"JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK" (2016) Photo Gallery

 

Below are images from "JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK", the 2016 adaptation of "Never Go Back", Lee Childs' 2013 novel. Directed by Edward Zwick, the movie stars Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher:



"JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK" (2016) Photo Gallery

"AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.: This Is Love?"

"AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.: THIS IS LOVE?"

Ever since the middle of Season One of Marvel's "AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.", there has been a fandom dedicated to the relationship between two of the series' characters: former hackivist/turned S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Skye (no surname mentioned) and Agent Grant Ward. And despite the amount of attention dedicated to this potential romance on the Internet and in the media, I have found myself wondering if I should support it or not. 

The relationship between Skye and Ward began in (1.01) "Pilot", the series' very first episode. Despite being a member of a hacktivist group called Rising Tide, Skye ended up being recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson and his newly formed team (which included Ward) track down a man named Mike Peterson, who had recently acquired super powers. Coulson assigned the no-nonsense Ward to serve as Skye's S.O. (Supervising Officer) and train her.

During Season One's first half, Ward trained Skye; while she responded with quirky jokes and mild flirtation. Then in the final scene of (1.08) "The Well", Ward began an affair with another member of Coulson's team - the formidable Agent Melinda May. I suspect that May slept with Ward as some form of comfort following his traumatic experiences with an Asgardian Beserker Staff. Their relationship lasted until a "repentant" Ward received a grilling for fraternizing with another agent and promised to end the affair in (1.13) "T.R.A.C.K.S.". Two episodes later in (1.15) "Yes Men", Ward admitted his attraction to Skye in a conversation with the rogue Asgardian goddess, Lorelei. She had him under her thrall at the time. The friendship between Skye and Ward deepened in the following four episodes - between (1.16) "End of the Beginning" and (1.19) "The Only Light in the Darkness". During this period, the events of "CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER" played out and resulted in the downfall of S.H.I.E.L.D., the revelation of HYDRA's (a former Nazi science organization-turned-terrorist group) infiltration, and Skye's discovery that Ward had been a HYDRA mole on behalf of another S.H.I.E.L.D./HYDRA traitor, Agent John Garrett.

The relationship between Skye and Ward fell apart during Season One's remaining three episodes. Skye was forced to leave Director Nick Fury's secret Providence base and allow Ward to lead her into the arms of HYDRA and Garrett. The latter needed her to break the encryption code she had created to guard many S.H.I.E.L.D. files. After Coulson rescued her at the end of (1.20) "Nothing Personal" with the help of fellow agents Maria Hill and Antoine Triplett, Skye and Ward did not face each other again until the big confrontation between Coulson and Garrett in the season's finale, (1.22) "Beginning of the End". In that episode, Skye expressed her disgust and contempt for Ward and he ended up in Federal custody after enduring a beat down by May.

Since the airing of "Beginning of the End", fans have been divided over the future of Skye and Ward's relationship (dubbed "Skyeward" on the Internet). They have also been divided over the possibility of Ward's redemption in future episodes. How do I now feel about these issues? Honestly, I am a bit conflicted. At least about Ward's redemption. Do I believe that he is beyond redemption? Well . . . no. I do feel that it would take a great deal of sacrifice on Ward's part (possibly his death) to redeem himself for the murders of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents Victoria Hand, her assistants, and Eric Koenig; and the attempted murders of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons, Coulson and Skye.

What about "Skyeward"? How do I feel about the Skye/Ward relationship? Honestly? I do not sense any real love between them. Not really. The ironic thing is that I had earlier considered the possibility of a romance between them. After all, cast members Chloe Bennet and Brett Dalton managed to generate a pretty good screen chemistry. However, the revelation of Ward as a HYDRA mole led me to dismiss any considerations . . . for the present. But after my recent re-watching of several Season One episodes, I found myself wondering how I could have ever considered any possibility of a romance between them in the first place.


S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Skye

There are certain fans who believe that Ward could find redemption from his actions as a HYDRA mole through Skye's love. I have a problem with this theory. I have a problem, because I have doubts that Skye actually loves him . . . or ever loved him. Her flirtation attempts at Ward in the early episodes seemed to hint that Skye found Ward attractive. She even used a photograph of him as her laptop computer's wallpaper . . . like an infatuated schoolgirl. This attraction was especially apparent in an early scene from "Yes Men", in which both seemed physically aware of each other, while the latter expressed relief at her recovery from being shot by HYDRA scientist/industrialist Ian Quinn in "T.R.A.C.K.S.". Before this romantic exchange could progress, Skye expressed her dismay over Mike Peterson, who had just become Deathlok. Because she viewed him as a close friend, this was the second time she had expressed disbelief and concern over Mike's transformation. The first time this happened, Skye had discovered his transformation for the first time before Quinn shot her. And she expressed her dismay for the third when she was a prisoner of HYDRA in "Nothing Personal". For some reason, Skye found it difficult to give up on Mike.

