That shot of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers looking like weary compatriots says it all. That's what The Avengers (2012) should be about.
And -- oh yeah -- a 'hole lot of stuff should blow up!
Okay, the trailer for The Avengers (2012) dropped today and I liked it quite a bit -- except for that ATROCIOUS music. I don't care who it is; It doesn't work with a superhero epic.
I've got a few gripes so let's get that grousing out of the way first.
Scarlett Johansson looks the part but she's far too soft and young to play Black Widow.
I still think it's a colossal mistake to keep the Hulk in this line-up. In the early issues of The Avengers, he was a liability more than he was a team player.
And, more importantly, there have been 2 attempts to bring this character to the screen with somewhat ineffective results. Why waste a slot on him? It feels like desperation, as if the studio suits were saying, "Hey, we did marketing surveys and this character is recognized. And he sells toys. He's in."
Whatever.
I honestly think that when one surveys the 50 year history of The Avengers, one can find many other heroes -- team members from the past and present -- more interesting than the Hulk. Or Black Widow.
Hawkeye, despite the lack of superpowers, is an essential element of the Avengers team dynamic. He stays.
I almost wished there was more Hawkeye in the trailer; Black Widow got an introduction in Iron Man 2 (2010) but Hawkeye is, to most casual viewers, an unfamiliar superhero.
And where was the famous "Avengers Assemble!" line in this trailer? Are they saving that up for the inevitable Super Bowl TV spot?
But there's a lot to love in this first trailer for the first real superhero team motion picture.
I did love the shots of Steve Rogers and Thor. One gets a sense of the team membership being a new, perhaps difficult, choice for these two characters. And in a few shots, we get a sense of great men answering the call of duty, to put it in a sentimental and cliched way.
The Avengers (2012) opens 4 May 2012. The countdown starts now. Don't disappoint me, Whedon! Don't turn Cap into Buffy!
Is that too much to ask?
This still says a lot about why I love the man-out-of-time Captain America as seen in The Avengers and modern issues of Cap's own comic book. There's something poignant about his plight. Hopefully the film will capture that quality.
How many decades before this sort of thing can be a film?
