The Avengers Movie Review

[This movie review is spoiler free]

5 Reasons Why The Avengers Kicks Ass

1. Hawkeye & Black Widow 

Joss Whedon dedicates lots of screen time to showcasing the characters Hawkeye (played by Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johansson), both of whom we've seen briefly in previous Marvel franchise movies. In Thor we were teased with a sneak peak at Hawkeye and in Iron Man 2 we were privileged enough to get a taste for how truly awesome Black Widow is.

 

In The Avengers, both Hawkeye and Black Widow are given as much airtime as their big 'super hero' brawler friends (Iron Man, Thor, Captain America & Hulk), which is a good thing because they are the easiest characters to identify with. Hawkeye and Black Widow have no superhuman powers, instead they rely on their unique combat skills to get the job done. Hawkeye and Black Widow keep the movie grounded and show the audience that you don't need super powers to make a difference; anyone can step up to the plate and take a swing!

 

As Hawkeye, Jeremy Renner commands the screen with his likeable swagger and cocky attitude. It's no wonder he's already taken over the Bourne (The Bourne Legacy) and Mission Impossible (Ghost Protocol) franchises. In The Avengers, Joss allows Hawkeye to show off his skills with a bow, leaving the audience breathless when he performs trick shots that defy the laws of gravity.

As Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson steals the spotlight with her deadly curves and impressive moves. The months of martial arts training Scarlett had to undergo has paid off, ten fold. I could of literally sat there and watched Black Widow kick the living crap out of bad guys for 2.5 hours and I still would have left the cinema giving this movie a big thumbs up.

2. Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk

Eric Bana and Edward Norton can take a seat. Of all the Hulks I've seen on the big screen, Mark Ruffalo is by far the most suited actor to play the jolly green giant.  Mark portrays Bruce Banner as a reserved, down-to-earth and humble genius (essentially the polar opposite of Robert Downey's Tony Stark).

 3. The Avengers is Hilarious

When you sit down to watch The Avengers over the next few weeks, be prepared to laugh. The Avengers is by far the most hilarious super hero movie ever made. Joss Whedon's unique brand of comedy and well-timed humour (see Firefly) is sprinkled throughout the movie in a way that keeps the audience in a good mood, from start to finish, unlike 'The Dark Knight'. There are action scenes in The Avengers so intense they leave you on the edge of your seat, breathless, and just when you least expect it one of the main characters will say something that sends the entire cinema into an uproar.

The Hulk, who, it can be argued, is historically the least funny super hero of all time, delivers the movie's two biggest laughs. Only Joss Whedon could take a character like that and utilise him in such a way that leaves the audience walking out of the cinema going "Remember when The Hulk did that...", instead of re-living the big action set pieces.

4. The Relationships

The Avengers is a huge ensemble movie with lots of interesting characters who, prior to this, have never interacted with each other on screen before. Joss somehow manages to carefully budget and juggle each minute of screen time to highlight the relationships formed by each of the characters. For example, Tony Stark has never met anyone who challenges him intellectually, until he runs into Bruce Banner. While Thor has never met anyone who can physically match him, until he goes up against Iron Man and The Hulk. Joss spends the first hour of the movie letting these relationships play out and it's an absolute treat to watch.

5. No Girl Drama

Thankfully, the only "girlfriend" character that features in The Avengers is Pepper Potts (played by Gwyneth Paltrow), and she only gets a few minutes screen time. They touch on where Jane Foster (played by Natalie Portman) is hiding, but that's about it. Joss checks the girl drama in at the door and rightly saves it for the standalone movies.

Overall

The Avengers is the best Marvel-brand super hero movie of all time, and I'm not just saying that as a Joss Whedon groupie. It's not better than The Dark Knight (DC Comics), but it doesn't try to be either. The Dark Knight is technically a better movie, but The Avengers is loads more fun, packs the laughs and leaves you smiling as you walk out the door. Comparing them alongside each other in the super hero genre is pointless. Go and check it out!

Siri, Meet David 8

Have you been talking to Siri much lately? Sam has.

Siri is one of Apple's marketing hooks. Technically speaking, Siri is an "intelligent personal assistant" and "knowledge navigator" that functions as an app on the Apple iOS. Watching Mace Windu talk to his phone while he cooks Gazpacho would have looked crazy about 10 years ago, but now it just seems normal. It's amazing how far we've come in such a short time (my previous blog on Hologram Tupac is proof of that).

Siri is an application that could be loaded onto (or into) anything. Which means Apple could put Siri inside an android robot and "it" would function exactly the same. If Siri was an android, would we react to it differently? Yes. Would Apple be able to market it as effectively? No.