At the same time . . . I do not recall Skye ever expressing similar feelings for Ward, when she discovered he was a HYDRA mole. Not once. When she finally confronted him about his betrayal to S.H.I.E.L.D., she merely expressed anger and disgust. In fact, she labeled him as someone "evil". In the season finale, her feelings toward him had transformed into contempt and she judged him as "weak", instead of "evil". The only member of Coulson's team who seemed unable to face Ward's betrayal or give up on him was Leo Fitz. From the moment the rest of the team learned about Ward's betrayal, Fitz expressed disbelief that Ward was a HYDRA agent and expressed numerous theories that Ward may have been coerced. Even moments before Ward tried to kill him and Jemma Simmons by ejecting them into the ocean, Fitz continued to blind himself from Ward's perfidy.

As I had stated earlier, Skye never tried to deny Ward's betrayal. One might point out her willingness to cooperate with Garrett over the encrypted files, when Mike endangered Ward's life in "Nothing Personal". But Skye was willing, if reluctantly, willing to allow Ward to die if it meant preventing HYDRA from accessing those files. In the end, it took Mike's argument that she would have Ward's blood on her hands if she did not cooperate. If Joss and Jed Whedon, along with Maurissa Tancharoen, are willing to satisfy fans with some plot twist that allows Skye's love to redeem Ward; they will have to dramatically change her character for that to happen.


S.H.I.E.L.D./HYDRA Agent Grant Ward

Judging from the Season One episodes I have seen, I would say that Grant Ward harbors stronger feelings for Skye than she does for him. And yet . . . I cannot sense any deep and abiding love on Ward's part for Skye. I can recall him expressing concern for her life, when she infiltrated Quinn's mansion in (1.03) "The Asset". He did seemed concerned for Skye's life after she had been shot by Quinn. Yet, other members of the team seemed more openly upset. Like Ward, Fitz expressed remorse that he did not accompany Skye to Quinn's Italian villa, where she got shot. But he seemed a lot more emotional than Ward. Simmons literally burst into tears. May lost her temper and nearly beat the living crap out of Quinn, who became their prisoner. And Coulson became uber-determined, actually desperate to find a means to save Skye's life - even to the point of breaking S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol and searching for the project that had resurrected him. Of all the team members, Ward seemed the least emotional over Skye's fate. Perhaps the latter was trying not to shed "unmanly" tears. Who knows? He did express his displeasure to his mentor John Garrett, who had ordered Skye's death. But his easy willingness to accept Garrett's dismissal of the incident struck me as a bit . . . interesting.

Ward's most emotional reaction to any character on the show was directed at Garrett. This happened when the latter's organs began to fail, due to internal cybernetic parts. Ward expressed deep concern when Garrett's health began to fail in(1.21) "Ragtag". And when a captured Fitz used an old World War II EMP device that further endangered Garrett's life, Ward nearly flipped out. Despite the fact that Garrett had ordered Quinn to kill Skye and Mike Peterson to endanger his life, Ward remained concerned over and loyal to the older man. Some might say that Ward's continuing loyalty to Garrett was a sign of emotional abuse he had received. But those flashbacks in "Ragtag" seemed more like examples of emotional manipulation from Garrett, not abuse.

And there is something else that bothers me. I found it odd that Ward's attraction to Skye finally became apparent to audiences in "Yes Men". Especially when May had brusquely brushed aside his concern and offers of help after she had been tortured in "T.R.A.C.K.S.". Minutes later, Ward spotted Coulson tenderly attending to May's wounds inside the Bus' (S.H.I.E.L.D. plane) medical bay. I found it odd that Ward would begin expressing any romantic feelings for Skye two episodes after what he had witnessed between Coulson and May. Was he fooling himself about Skye? Had he been fooling her and the rest of the team about his true feelings? Was he relieved that he no longer had to fake romantic feelings for May? Or had he viewed Skye as an easier target for his reluctant lover act? Who knows?

