Movie Rant: Lessons learned from watching the Avengers.

I never thought I'd go and watch the Avengers the second time in a row. I mean, the movie was alright. In my opinion all the hype has sort of diminished the WOW effect it could have had should it been more low-key. But unlike The Hunger Games, I never had the weekly urge to go and see it every chance I get. Watch it once, get it out of my system, and there done.

However, when a colleague of mine had an extra ticket from her friend, she invited me to come along to watch last Friday night. I decided to say yes cos, come on, it's a freebie to one of the year's biggest blockbusters! Since I didn't write anything about my first impression of the movie, I decided that this time around I'm going to list down the stuff that I learned about our favourite avenging superheroes.

1) Keep it short and simple for the green guy, please.

HULK SMASH!!!!

     I like all the members of the Avengers, but Hulk always has a soft spot inside my heart, purely because he's the most amusing character in the movie. Indeed, Mark Ruffalo is probably the best actor to have ever portrayed Marvel's version of Jekyll and Hyde, playing up Bruce Banner's mild mannered persona as the key to his struggle to keep the green monster in check. But once he transforms, even his fellow Avengers and wary of him (except maybe a certain Tony Stark). Despite being the main character who mainly grunts and roars when he's green, Hulk was amusing in his own way. He is the one they're all waiting for to save the day, and when he does, he comes in riding a putty little scooter. That's the image Hulk carries with him throughout the movie. Sure, he's gonna smash his way around and will probably destroy half of New York City while he's at it, but that doesn't mean we won't cheer for him all the way.

Note to any future villains looking to destroy/conquer Earth: make your acceptance speech as brief as possible. Otherwise you're going to get flailed like a piece of laundry by our favourite temperamental hero. Long prolonged essays makes him angry, and apparently nobody likes it when he's angry.

Oh, and Loki? Here's what Hulk thinks about your plan to take over earth: "Puny Gods."

Hah.

2) Captain America is a class monitor in previous life.

     It's really funny in an ironic way when Steve Rogers and Tony Stark have a go at each other, and Stark would call Rogers "old man", given the fact that Robert Downey Jr. is obviously far older than Chris Evans. But looking at their characteristics, it's not really that surprising. While Tony Stark is, in effect, the star of the movie, nobody can contest Captain America as the leader of the pack.

Why won't you guys listen to me????

Being designed as the perfect soldier, he is always the one to tell the others to quit messing around, to keep them in line and stick to the given mission, whatever misgivings he has with the entire S.H.I.E.L.D.S operations. He broke the fight between Ironman and Thor while the two were having at it after Loki was captured, and told Stark to stop poking Bruce Banner just to test the length of the latter's endurance. Oh sure, some might see Rogers as the wet blanket, but in truth he was just trying to keep order. In the crazy world of being part of a superhero team, there aren't many things that stays put and grounded. Things change in an abnormal speed and even the things they felt they're sure about can be a variable. In a way, Captain America sets out to keep everything together no matter how insane their mission turns out to be.

Keeping a firm head above crisis is one of the key things to being an effective leader, thus it's hardly surprising that despite their constant friction and differences, when the going gets really, really tough, the "don't play well with others" Ironman still turns to Captain America and said, "Captain, orders?"

3) If you're the good alien being, then you'll probably take the most hits (Sorry Thor)

From the moment Thor first appeared on the screen, he seemed to be the one who came out the worst. Out of three Avenger-vs.-Avenger fights in the whole movie, he is in two of them- one against Ironman and (partly) Captain America, and then the other against the Hulk (I know, ouch). His younger brother is bent on taking over the world, and when your brother is Loki (which is the Trickster God in some myth), obviously you're going to get hurt in some ways. In Thor's case, he was locked inside a highly durable capsule and plummeted down to earth, barely escaping a fatal fate, and then Loki went and stabbed him as he tried persistently to reason with him.

I have a hammer. And people still throw me around. $%^%^%#&^*&&&^878!!!

Worst part is (or was it the best?), even after working together to bring down a colossal alien monster, Hulk couldn't resist punching him off the screen.

Don't take it personally though, Thor. Maybe Hulk just doesn't like alien beings. At least you worked really well with Captain America.

4) Be careful when you make a girl cry.

More often than not, the female characters served as the sex appeal in the movies. They are there to spice up the romance elements, the center of our heroes' tender looks and gentle words. The Avengers' individual films have shown this, be it Pepper Potts, Jane Foster, Peggy Carter or Betty Ross. No matter how they all tried to emphasize that these women are strong-willed, intelligent and can hold their own, the fact remains that they are merely there to watch in dismay as our heroes charged into danger.

Hang on a sec. There's this guy who won't take a hint.

In the case of Natalia Romanov, however, the science of female leads in comic book adaptations is being challenged. Natalia Romanov is a spy, first and foremost, and a woman second. It is not to say she did not display any womanly characteristics, it is more the fact that she is acutely aware of certain things that a woman can do, and used them to get her way, and I don't mean this in a disgusting, sexed-up way. She played up a female's vulnerability to a point where the man feels like he's in control and has broken her, when in truth, she's just out there to get what she wanted.

Case in point? When she came in to speak to Loki, it seemed like she was trying to negotiate to save Hawkeye. Then Loki threatened to have Hawkeye kill her, before taking the latter's life himself. Everyone (including me) thought that the Black Widow was cracking at the intense picture Loki was painting, but in the end... she was just getting information for Loki's next plan.

Bravo, Black Widow. Who says girls can't play just as well as boys?

5) I don't care what anyone says, Hawkeye has the coolest skills/weapon.

So I don't get that much screen time huh?

Sure, we've got Ironman and his cool suit, Captain America and his cool shield, Thor and his cool hammer and Hulk and his cool, er, right hook. But regardless what people say about the character Hawkeye, I still think that Hawkeye, with his keen senses and bow and arrow, is the superhero I would like to be if I were to join the Avengers. I mean, who doesn't want to be able to shoot a bullseye arrow to the enemy's neck while looking the other way? Really?

6) Errr.... I didn't really notice Ironman. 


Will not elaborate further on this.
*Ducking laser-fires from Iron fans*

Say that again???

A shoutout to Loki, for being one of the most amusing supervillains I have ever seen. Indeed, some funny scenes wouldn't be funny without him in it.

Ahem, aren't you forgetting someone??

No, Mr Fury. Now, goodbye!