Creepy much?

It's the outside shell that society still has a problem with. As far as we've come, we still aren't ready to accept Androids as the norm. However, when it comes to what's inside the Android, the important stuff (AI), we're all quite happy to jump on board the Siri bandwagon and fill Apple's pockets with bucket loads of cash.

 

In South Korea, they've got Androids (Ever-3) advanced enough to sing, dance and act. Androids that could probably rock up on stage during The Voice and blow the judges away. Imagine the look on Seal's face when he spins the chair around to find an Android staring right back at him. Somehow I don't think "it" would make it to the next round.

If this is where we are now, where will be in another 10 years? Ridley Scott has been trying to shed some light on this for years and his upcoming movie "Prometheus" aims to provide us with a glimpse into the future. One of the major characters in Prometheus is David, who is an Android.

In what can only be described as a fantastic piece of viral digital marketing, Ridley Scott recently released a video that introduces the character of David in the form of an advertisement. Without further ado, I would like you to meet David 8:

 

Sign me up for a David 8! What are your thoughts on Androids? Post your thoughts in the comments section.

Now, out of 50 points, how did all of you score in my blog?

• 10 Points - You have had a chat with Siri before
• 10 Points - You know who Mace Windu is
• 10 Points - You identified the robot pictured as being from the movie I,Robot
• 10 Points - You know the name of the actor who plays David 8
• 10 Points - You actually are an Android

- Digital Goose

Hologram Tupac Fools My Girlfriend

If you haven't been living under a rock the last 48 hours, chances are you've already seen the mind-blowingly awesome surprise 3D holographic performance at Coachella 2012, featuring none other than the legend himself, Tupac Shakur (aka Makaveli).

 

The eery performance is enough to send chills down your spine, especially for rap fans like myself who still keep Pac's timeless tunes in heavy rotation. I can't imagine what is was like to be there and watch a holographic Tupac light up the stage and ignite fans, like he did all those years ago.

And here's what happened today....

To be transported back to rap's heyday, I load up the video on YouTube and switch it to full-screen. My girlfriend, a fellow Tupac groupie, sits next to me. Snoop Dogg struts on stage to perform '2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted' with a very energetic, if somewhat luminescent, Makaveli. My girlfriend remarks that "even back then, Snoop looked really old. I wonder how old is Snoop now?".

My girlfriend actually thought she was watching a classic performance of a 'very much alive' Tupac and who she believed was an 'ageless' Snoop Doggy Dog.

While I acknowledge that 3D holograms have been around for years, and I'm aware of the Holographic Elvis & Celine Dion duet on American Idol back in 2007, this "live" performance at Coachella is a game changer. It should be seen as a testament to how far we've come as a technologically advanced society. We now have the power to bring people back from the dead! And to think, this digital marvel took only 4 months and between $100k-400k to produce (kudos to the brilliant team at Digital Domain). How was it created? Read more over at the Wall Street Journal.

What does this say for the future of the music industry, and touring in general? There has already been talk of Hologram Tupac going on tour with Dre & Snoop later in the year. A holographic artist wouldn't need management and wouldn't have a crazy list of back-stage demands, for a start...

I can't help but let my mind wander. I've already started to dream up concerts featuring artists who were taken from us way before their time was up. Kurt Cobain tearing up the stage again, with Dave Grohl in tow, in a Nirvana reunion is what instantly springs to mind. That's a concert I would pay good money to "experience". And what about a Beatles reunion? The list goes on.

Of course, with all new advancements in technology, come the 'digital haters'. Should we, as a society, really be doing this? Isn't this wrong? Aren't we taking things a little too far? What's next, a Hologram Steve Jobs running the next Apple press conference? All of these questions will be raised and discussed at great length for weeks to come - and really, when it comes down to it, there is no right answer.

Personally, I'm all for this. Bring it on! What generation wouldn't want the next generation to experience famous artists of their time. This type of technology helps immortalise legends, and in my book, there's nothing wrong with that at all. They used to do it with statues and sculptures back in the day... we've just taken it a million or so steps further.

With that said, what are your thoughts? If you have an opinion on whether this is the right way forward or not, please post your thoughts in the comments section. 

Now, out of 50 points, how did all of you score in my blog?

• 10 Points - You had already watched the video, before reading this blog
• 10 Points - You actually know who Tupac is, and are aware of his greatness
• 10 Points - You know how old Snoop is (40)
• 10 Points - You started to dream up concerts too (which ones?)
• 10 Points - You hope to one day be remembered in hologram format

- Digital Goose