The Avengers

Damnit, now there's a scene right at the end? Please spoil me!

Just when I was coming around to liking Joss again, he goes and does this to me.

Yep - apparently the scene at the end is just for the US. I waited until the end and we definitely didn't get the extra scene in Australia.

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They put in an after the credits scene for the US only? (I didn't stay until the very end but I'm sure I would have heard if there was on on the UK/Ireland release).

So they release it a week early here, making us feel like we've finally gotten something back from Hollywood, finally able to know what it's like to see the film before so many others, putting us on a equal footing with our US cousins, and then! Then! They swipe all that away with this extra scene. I am aghast.
Well, I am going to spoil everyone in the world with what happens in the film!! Yeah, wait for it:

BANNER HULKS OUT!!!

That'll teach ye not to end credit me...

Very end scene:

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SarahJanet wrote:Very end scene:

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This is the only thing I'm spoilered for, and it makes me smile. I'm glad they stuck it in at the end there.

QueenSix, I completely agree with you. Note to Joss: this is the way to get on the wrong side of international audiences. You're actually punishing us for living outside America, instead of rewarding Americans.

JUST FINISHED IT. AHHH, SO EPIC. There are no words, it was all epic all the time. (btw I've officially been up for 24 hours now, and 14 of those hours were spent watching Marvel movies, so I'm more than a bit loopy.)

In my theater, when

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a guy at the front yelled out

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. There was much laughing and general agreement to be had.

I. Loved. It. I've never been much of a Marvel reader, and while I loved Thor and Captain America I only watched the first Iron Man movie last night, so I'm not too familiar with the source material either. That aside it was easy to become immersed in this world again, and the dialogue was sooo Whedon-esque, it was fantastic. I loved Mark Ruffalo as Banner/Hulk, and of course Tom Hiddelston was brilliant. Loki was far less sympathetic this time around, but his hat was fabulous. I was a bit disappointed by Cobie Smulders' role, is Maria Hill the strong, silent type? That's how she came across anyway.

So much love. Like... I can't find words. When the team finally came together and Cap started issuing orders as the natural leader and even Tony Stark was following and Thor turned the Chrysler Building into a giant lightning rod... I was tearing up. This was the movie I've always wanted and never believed would actually happen.

And based on the mid-credits teaser, this should be just the tip of the iceberg. I was spoiled for every big "after the movie" reveal in the previous five films but I'm so very glad I somehow managed to avoid getting spoiled for this one.

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Alexis Denisof was The Other - which is I'm assuming the guy that Loki was talking to in the opening scene. Makes me wonder if Joss didn't offer Alyson Hannigan the Maria Hill part first.

And man, I must have been a bigger fan of Growing Pains than I thought growing up because I kind of surprised myself with a minor geek-out when I recognized the "featured extra" waitress that praised Cap at the end as Ashley Johnson, the one time littlest Seaver. Joss must have been a fan, too - when I visited her IMDb page to confirm that it was her I notice she's also in Much Ado About Nothing (speaking of... now that The Avengers is behind him, when do we start hearing about that one?).

I have no idea what shawarma is, but I want to try it now.

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All in all, I wouldn't change anything. But I do want to go back and address the spoiler I was so ragey about before:

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Cannot say enough good things about it. Just... love love love love love. The gauntlet - infinity or otherwise - is thrown. There's no excuse anymore for a superhero movie not to play the action full tilt. I have so many reservations about Man of Steel but I'm really hoping that we finally get to see Superman cut loose with all those powers of his. Because after the last forty minutes of this movie, lifting really heavy shit isn't going to cut it.

And now I shall commence crossing my fingers and hoping that Marvel and Sony are going to surprise us with The Amazing Spider-Man with a reveal scene tying it into the rest of the MCU.

ETA: Oh! And I wanted to add, I was so happy to see Gwyneth Paltrow show up! For a whole, hilarious scene and change, even. In a time where DC and Marvel have both decided that healthy, adult relationships make their heroes unrelatable (see the complete eradication of the Lane-Kent and Watson-Parker marriages from continuity), it was really nice to see Pepper and Tony being happy together. All the more surprising coming from Joss.