Those fans who have rejected the idea of a future romance between Skye and Ward tend to cite the latter's sexism, which reared its ugly head in both "Nothing Personal" and "Beginning of the End". But I had spotted other reasons that make me doubt these two might be destined for any future love. One, Skye had no problems accepting Ward's betrayal of the team and S.H.I.E.L.D., unlike Leo Fitz. On the other hand, she had trouble accepting Mike Peterson's cooperation with Garrett and HYDRA. As for Ward, he was willing to deliver Skye into Garrett's hands in episodes like "The Only Light in the Darkness", "Nothing Personal" and even "Beginning of the End". If he truly loved her, why would he be willing to endanger her in this manner? Is this supposed to Marvel's idea of love? Frankly, I rather doubt it.

I could see that both Skye and Ward found each other sexually attractive. But love? Sorry, but I am not buying it. Not at the moment. The Whedon brothers and Tancharoen will have to make numerous changes in Skye and Ward's personalities in order for me to believe they will eventually become one of the great romances for "AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.".

"HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER: Ending on Controversy"

"HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER: ENDING ON CONTROVERSY"

The CBS television series, "HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER" (2005-2014), ended its nine season run on March 31, 2014. Television audiences usually greet television finales either with great satisfaction or with equal contempt. Instead of one or the other, the television series created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas proved to be not only divisive, but also controversial. And romance for the series' main character, Ted Mosby, ended up being the center of that controversy. 

As fans of "HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER" know, the series is more or less one major flashback in which one Ted Mosby decides to tell his two children about how he had met their mother, one Tracy McConnell. Or was it? For nine seasons, fans expected the series to end with Ted meeting the future mother of his children. The final episode, (9.23-9.24) "Last Forever", featured Ted's first meeting with Tracy. However, Bays and Thomas allowed television viewers to meet Tracy before Ted, when she made her first appearance in the Season Eight finale, (8.24) "Something New". That particular episode featured Tracy purchasing a Long Island Railway ticket that would take her to Farhampton, the site of Barney Stinson and Robin Scherbatsky's wedding, where she would perform a bass guitar at the wedding reception. In "Last Forever, Part I", Ted had left Barney and Robin's wedding reception and ended up at the rail station. He planned to return to New York City and prepare for his journey to Chicago and a new job. At the Farhampton station, he finally meets Tracy, thanks to the intervention of an elderly woman.

One is led to wonder . . . what exactly was the controversy about? Why did the finale resulted in a divisive fandom for "HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER"? Well . . . Ted's story continued following his first meeting with Tracy. Two years after their wedding, Barney admitted to Ted that his marriage to Robin was suffering, due to her profession forcing them to become constant travelers. Within a year, they announced their divorce to their friends. Barney resumed his womanizing, until he became a father, following a one-night stand with a date. Robin found it difficult to face Ted and Tracy's happiness and drifted away from the group. Ted and Tracy spend five years engaged and have two children, before they finally get married in 2019. In 2024, Tracy dies. Ted spends six years grieving her, until Penny and Luke (his children) realize the story was really about Robin, whom Ted contemplates dating again. The Mosby children give Ted their blessing and the series ends with Ted standing outside Robin's apartment window, holding the blue French horn he had originally stolen for her, when they first met.

This finale caused a major storm within the "HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER" fandom. Many fans cried foul that the series was really about Ted's tumultuous relationship with Robin, instead of how he first met Tracy. Others sighed with a collective relief over Robin and Barney's breakup and later, Ted's reconciliation with Robin. How did I feel? If I must be honest, I was one of those who sighed at the ending presented by Bays and Thomas. Why? One, I have always found Ted and Robin's relationship rather fascinating. This was probably due to my feeling that Josh Radnor and Cobie Smulders had a great screen chemistry. And two, I have never been a fan of the Robin/Barney relationship. When I first heard that Robin and Barney were being considered as a couple, I cheered at the thought. I liked the idea of the two friends becoming lovers. Smulders also had great chemistry with Neil Patrick Harris in scenes that featured Robin and Barney's friendship. But once the romance began . . . the chemistry fizzled and an odd hollow feeling would swell within my gut.

