More thoughts on Avengers...

[fajrdrako]

Another thought about The Avengers movie:

I mentioned some of the things that makes The Avengers an exceptional movie: the acting, the production values, the good dialogue and characterization.

That isn't the reason, excactly, that it's an exceptional comic book movie.

We've had years of people making movies based on comics who don't seem to understand what comics are all about, or who focus on the wrong things: the violence, the monsters, the costumes, the hokey plots, the mythic themes... They seem to either not understand the comics in the first place (quite probable), or they don't know how to translate that knowledge into a movie.

Joss Whedon gets it right: he understands that he doesn't need to be embarrassed that his heroes wear spandex. He understands that the hero's angst doesn't get in the way of his heroism. He understands that sometimes direct action is more effective than dialogue; and sometimes a witty quip is the best response.

Good writing is good writing wherever you find it, but an understanding of the semiotics with visual myth on the screen is as rare and wonderful as it gets.

Comments

[jedi_harkness]

You hit the nail on the head there. That was such wonderfully sharp and snarky dialogue, too many great quotes to count...

I saw a comment over on your LJ about Hulk's "puny god" line, and I'm sad to say that I missed it! *grr* The midnight showing had a pretty rowdy crowd! I'm planning to see it again this weekend.