And while I know that there are 535 potential congress critters with opinions to share about the team, I think it's a missed bet that they didn't use Gary Shandling's character from Iron Man 2 for one of the talking heads at the end.

OMG I loved it so much!!! I wish though that I had read the spoilers so I could be prepared and not yell out

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However though the movie was amazing. When I was leaving I overheard a guy on the phone say if he heard anyone say this movie sucked, he'd end them, lol. I gave him a thumbs up.

It felt like everyone got a turn to shine. I worried at first that the movie was going to be Nick Fury and Friends or Iron Man and Friends but it felt like a real ensemble. To me it was a comic book movie that stepped right off the pages of a comic book. It was like a love letter to comic book fans. To someone who's been a fan of the Avengers for years this is the movie I've always wanted made but never thought could be. I swear to god I wanted to cry at the end, not because of Spoiler but because I never thought I would ever get a comic book movie that fully embraced the comics in a way that didn't look down on them (X-Men wearing black leather b/c the comic costumes are cheesy) or turn into a silly cartoon of a movie (Hey Thomas Jane's The Punisher). Thank you Joss Whedon.

I think I went way overboard, lol.

And that after scene of

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Doing the all day marathon and then having a mild freakout brought upon by Red Bull? So worth it.

laddical Going back to your reaction to the spoiler I too thought of the

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When I was leaving I overheard a guy on the phone say if he heard anyone say this movie sucked, he'd end them, lol. I gave him a thumbs up.

Hah! Very good. Though there's someone on the TWOP thread who found it boring. But they admitted to enjoying the Ultimates, so there's probably not enough incest and cannibalism for them.

Banner wasn't enough of a jealous, antisocial, pathetic douche, probably. He was likable and prone to heroism even when not hulked out.

Yeah, damn.

Actually, that brings me to a thought I had about the Hulk. Someone complained that the Hulk changed from an almost mindless creature of destruction to something that was more focussed. My thought was that when Banner chooses to change, he retains at least some control over it. At least as far as choosing which targets to smash and when.

Oh. My. God. That was so good. Like epically good. We left before the final end credits scene, but that's okay because we will go and see it again. And again. Possibly again. And for Mother's Day.

Joss did a great job hitting all the right beats with each character. I stayed as unspoilered as humanly possible so the big moments hit me pretty hard.

Red Wolf wrote:
Actually, that brings me to a thought I had about the Hulk. Someone complained that the Hulk changed from an almost mindless creature of destruction to something that was more focussed. My thought was that when Banner chooses to change, he retains at least some control over it. At least as far as choosing which targets to smash and when.

That was the only part that confused me. What was the difference between

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and the time he

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I'm watching Captain America tonight and then going to see it again tomorrow. Looking forward to it!

Sarah Janet, I wonder if

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Granted, that might be total shite I've just typed there so feel free to say so.

I have two questions: What does Banner say to the Black Widow as he's hulking out on the carrier, and is the post credits scene online anywhere?

I think Banner tells Widow something like, "No... it's not okay." She was trying to calm him down and reassure him to keep him from hulking out and his last words before transforming were simply a denial of it. But I may be misremembering. DAMN. Gonna have to go see it again.

And I think you're right about your spoiler text.

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Speaking of Banner, I loved his line, "I'm always angry." I don't know why. I'm not usually a fan of the Hulk because most iterations of the character Flanderize Banner's own anger and turn him into some pathetic creep shaking his fists impotently at the universe and vowing that one day everyone who's done him wrong is gonna get theirs. The times I enjoy him are when Banner is treated as decent human being shouldering a tremendous curse that he, usually but not always, turns to an advantage. So, I thoroughly loved Ruffalo as Banner.

But that could be me overempathizing with his plight. I'm suffering through a bout of chronic bronchitis - at least, that's what I call it, since no doctor's ever been able to accurately diagnose or treat it. Basically, if I so much as move in any way that elevates my heartrate I run the risk of going into an unproductive coughing fit that just builds on itself until my body finally just wears itself out. So while Joss Whedon was pushing all of my buttons trying to get me to laugh or gasp or jump up and down on my seat I was busy trying to keep my glee from pushing me over the edge and ruining the movie for myself (if I'd ever actually gone into a fit in the theater, I would have had the presence of mind to excuse myself to not annoy other patrons).

