And so the end of Phase One. And I seem to be the only one with a slight anti-climax feeling. The films leading up to this were all mature, well-mastered regenerations of classic Marvel characters and stories. This film suddenly saw the franchise become somewhat childish and ‘disneyfied’. All the effort put in to try and make the visual effects spectacular purely resulted in them being rounded and almost immature. Nonetheless the acting and to an extent the writing were very positive.
The opening sequence with the tesseract was particularly gripping and well done, despite the lack of any of the main protagonists. Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton) was very good (particularly when possessed by Loki (Tom Hiddleston)’s power, along with the much improved Stellan Skarsgard (Erik Selvig)) and Hiddleston was very impressive throughout. Samuel L. Jakckson (Nick Fury) was decent though I frequently got the impression this isn’t really the genre to which he is best suited and that he should stay with more realistic films. Nonetheless Scarlett Johannson (Natasha Romanoff) showed off how she is not just a gorgeous face but also a very talented actor, and Mark Ruffalo was also good, though he took a long time to warm to – perhaps because he looked nothing like Edward Norton of The Incredible Hulk – and I can’t be sure even now that I prefer to him to Norton. Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark) was not bad, but did not seem on his usual form from the Iron Man franchise, and the character got on my nerves more than previously. Similarly Chris Hemsworth (Thor Odinson) did not impress as he did in Thor, and his new look did not seem to suit the character quite so well. In addition some of the cameo roles such as the policemen (Robert Clohessy & Enver Gjokaj) were really rather poorly cast, similarly to the disappointing Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill). The plot was however well worked – I particularly liked how Steve Rogers (Chris Evans – who was one of the best actors in the film) required practice to recall his role as Captain America after his long wait – and the way in which the Avengers themselves did come together and assemble was excellently crafted. I thoroughly enjoyed the argument scene between them all, and the fights between Clint and Natasha, and Thor and the Hulk. Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg)’s death scene was also very good, and Downey improved as he became more serious. The ending was also very satisfying, though the post-credits sequence was rather an anti-climax after the great things we’ve seen in the other films. Nonetheless in terms of plot, this film was very positive, and in some ways it looked spectacular, though possibly just a little too cartoon-esque.
And so the anomaly in the series. The Incredible Hulk. Well it wasn’t bad. In terms of set and direction it looked excellent, and the visual effects far surpass those of Iron Man, despite being made in the same year by the same people – presumably because they are so essential in forming the brilliant Hulk and Abomination. The plot is also generally decent (though perhaps not towards the end), as the Hulk always has been a little more original than the other members of the Avengers Alliance. The opening sequence was thoroughly confusing but well explained later, and the scene in the bottle factory looked good, while the Brazilian favellas worked well for a slightly less clichéd chase scene. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton)’s experimentation with chemicals and the microscopic examination of the cells’ mutation was another highlight in terms of direction and VFX. This film also includes multiple battle scenes of course. The first, in the factory, was good though I expected them to get tedious further into the film. Surprisingly I was wrong, and they did in fact get bigger, better and more enthralling with each one. It was also partially because of these that the action-filled film has such a good control of pace – though admittedly the search for the data and Betty (Liv Tyler)’s discovery of Bruce’s return was all very rushed, while writer, Zak Penn has also been successful in getting the balance of humour right for the film. The very ending was also very good and clearly leant itself to a sequel. I did wonder what became of Leonard (Ty Burrell), but otherwise it was effective and nice to see something different from the classic ‘happily ever after’. While the visuals and scripting were good however, I was disappointed with the casting. Norton was decent but nothing special, and the same applies to Tyler and William Hurt (General Ross). Burrell was also irritating as Leonard. The only two actors that really impressed me were Tim Blake Nelson (Samuel Sterns), of whom I wish I could have seen more, and Tim Roth (Emil Blonsky) who was – in stark contrast to the rest of the cast – absolutely spectacular.
Acerbically Analytical Adolescence 