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Three mainstream films were released last year under the Marvel Studios banner. Totally, they grossed a little above $1 billion. At the indi...

Three mainstream films were released last year under the Marvel Studios banner. Totally, they grossed a little above $1 billion. At the individual level, they did not generate massive revenues. An exception is Thor, that grossed approximately $4.50m worldwide. It's success was also surprising as it had an unknown lead actor (Chris Hemsworth) compared to the other examples.
  In the early 60s, the late Jack Kirby and Stan Lee (pictured below) came up with an idea of a superhero team that comprised of the title The Avengers. After so many years, this idea has sprung up into a number of comic-book based films leading up to the ultimatum this year. Now we are lucky that this film wasn't made earlier than the year 2000 - no CGI then! Luckily, it was made this year and ended up not only as a critical, but also commercial success.
  Lee is credited as the greatest mastermind of comic-books alive (he's 89 and still writing). He's created such internationally renown characters like The Amazing Spider-man (an adaption releasing in July), The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk as well as many others of the Marvel database. Who would've known that the ideas of one man alone could generate such revenue in every currency available.
  In 2008, The Dark Knight became the first film based on a comic franchise to accumulate $1b. And like hell, it deserved it. It even garnered a Best Supporting Actor win of the Oscars for Heath Ledger. Christopher Nolan's direction was incredible. It shook all dimensions of the superhero action genre combining such features of thrill, satire, drama and overall heart-pounding scenes. His previous release Batman Begins was also brilliant and I'm surprised it wasn't a big commercial plus critical success as the 2nd part.
  Now to the critical analysis of BO101: Marvel's The Avengers has a predictable plot. The story development is non-creative, and the film becomes semi-predictable after the first hour. Joss Whedon's directing is not up to Nolan's standards that pushed boundaries. Here, we see a cliched adaption of heroes with superhuman abilities.
  Whedon's first feature that he both wrote and directed was Serenity (2005). Many pundits forecast that it would land straight onto no.1 at the US charts. It missed by a short shot at no.2 and barely managed to cover its budget at the end of its theatrical run. Although, critics loved the film I despised it. Boring plot and it's perfect for letting you sleep at night. Apart from a few funny scenes and dialogues, and half-entertaining action sequences, the film is a shamble. Not only is it a bad sci-fi action flick, it's probably the worst I've ever seen. If I had seen this film before The Avengers. I might've never of gone to watch the latter in the cinema hall.
  The Avengers, however, is on a far greater level than Serenity. Whedon's theatrical antics are still reminiscent on this film. The dialogue delivery of the thespians is quite similar and where the flurry scenes were above average and less, here there are plenty and upgraded as well. So no wonder they chose Whedon. He's a Avengers fan and plus he's famous in the States for creating TV series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, etc. Serenity itself is based on his short-lived series Firefly. So I'm guessing his films will do good in the future if not based on a background structure of his own making.
  There were many pros for The Avengers. Firstly, it has the best beat-em'-up scenes of any summer blockbuster. Overall, it's the best hot-weather entertainer of all time. The end-fighting scenes leave you craving for more. Another important factor is that the dialogues, dialogue delivery and acting mainly by Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/Hulk) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki). Ruffalo is far off the best actor to represent the Jekyll and Hyde character. Unlike Eric Bana and Edward Norton, Ruffalo's representation is life-like (which is uncanny for an anti-hero). He truly looked like and talked like a doctor. Norton is one of my fav. actors and although he suited the muscled scientist well in The Incredible Hulk, Ruffalo was original. He earned Best Supporting Actor at the 83rd Academy Awards for The Kids Are All Right.
  Loki's representation was also terrifying. He is the best live-action villain along with Heath Ledger's The Joker and Ian Mckellen (Magneto).  Robert Downey Jr. is also in the list of honourable mentions. But let's face it he's already in the league of super-actors and he's such a veteran that even if everybody's acting sucked he would still shine in the limelight. And only by him, Tony Stark was depicted as an individual everybody loved to hate.
  Apart from all these advantages, the film is a must-watch. It has a little bit of everything for everyone. It's also a movie that the whole family could watch together - a rarity in today's H-wood. The characterisation is top-notch and what else could you ask for from such an ensemble cast. Every actor suited his role perfectly. Conversations, especially the ones between the charlatans, are fun and amusing.
  The film is directed by J. Whedon and the screenplay is by him, with a story by screenwriter Zak Penn (X-men: The Last Stand) and Whedon. Penn really upgraded his craft with this one, The Last Stand ruined The X-men but luckily this wrecking was surpassed by X-men: First Class. Marvel's The Avengers had its world premiere on April 11 and as of June 13 it has earned approximately $1.4b off a megabudget of $200 million. It is officially the highest-grossing superhero film of all time, and has set the record for fastest opening weekend cumulative (it earned $207.4m!). So in 2 months and 2 days that is very shocking. It release in the US on May 4, and grossed a round-off of $580m. A few more days on the chart and it'll become the 3rd film to reach $600m in the States.
  So catch the trailer. It may look cliched but it certainly isn't. It provides not only old and new fans with what they deserve, but also to the whole mainstream audience. The movie isn't up to Nolan's standards but what the heck! Who wants to be a perfectionist viewer?
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%.
IMDB: 8.6/10.
BoxOffice101: 3/4.


3 comments:

AJaye2009 said...

Nice one. ll written analysis -  I like where this blog is going.

I watched Thor - though I wish I hadn't. I won't be watching The Avengers Nisar. I guess superhero movies - last year's X-Men reboot is a perfect example - aren't made for the likes of me. Let the kids enjoy the spectacle. Daddy's off in the side cinema looking for something a wee challenging.

Nisar Mustafa said...

Thanks friend!
  OK your choice - as I said 'predictable'. And yes X-Men: First Class ranks in my list of worst superhero movies ever.

Hassan Faheem said...

Awesome !!!!