By Thomas Willett
While I am not one who flocks to blockbusters willy-nilly, I don’t oppose to the occasional big budget fare. Over the years, few names have become more trustworthy investments than Christopher Nolan. In fact, the second closest isn’t even a man or woman. It’s a franchise that turned comic book characters into viable blockbusters. From Blade on, Marvel tinkered with the formula until something clicked. They had a lot of hits, which lead to the intriguing premise of one movie collecting the best of the best, better known as The Avengers. However, as the American release date approaches, I find myself a little apathetic.
Let me share some history. I didn’t read comic series as a child. While it’s true that I have read various strips, I never invested cash into following the journeys of Batman or Superman. At most I was familiar with them from the WB Saturday cartoons, which even then found me too invested in first generation Pokemon. As it stands, I have only read single story graphic novels like “the Long Halloween” and “Kingdom Come” because of recommendations my friends gave. They were good, but I am not a convert to the print. Celluloid, on the other hand, has done wonders.
Being a fan of cinema from all eras, I have seen the superhero films all the way back to the 1966 Batman with Adam West and Burt Ward. There are also the awesome Superman movies that Richard Donner directed with Christopher Reeves. I have even seen the shoddy Captain America movies from the 80’s (the last minute of this clip features the best use of motorcycle throwing ever) with bad synthesizer. Even the Incredible Hulk TV show has a warm spot in my viewing history. They may have been flawed productions, but I found something to admire.
These are nowhere near my favorites, but it establishes what I look for. Having no character investment, I want to believe that they could be real. I think that I have trouble grasping hard sci-fi for this very reason. My mind can grasp the weirdest concepts, but stuff like human mutation in X-Men just baffles me. I believe that their powers keep them from having any real conflict, thus destroying all momentum. I want human weaknesses, and even stuff as dumb as Superman and Kryptonite works because he is a character first and a hero second.
This is what I look for when modern cinema introduced all of these characters. I cannot buy into something because the effects look cool. I need someone to root for, and I believe that Marvel has done a good job throughout the years. While reading Marvel Movie Madness on Rotten Tomatoes last year, I discovered just how many I have seen and enjoyed. In fact, the movies that essentially lead to the Avengers were pretty good. Of course, I didn’t realize that until last summer when the choices were either Thor or the Green Lantern.
But why I feel that Marvel has succeeded in making the Avengers work is not only because of the good movies, but because they knew how to market. I didn’t notice it until Iron Man 2 when Samuel L. Jackson gave his speech on S.H.I.E.L.D. and the imagery began to appear. It served as a scavenger hunt, revealing clues slowly over a three year window with clips that connected the stories. They made me believe that these characters coexisted without making it seem hacky. Also, by getting the origin stories out of the way, it also gives more screen time for the Avengers to do their thing without losing the audience. The movies may differ in quality, but the marketing was a genius move, especially with that caliber of quality.
The fact that these movies won me over despite my handicap makes me respect them a little. They properly placed the hype around the movie and I won’t deny anyone their giddy anticipation. I remember seeing each of these in packed theaters and the enthusiasm was through the roof. While nothing compared to the theater offering a photo op with a Black Widow on Iron Man 2’s opening weekend, they have managed to make this culture commonplace. However, there are a few reasons that this upcoming movie doesn’t throw me into a fit of excitement.
Most notably is that these characters are not dear to me. I think that Robert Downey Jr. is awesome, but I didn’t love Iron Man. The movies were entertaining and I could unashamedly pop one on to kill time, but I never dreamed of having the cast in one movie. Maybe it’s the skeptic speaking, but I feel that too much of a good thing can apply here. Like Spider-Man 3 before, tossing a lot of cool things into one movie can lead to unfocused chaos. There are six superheroes at the forefront here. They have done well establishing them independently, but together; it can be a clash of personalities.
I do note that I didn’t count who is at the helm here. The one optimistic note is that the director is Joss Whedon, who has done good ensemble work on shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly. They all coexisted perfectly. I cannot speak for his movie output, but I worry that his lack of experience with this scale of production (budgeted at $220 million) will hurt the overall film. However, after the Cabin in the Woods exceeded my expectations, it restores some hope that Whedon can twirl together a nice piece of fiction. However, the additional co-writer Zakk Penn doesn’t grab me. I liked Incident at Loch Ness, but his other credits are boring.