Unlike many other fans of the series, I never viewed "Last Forever" as terrible. Actually, I thought it was pretty decent. Believe or not, this feeling did not stem from my feelings toward the resolution of Ted and Robin's relationship. Mind you, it was a more than pleasant surprise, but there was more to the relationship that I liked. One, I was glad that Barney realized that he was not the marrying kind. Most people, even the Ted/Robin shippers, saw this as a regression of Barney's character. I did not. I do not believe that marriage matures a person . . . especially since many people get married for the wrong reasons. Both actors George Clooney and Charlie Sheen had marriages that ended in disaster. Like Barney, Clooney never married again after his failed marriage. Well . . . so far. Sheen has gone through three marriages and still managed to prove that he was not the marrying kind. Lana Turner experienced eight marriages before she finally admitted to herself that she was not the marrying kind. When a person finally confronts a reality about him or herself, he or she achieves some kind of maturity. And as far as I am concerned, Barney did exactly that. His maturity increased, when he became a devoted father (following a one-night stand).

And two, I thought "Last Forever" did an excellent job in portraying the friends' shifting dynamics, following Robin and Barney's wedding. The episode began with Ted contemplating leaving New York City for a job in Chicago, following the wedding. But after meeting Tracy, he changed his mind. However, Robin and Barney's travels made it difficult for the group to stay together. This difficulty grew after their divorce, and Robin decided to distance herself from the group in order to avoid witnessing Ted's growing relationship with Tracy. In one emotional scene that I found particularly satisfying, Lily confronted Robin over the latter's absence. This scene reminded me that despite any romantic dynamics, the friendship between the five characters was a very important element of the series.

In the end, Tracy's fate did not take me by surprise. Many fans, including myself, have been predicting her demise ever since the Season Eight episode, (5.20) "The Time Travelers", featured a scene in which Future Ted talked about meeting Tracy 45 days before the wedding at Farhampton. As I had earlier pointed out, Tracy was finally shown in "Something New". More importantly, she appeared not only in flashforward segments throughout Season Nine, but also in a few present scenes in which she met the other major characters - aside from Ted. This final season also featured a very charming episode called (9.16) "How Your Mother Met Me", which featured the events in Tracy's life during those same eight years before she met Ted. 

I can understand why so many fans were upset that the series ended with Tracy's death. They had spent eight years anticipating the moment when she and Ted would finally meet. But they did get to know her during Season Nine. Also, Tracy came off as a somewhat ideal character, despite Cristin Milioti's charming portrayal. And she ended in an ideal relationship/marriage with Ted. Quite frankly, she and Ted seemed just a little too perfect for each other. Bays and Thomas allowed audiences to get to know Tracy before the finale. If they had introduced her . . . and killed her off in the same episode, I would have accused the showrunners of poor writing. More importantly, the script made it clear that Ted spent six years mourning Tracy, before he resumed his romance with Robin. Many fans seemed to have this idea that Ted sought out Robin not long after Tracy's death. Go figure.

As much as I liked "Last Forever", I believe it did have problems. Well . . . I believe it had one major problem. And that problem originated back in Season Five - namely the Barney Stinson and Robin Scherbatsky relationship. I thought it was badly written. Not only did I considered it badly written in this episode, but I feel it has been mishandled as far back as Season Five. If Bays and Thomas had intended for Robin and Barney to get married and divorced, they could have achieved this before Season Nine. Instead, audiences were subjected to nearly two years of Barney struggling to hide his attraction to Robin, ever since their one-night stand in Season Three's (3.16)"Sandcastles in the Sand". They finally began dating in Season Five premiere, (5.01) "Definitions"and broke up by the seventh episode, (5.07) "The Rough Patch". 

Two seasons later, they cheated on their respective dates in the Season Seven episode, (7.09) "Disaster Averted". By the end of Season Eight, they were engaged. To make matters worse, the entire ninth season was set during the weekend for Barney and Robin's wedding. They finally got married in one of the final scenes of (9.22) "The End of the Aisle". In a 2016 flashback for the next episode, "Last Forever, Part 1", they had announced their divorce to their friends. I suspect that Robin and Barney's second breakup in the series, along with Barney's return to his bachelor activities, really upset a lot of fans . . . even more so than Ted and Robin's second turn at romance. If only Bays and Thomas had tightened the writing for Robin and Barney's relationship, I would not have found their divorce so abrupt. And perhaps they could have achieved this by allowing Ted and Tracy's first meeting to happen on a day other than the one for Barney and Robin's wedding.

I found it rather odd that a series called "HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER" would turn out to be a lot more. As viewers eventually learned in the finale, a lot of it was about Ted's relationship with Robin . . . from the moment when they first met, to the moment some twenty-five years later, when they decided to renew their romance. The series was also about Ted's relationship with his other four friends - Marshall Erickson, Lily Aldrin and Barney Stinson - and about their own personal lives. Ironically, Robin and Barney proved to be instrumental in Ted meeting Tracy. Due to their wedding, and Ted's attempt to avoid his own feelings about their nuptials, he ended up leaving the wedding reception earlier than usual . . . and meeting Tracy.

