I would say you’re under-selling Denisof’s triumph of boning Alyson Hannigan at least 2 confirmed times.
Oh right, on-topic… Wonder who else Whedon will get to sneak into the next one?
Speaking of, anyone else spot Enver Gjokaj when you watched it? I had known he was gonna make an appearance, but completely forgot until I was at the theater, and I went “Hey, it’s Victor!”
Now, now…we don’t KNOW they’re both his…
Nah, he smirks just after doing it. I didn’t catch that the first time because of laughing, although I immediately thought the sucker punch a reference to the Helicarrier fight. But the smirk puts it beyond doubt, it’s a cool little touch.
Seconding those who say it’s quite refreshing that a movie of this type doesn’t underline things too much (e.g. the $10 bet and Stark’s noble sacrifice). That’s a Whedon thing I’m sure.
Incidentally, my friend who generally dislikes superhero films (didn’t even like Iron Man) but does love action films, quite enjoyed the Avengers.
Nope, missed him. I’ll have to look for him next time I see this, which hopefully won’t be too long. He was easily my favorite actor on Dollhouse.
This is probably going to sound a bit obscure but the moment I knew it was going to be a good movie came early on when Fury’s helicopter crashed and it didn’t explode.
Can someone explain this line to me?
“That’s the secret…I’m always angry.”
That child actor Chrissy from Growing Pains playing the waitress still looks…distinctive. Like she hasn’t grown into/past her kid face.
Previous versions of Banner in film and on TV have needed triggers to Hulk-out. You had to hurt them, threaten someone they loved, kick a puppy in front of them, or whatever to unleash the beast. They were fundamentally peaceful men with deeply buried anger and it took serious goads for the Hulk to appear. This Banner doesn’t require any of that. He says his line, turns to face the Chitauri flying whale dragon thing, and transforms in an instant. He’s constantly raging.
I’m not sure that it makes any sense beyond the writers thinking it sounded really great. I loved it when he said it and it wasn’t until after the movie that I realized it didn’t make much sense.
The rules for what causes Banner to change into the Hulk have varied widely over the years (Banner by day / Hulk by night; Banner invents a gamma ray machine that changes him back and forth; long periods where he stays the Hulk and doesn’t change at all; even a calm, smart Hulk that when angered turns into a mindless, raging, but impotent Banner). Similarly, the Hulk’s mental capacity and willingness to play nice with others varies greatly. The wide range includes completely mindless anger; “Hulk Smash!”; a cunning Hulk that speaks in complete sentences; Hulk with the mind of Banner; even a fusion of personalities between Hulk and Banner.
So there’s a lot of possibilities Whedon could be drawing from. Maybe in this case Banner has learned to control the change by embracing his anger instead of trying to repress it. Maybe the Hulk retains Banner’s basic goals when the change is voluntary. Maybe changing involuntarily into a monster that lashes out at everything and everyone only happens if an injury knocks Banner out or otherwise causes him to lose control.
It’s one of many places in the film where Whedon is willing to sacrifice plot or character for a good line or gag. And in most of those places, I think he probably made the right choice. “He’s adopted” is much too funny to quibble over whether Thor would really have made that comment / joke.
I agree with this. Previous Banners avoid Hulking out by avoiding provocation. This Banner implies that keeping the Hulk at bay is itself the constant, conscious effort. It’s a major shift in the fundamental nature with the Hulk arguably being his “natural” state (as oppposed to the reverse for the previous Banners).
I noticed immediately, and it made me wish Whedon had gotten Dichen Lachman in as well. She could have replaced Cobie Smulders, who is hot but a terrible actress.
Gjokaj and Lachman were the best thing about Dollhouse.
I thought Cobie Smulders was far better in the movie than I expected her to be. Came across as steely and capable. Lachman would have been cool, though. Her and Gjokaj are the obvious treasures from Dollhouse.
RE: the Hulk thing. I read the comment as Banner not really needing external stimuli to provoke him, if only because he’s always so fucking angry with himself.
I was hoping his character would be more like his impression of Topher. He is a super versatile actor and probably the most convincing “doll” in Dollhouse.
I’m not sure to what extent Banner himself realized this in the first half of the movie, I think that this was a revelation that Harry Dean Stanton gave him (there is an extended scene there that was cut, Whedon said in an interview it was originally 17 pages long).
I think that Banner, like everybody else, thought that he should avoid things that mad him angry. But talking to Stanton made him realize that Hulk isn’t “the other guy” as he says, it’s a part of him. He’s always angry, just like the Hulk is just another aspect of his personality. So, realizing this, he realizes that the Hulk doesn’t have to be uncontrollable rage, just like you don’t have to throw a tantrum every time you’re upset. Banner hadn’t been allowing himself to be feel anger, ever, because he thought that let the Hulk out. But because that completely divorced Banner from his emotions, there was nobody to control the Hulk. Once he realized that that anger is a part of him, and it’s ok to feel, Hulk no longer has to be uncontrollable.
I hope that makes sense. Apparently the directors cut will have that missing scene and will by a little clearer.
A friend I saw it with thinks, instead,that the line means that Banner is always angry, and just holds the Hulk in by sheer force of will. I don’t mind that interpretation (and I think it’s somewhat supported by Ruffalo’s performance), but I don’t know how it meshes with him learning to control the Hulk. What’s really interesting is that Stark apparently had figured Banner’s trick out, and knew that he’d be able to get it under control. I don’t know how that works, but he’s a genius after all.
Heh. I’d say you’ve probably missed the most enjoyable section of the Marvel universe in the last 7 years (and I say this as someone who had absolutely no interest in this part of the comics beforehand). The Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning cosmic stuff was rather great. It began with Annihilation and basically ended with the Thanos Imperative, covering the Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy series inbetween, alongside the Annilation: Conquest, War Of Kings and Realm of Kings events.
It sounds like a mess of crossovers etc but it was actually really good.
That’s almost the best bit in the movie for me - spine-tingling, and a fantastic bit of CGI (given how awesomely difficult it must have been to get sufficiently realistic).
It’s like when you’re angry and you’re suppressing your anger but then you think “ah fuck it”, you let go and rage. Normally, that point of letting go, of transformation, only leads to tears.
But within the context of the film, you are assured that the rage will be channelled in a “good” way, everyone wants you to rage, to deliciously let go. Shades of tumescence and ejaculation also.
In addition to everything everyone else has posted, Thanos is also basically the herald of Death. In the Marvel universe, the one supreme being is the Living Tribunal, which is usually considered to be the direct agent of the Christian God, omnipotence, omniscience and all that shit.
Below the Living Tribunal are the four primary embodiments of the universe, Eternity, Infinity, Death and Oblivion. Galactus can be considered a fifth embodiment of a different sort as he is the sole survivor of the universe that immediately preceded the present one.
Each of these great powers have a mortal agent acting on their behalf, with Galactus’ most famous herald being of course the Silver Surfer. As one of these agents, Thanos is a very big deal indeed.
Have you been watching Sex in the City?