man.  It is just another another point of praise for Whedon knowing what the audience wants as he sprinkles in fights between our heroes throughout the flick.  It sometimes feels as if the action never stops.  

For those who won't get excited about all the wonderful 3-D battle sequences there is also plenty of humor injected into the movie.  From the bickering of the superheroes, to the well placed quips, to the visually funny; Whedon, who also wrote the story, knows his crowd and injects the movie with plenty of laughs to make sure the movie constantly stays up.

The Avengers hits on all the right levels.  Putting up two duds last year, the movies will no doubt pay off as this one is a guaranteed success.  It will have fan boys, and casual movie lovers alike jumping for joy at just how well the movie is done.  The summer of 2012 starts off on a great note and The Marvel Superhero team have set the bar high.  A

Nice

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

It has been tough to escape the Millennium trilogy for the past three years. Author Stieg Larsson left his trilogy unpublished, it wasn’t until after his death that the books hit the shelves and became a worldwide phenomenon. It then became a movie made in Sweden which did not shine away from the darker parts of the story with European audiences unafraid to deal with such issues. When trying to make an American version of the film the studios called on none other than David Fincher who previously worked on Se7en and Zodiac. With an expertise in sadistic storytelling Fincher gives his telling of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo an American touch.

In case you were unaware that David Fincher was directing the movie, the opening sequence should give it away. Two bodies cased in oil and covered in flame become one with Trent Rezner’s cover of "The Immigrant Song", the story hasn’t even started yet and his style comes screaming at you already. The concept behind this project plays perfectly into what Fincher is known for and is truly a perfect pairing. While there is little he can add to the overall story in fear of alienating fans, his biggest addition to the film is a glossy touch. For fans of the book and the Swedish movie, available on Netflix streaming, some of you may be surprised what he kept in the movie if you were anything like me who believed the American version was going to be softer. Fincher is still able to soften up the material through with some deadpan delivery from his leading lady. It is tough to tell whether some of the laughs were intended or accidental considering what’s going on.

Past the opening sequence, and for those of you unaware the movie opens on Mikael Blomkvist, played by Daniel Craig, leaving the courtroom having just been convicted of libel after going after the head of a major corporation. He probably should not have gone to print with material from one anonymous source. Either way with free time after stepping down from his magazine he accepts a job to investigate a 40-year-old murder of a young girl. While this is going on a brash young female rolls into the parking lot on her motorcycle, hair dyed black and still in a mohawk once she removes the helmet. Lisbeth Salander played by Rooney Mara has just completed her own investigation through different means, which some may call illegal, but now finds herself in trouble in her personal life. With the two different characters come the two completely different style of story, until the midway point where their paths cross and Fincher combines the tones into the one main arc. They almost seem as they could be two different movies, once they converge on each other Fincher allows the two to blend together till they are on the same beat.

Fincher takes his time before our two leads meet. Mikael Blomkvist’s story seems pretty straightforward, and he allows Craig to insert his confidence into the role, a confidence not seen in the original. The other half of the story dwells on the darker side. The character starts off visually assaulting, she seems so detached and soft spoken, isolated from the world. It isn’t till we see her investigative prowess where she shows off her skills and fortitude that the audience starts rooting for her. Larsson delves deep into the past and shows what made Lisbeth this way, and continues to do so throughout the story. Noomi Rapace injected herself into Lisbeth, succumbing to the psychosis of the character and entrenching herself in the darkness. Mara allows some light to shine through; her depiction of the character has a confidence to her as well. Not like Craig, who always has a swagger about him, Mara shows her confidence by playing Lisbeth as comfortable in her own skin. Mara doesn’t possess the same dark strength as the Swedish version. No doubt this is the studio telling her to play the psychosis down fearing they may alienate the audience. That darkness is what made Rapace’s portrayal of the character so mesmerizing in the original trilogy and will definitely be seen as lacking by fans of the material.

To not know about this story before this movie comes out probably means you avoided beaches, any major mode of transportation, or friends who enjoy holding it over your head that they actually read in their spare time. For some this may be the third time in the past three years to see a different take on one story. The source material is so strong that there is little doubt that this movie won’t be a success. To attach big names like David Fincher and Daniel Craig to the project only injects more confidence into the film. A confidence that definitely lacked in the Swedish movie, but don’t mistake that as positive. You don’t necessarily want a superhero or a glossy touch when dealing with gruesome murder. Mikael Nyqvist played the lead more straight on with little nuance to the role, but would a reporter really know how to handle torture as well as a James Bond would?

It is tough to not compare the book or the first movie to this new one considering how quickly all three were released. This movie stands well on its own and does a loyal retelling of the book through most of the movie. And short of adding a little gloss to the movie and taking away subtitles the shots aren’t all that different from the Swedish version. There is a lot to like about this movie, but that has more to do with the story than any changes that took place in this version. While it may not have needed a glossy touch, or a retelling as the original movie was done so well. If this is what it takes to get more people to see this story than they put together quite a team to execute with a gripping finished product. B+