It is ironic that many fans and critics ended up being disappointed with the finale for "HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER". Granted, I believe it may have been tainted by some flaws that originated several years ago. But considering how it ended, it proved to be a lot more satisfying to me than the past two to three seasons that preceded it. Goody-bye "HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER". I will miss you.

"THE AVENGERS" (2012) Review

"THE AVENGERS" (2012) Review

Back in 2007, Marvel Studios set out to do something that DC Comics managed to achieve some forty years ago through a Saturday morning animated series. The studio created a series of movies based upon some of its company's popular comic book characters. This series culminated into the recent hit movie, "THE AVENGERS". 

The group of comic book heroes that became a team in "THE AVENGERS", turned out to be the following - Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk, the Black Widow and Hawkeye. The first four starred in their own movies and the last two, the Black Widow and Hawkeye, appeared as supporting characters in 2010's "IRON MAN 2" and 2011's "THOR"respectively. And each movie, starting with 2008's "IRON MAN", hinted at the formation of Marvel Comics' team of superheroes.

Written by Zak Penn and Joss Whedon and directed by the latter, "THE AVENGERS" begins with Loki, the villain from"THOR" and the latter's adopted brother, making a deal with the leader of the Chitauri aliens called the Other to lead an army on Earth, in order to subjigate the human race. In order to do this, Loki needs to retrieve the Tesseract, a powerful energy source originally found on Earth in "CAPTAIN AMERICA". The Tesseract opens a doorway that allows Loki to arrive a top secret S.H.I.E.L.D., use his scepter to enslave a few agents, Dr. Eric Selvig and Clint Barton aka Hawkeye and take the Tesseract. 

In response to Loki's attack, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury reactivates the Avengers Initiative. He, along with agents Phil Coulson and Natasha Romanoff aka the Black Widow; recruits Steve Rogers aka Captain America, Tony Stark aka Iron Man and Dr. Bruce Banner aka the Hulk to form a team and stop Loki's plans and recover the Tesseract. Both Captain America and Iron Man manage to capture Loki in Germany. But during a flight back to the States, Thorarrives and frees Loki, hoping to convince him to abandon his plan and return to Asgard. Instead, a confrontation ensues between the three heroes before Thor agrees to accompany them all back to the Helicarrier, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s flying aircraft carrier. Despite Loki being a captive, the Avengers still need to find the missing Tesseract. Even worse, Loki does not remain a captive very long.

Over a month has passed since "THE AVENGERS" hit the movie screens. And during that time, it managed to become the third highest-grossing film of all time. Most fans and critics of comic hero movies tend to view any film with more than one villain as a box office or critical disaster. And yet . . . many of these same critics and fans seemed to have no problem with a movie featuring six comic book heroes. I find that rather . . . odd and contradictory, but there is no explaining humanity's chaotic nature. I have never had a problem with a comic book movie featuring more than one villain or hero, as long as that movie was well written. And I cannot deny that Whedon and Zak Penn wrote a first-rate movie.

First of all, Marvel Studios made the wise decision to map out the movie's plot with four to five other movies. This enabled them to set up most of the characters before shooting "THE AVENGERS". Natasha Romanoff had received a small introduction in "IRON MAN 2". And Clint Barton was allowed nothing more than a cameo appearance in "THOR". This meant that these two were the only ones left to be properly introduced in this film, along with their previous relationship as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Even the Tesseract, the energy source that Loki will use to allow Chitauri warriors to invade Manhattan in the movie's last act, had originally been introduced in "CAPTAIN AMERICA" and hinted briefly in"IRON MAN 2" and in the Easter Egg scene for "THOR". I wish I knew who had the idea to set up the story and characters for "THE AVENGERS" in previous movies. I would congratulate him or her for convincing Marvel to pursue this course of storytelling. For it paid off very well.

Second, I was impressed at how the main cast members - especially those portraying members of the Avengers - managed to click so well and create a viable screen team. Whedon and Penn's script did not make it easy for them. Only the Black Widow and Hawkeye initially felt comfortably working together and even their relationship was disrupted by Loki's temporary enslavement of Hawkeye's mind. I could point out one or two particular performances by the cast. But if I must be honest, practically all of them stepped up to bat and performed beautifully. Okay, I must admit there were a few dramatic scenes that really impressed me. 

