GrnMarvl14
Lying
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2003
- Messages
- 13,846
- Reaction score
- 4
The last of the 2011 Marvel movies is out, and it's our last film in the build-up to next year's Avengers film.
And it was...great. Not amazing, but not bad. Lots of action, a good, cohesive plot, and somewhat nice pacing (not enough time with him in action for my tastes). The action was great, the characters were (mostly) great, and the acting was...okay. Bit disappointed in Zola's character (though his initial appearance on the television monitor was a nice nod to the comics), and Tommy Lee Jones seemed to play the same character he plays in every movie (not that that's, necessarily, bad), but Bucky had a great role to play, and Red Skull was great (though there was nowhere near enough of him). The Howling Commandos (I assume that's who they were meant to be. Maybe the Deadly Dozen. Or something different) were a nice addition (and here's hoping they get their own movie), though they seemed to serve as little more than background flavoring in most scenes. The inclusion of Cap's original costume and shield as a USO costume was a nice touch, and did a good job of putting him where he needed to be (and getting him to punch Hitler. You can't do a WWII Cap story without that, after all). Howard Stark's role was surprisingly nice, going from what I assumed was a forced-in cameo to actually serving a worthy role, doing a job of explaining why he (later) had the shield prototype and what his connections to Cap were. And the modern day revival was nicely handled, with Cap being aware enough to know where he wasn't (though showing that SHIELD clearly sucks at research), and Fury doing what he does best.
There were a few problems, though. The film itself felt too much like an Avengers prequel (which, I guess, is why they labeled it "The First Avenger), and not enough like a stand-alone film. It also felt too short. Similar to Thor, I think it suffered for having to tie into the Avengers film, and would have been better served by multiple movies helping flesh out who they were. And, again, not enough Red Skull. Was too good a character with too little presence (luckily, he clearly didn't die. Though I'm wondering where, precisely, he's gone, as that looked quite a bit like a certain technology seen in Thor).
All told, it was a nice film, with some nice nods to the comics (none of which topped "Phineas Horton's Synthetic Man", a nice cameo by the original Human Torch, shoved in his glass capsule to prevent him from erupting in flame. Though it made me wonder why there was no Namor reference). And the post-credits Avengers trailer was great (not enough Maria Hill, though), and makes me excited.
So...what did everyone else think?
And it was...great. Not amazing, but not bad. Lots of action, a good, cohesive plot, and somewhat nice pacing (not enough time with him in action for my tastes). The action was great, the characters were (mostly) great, and the acting was...okay. Bit disappointed in Zola's character (though his initial appearance on the television monitor was a nice nod to the comics), and Tommy Lee Jones seemed to play the same character he plays in every movie (not that that's, necessarily, bad), but Bucky had a great role to play, and Red Skull was great (though there was nowhere near enough of him). The Howling Commandos (I assume that's who they were meant to be. Maybe the Deadly Dozen. Or something different) were a nice addition (and here's hoping they get their own movie), though they seemed to serve as little more than background flavoring in most scenes. The inclusion of Cap's original costume and shield as a USO costume was a nice touch, and did a good job of putting him where he needed to be (and getting him to punch Hitler. You can't do a WWII Cap story without that, after all). Howard Stark's role was surprisingly nice, going from what I assumed was a forced-in cameo to actually serving a worthy role, doing a job of explaining why he (later) had the shield prototype and what his connections to Cap were. And the modern day revival was nicely handled, with Cap being aware enough to know where he wasn't (though showing that SHIELD clearly sucks at research), and Fury doing what he does best.
There were a few problems, though. The film itself felt too much like an Avengers prequel (which, I guess, is why they labeled it "The First Avenger), and not enough like a stand-alone film. It also felt too short. Similar to Thor, I think it suffered for having to tie into the Avengers film, and would have been better served by multiple movies helping flesh out who they were. And, again, not enough Red Skull. Was too good a character with too little presence (luckily, he clearly didn't die. Though I'm wondering where, precisely, he's gone, as that looked quite a bit like a certain technology seen in Thor).
All told, it was a nice film, with some nice nods to the comics (none of which topped "Phineas Horton's Synthetic Man", a nice cameo by the original Human Torch, shoved in his glass capsule to prevent him from erupting in flame. Though it made me wonder why there was no Namor reference). And the post-credits Avengers trailer was great (not enough Maria Hill, though), and makes me excited.
So...what did everyone else think?