The final reason is the definitive one that makes all my other skepticism seem pointless. I am referring to the fact that this isn’t the end. As of today, there are talks of a spin-off for the Hulk, Iron Man, Nick Fury, Thor, Captain America, and possible addition of Ant-Man (whom producer Kevin Feige has expressed interest in adding to any possible sequel to the Avengers). I will admit that I may find interest in seeing some of these, but the reason that the Avengers sounded promising was that it was a culmination of years of effort. All that this will do is undermine any brilliance that it bestows.
There are reasons that movies like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 were big. It may have taken ten years, but there was a clear line for the Harry Potter franchise that lead to the conclusion. It was promised, thus creating a definitive interest when it happened. The knowledge that there wasn’t any more to come made last summer an endearing one to those who grew up flocking to see the boy wizard play Quidditch. Even though I had grown bored of the films, I found the conclusive element to heighten my interest and thusly making it my favorite.
I am of the mindset that any franchise with sequels has to be leading to something. When it doesn’t fulfill the promise, I come away disappointed. The goals don’t have to be complicated. In fact I don’t even mind if there’s millions of sequels like in the James Bond series. There just needs to be a through line that eventually closes certain stories up.
This is also the reason that the Dark Knight Rises immediately gets more interest from me (besides the great new trailer). While the Batman character will live on, this will close the arc set up by director Christopher Nolan and his crew. Batman will go on to be played by different people and live in different looking Gothams. However, the way that I perceive the Avengers is that since they co-exist, any future sequels only complicates the narrative and makes it harder to close it nicely. They each will bring in new elements and characters that will undoubtedly be around for movies to come.
The quote that best describes how I feel comes from David Ehrlich on a recent episode of Operation Kino: “I’ll never get this wish to come true, but I feel like we should put this sort of cinema to bed now… the next one is Thor 2. How the f—k am I supposed to care about what Thor is up to by himself off in Aasgard or whatever after I’ve seen this story that uses him just as a smaller piece in a much more involving puzzle?”
That sums up why I feel this whole production feels a little too monotonous. It’s been a good run and produced a lot of entertaining movies. The reason that people are excited is because this is supposed to be a culmination. However, Feige is selling it as the end of phase 1. Even if this movie lives up to the ridiculously high ranking on Imdb (as of today, it’s #29 on the Top 250), I doubt whatever is set to follow will be better. Every story needs an ending, and if this one is so good, why would you want to keep going?
I am not opposed to the end of superhero films as a blockbuster genre (I’m also really excited for the Amazing Spider-Man this summer). However, at some point, this franchise will turn into self-parody like when Superman III went into Richard Lester’s hands. At some point, going bigger will just make your film look bloated, and if the Avengers 2 is to be just that, it stands the chance of putting blemishes on what I take to be a really solid marketing strategy.
When I walk into the theater to see this film, I don’t want to get to the end and see possibilities for a sequel. I want closure and satisfaction that the past few years haven’t been a waste of time. I want to know that feeling that this is the best that they can do and it’s time for a new fad. Even if you just do movies that don’t tie together and land on an alternate timeline after this, I will be fine. By continuing the prospects of more stories from these particular Avengers as casted, It only makes this feel like another story, regardless of if Joss Whedon bumps up the quality.
Most of all, I don’t want to see the final credits roll and see something that says “Coming in 4 years: the sequel!” I just feel that it will tie everyone down from doing other interesting projects. I mean, this is Joss Whedon’s breakout hit movie, not his sole credit from now on. This should give him the clout necessary to compete with other directors whose origins came from TV, such as J.J. Abrams. I have hope that he can make sci-fi fare that’s better than Super 8 or Star Trek down the line.
With all of that said, I would be down for a Samuel L. Jackson spin-off where he’s a superfly superhero with a mouth reminiscent of Jules Vincent. Also, please tune into Tuesday’s show where I justify whether or not my skepticism paid off.
You can read Thom’s blog every Wednesday and hear him on Nerd’s Eye View every Tuesday and Thursday at nevpodcast.com. Send your thoughts to nevpodcast@gmail.com. You can also read Thom’s movie reviews for Cinema Beach at cinemabeach.com.
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