I enjoyed the quarrel between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, thanks to Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, who did a great job in developing the characters from initial hostility and wariness to trust and teamwork. I also enjoyed Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, who continued their outstanding work and screen chemistry as the two Asgardian siblings, in a scene in which Thor tries to convince Loki that he and their family still loved the latter, despite his actions in"THOR". Scarlett Johansson managed to appear in three scenes that impressed me. One featured a contest of will and intellect between her Black Widow and Hiddleston's Loki. Another featured both her and Mark Ruffalo, as she manages to convince Bruce Banner to help S.H.I.E.L.D. to track down the Tesseract. But my favorite scene featured a heart-to-heart conversation between Natasha and her old partner, Clint Barton, as they discussed her past and his mind enslavement by Loki. Samuel L. Jackson did an excellent job as the intimidating, yet manipulative director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury. He also seemed surprisingly spry for a man in his 60s, as his character dodged several near death experiences. Clark Gregg was entertaining as ever as one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agents, Phil Coulson. It was nice to see Stellan Skarsgård repeat his role as Dr. Eric Selvig. Although his role was not particularly big, Selvig had a major impact on the plot. And Skarsgård managed to give his usual, top-notch performance. Cobie Smulders managed to hold herself well as one of Fury's assistants, Maria Hill. It is a pity that Whedon was unable to showcase Alexis Denisof a little more as leader of the Chitauri aliens. I suspect that being cloaked and hidden in the small number of scenes probably did not help much, in the end.

I have heard that Mark Ruffalo's portrayal of Bruce Banner/the Hulk has received rave reviews from the critics and the fans. Many critics have also suggested his portrayal of the character was superior to both Eric Bana's performance in 2003 and Edward Norton's 2008 portrayal. I say bullshit to that. I suspect that the critics are spouting this crap, because Ruffalo got to portray the Hulk in a movie that is a box office and critical hit. Ruffalo did a great job in portraying Bruce at this later stage of his existence as the Hulk. However, I also feel there was nothing exceptional about his performance that made his Hulk superior to Bana and Norton's. This whole notion of Ruffalo giving a better performance than the other two actors strikes me as nothing but a lot of fanboy horseshit.

One cannot talk about "THE AVENGERS" without discussing the film's visual effects. What can I say? They were outstanding. Well . . . somewhat outstanding. Seamus McGarvey's photography struck me as very effective in giving the movie an epic feel. And his work was vastly assisted by the visual effects team led by Jake Morrison. For a movie set either in New York City, or over the Atlantic Ocean, aboard a flying aircraft carrier, I was very surprised to learn that a great deal of the movie was shot in both Albuquerque, New Mexico and Cleveland, Ohio. Surprisingly, the film crew only spent two days shooting in Manhattan. 

I do have a few complaints about "THE AVENGERS". One, although I was impressed by Whedon's direction and McGarvey's photography, I cannot say the same about the work they did for the Black Widow/Hawkeye fight scene aboard the Helicarrier. To be honest, I found it slightly murky and confusing. Jeffrey Ford and Lisa Lassek's editing did not help. Their work revived bad memories of Paul Greengrass' quick-cut editing at its worst. Honestly? Jon Favreau did a better job of shooting her fight scenes in "IRON MAN 2". I also realized that Whedon had been talking out of his ass, when he claimed that a good deal of the movie would be shown from Steve Rogers' point-of-view. Even worse, the film never really hinted any troubles Steve may have experienced dealing with the early 21st century. And could someone explain why the Hulk turned out to be more powerful than a pair of Norse gods - namely Thor and Loki? How in the hell did that come about? This certainly was not the case nearly 50 years ago, when Thor beat the pants of both the Hulk and the Sub-Mariner in the Marvel issue, Avengers #3 (Jan. 1964). Could someone please explain this phenomenon?

"THE AVENGERS" may not be perfect. But it is obviously one of the best comic book movies I have seen, hands down. And so far, it has turned out to be one of the best movies of 2012. It deserves all of the accolades it has earned. And for the first time in his career, Joss Whedon seemed to have directed a movie that matched his work with his "BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER" and "ANGEL" television series.

"THE AVENGERS" (2012) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "THE AVENGERS", the new movie featuring Marvel Comics superheroes.  The movie was directed by Joss Whedon:

"THE AVENGERS" (2012) Photo Gallery