A friend of mine in the UK said she found one online, but the only one I could find had the full

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reveal but only a few seconds of the new clip, which kind of misses the point of it. The thing that makes the new clip work is how long it is.

Just got back, so awesome!

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Saw it. Loved it. It fulfilled the promise of what the MCU could be that was made in Iron Man. Just done right and I really believe it will be to this summer and The Dark Knight Rises what Iron Man was in 2008 to the Dark Knight. A great, fun popcorn film that you want to see many times vs. the (arguably) better made "film" addressing "deep" matters.

I'm still a little staggered that this movie was somehow made in our current corporatist entertainment world and that the actors were willing to not be "the star" of the film but truly do it as a great ensemble. But I also think a lot of that was trust that everyone would have their moments and that there wouldn't be a single star.

Probably my favorite part was

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I still wish they'd used Cap's old school uniform though...

This was so much fun. It's been said over and over, but it really is true that every character gets their moment. And not just in that they get a good punchline or fight scene, but in that they all really have a role in the team. They all drive the plot forward in some manner. I'd heard some people who thought Cap didn't get enough to do, but I didn't feel that way at all. I loved his earnest commitment and how confidently he took the lead in the end, despite being one of the weaker team members.

Line that killed in my theater?

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Wildog27:

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Indeed, it was spectacular.

A great, fun popcorn film that you want to see many times vs. the (arguably) better made "film" addressing "deep" matters.

I don't think there's much to argue between Iron Man and The Dark Knight - the former really was all about Downey's performance. There's not much in it to compare with the visuals of that opening shot over Gotham or the Joker hanging out of the police car like a dog.

But despite a lot of fan fears that Joss didn't have the eye for a feature film and that this movie would end up looking like TV (a very valid concern after Serenity), I'd have to say that The Avengers is definitely a strong case versus Nolan.

ALSO ALSO... I feel like I will never be done coming up with things to say... I'm so glad to see how much Stellan Skarsgard was in the movie. I was a little worried that his tag at the end of Thor was going to be pretty much the extent of his involvement, but it was nice seeing a little more of him, and hearing Thor express concern about him and describe him as "a friend". Also nice to see them at least namecheck Jane Foster - trying to actually squeeze her into the movie would probably have been too hard, though I'm wondering if Thor might have gone to see her "off camera" after the crisis was over.

Was their something more to the Harry Dean Stanton as the janitor or something? It seemed so oddly random for such a bit to be done by such a recognizable face. (I was reminded of the bit in Wayne's World 2: "I know this is a small part, but can't we get a better actor?")

Little thing I loved: Hawkeye's quiver and bow. I loved how he had specialty heads that were selected remotely.

My son literally jumped up and cheered at

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He wants Avengers 2, like, now. So do I.

Random Crazy Theory I heard recently:

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Also, I love this quote from an article on Joss/Avengers:

While working on a scene where Iron Man’s armor shorts out, one of the previsualization guys said, “He should have a line here, something like, ‘I’m getting too old for this shit.’” Whedon stopped short. “OK, we’re going into a time machine,” he said. “Three minutes earlier, you did not just tell me where a line goes. And it was not ‘I’m getting too old for this shit.’ That never happened. Let’s move on.”

Was their something more to the Harry Dean Stanton as the janitor or something?

I know. I was thinking, "Wait... did something happen to Stan Lee? Shouldn't this be his part?" And then he shows up during the talking heads segment at the end so... I don't know.

That theory is just crazy, RiverThames. I don't know how I'd feel about things going that way - right now, I think I'd have to say, "Oh hell no."

It is crazy, true. But, you have to admit: actor-wise, it would work.

Man, I loved it. So much. I could probably write six paragraphs about everything I loved. I may pick one or two moments to rhapsodize about later but for now:

Fandom is probably warping my perceptions on this one, but am I the only one who loves Pepper? I think she's adorable and fierce and I was super happy to see her.