Click on the picture for photos from the event.
The winning ways continued and on Saturday I got the chance to attend a WORLWIDE exclusive screening of the highly anticipated new Avengers movie, somewhat ridiculously titled 'Marvel's Avengers Assemble'!
It's as if the marketing guys had a last minute brainwave to use the film's title as an opportunity to market the company behind the film! Can you imagine DC calling the next Batman film 'DC's Dark Knight Rises'?? ..Actually, I wouldn't put anything past these Hollywood types.
Just how did I manage to bag tickets to this exclusive event, which preceded the actual UK première of the film and the nationwide release by two weeks?
I'd like to say it was my connections, but in actual fact, it was once again my luck that came to the rescue. Sometimes I feel like the X-Men character 'Longshot', with an uncanny mutant ability for good luck (just proving my fanboy credentials with that reference folks!). Seriously, I have got many stories; not just about winning prizes either (even though I've won a shed load of those too!). I entered the Showfilmfirst draw, and as expected, won tickets. That simple.
Luckily (again) the screening took place in Bush (Shepherd's), a mere 12 minute tube journey from where I live (stalkers amongst you, take note, because that's the most info you're gonna get!), even then, my friend and I were pretty far down the queue. The doors opened at 6:15pm for a 7pm start. So at 6pm we're busy checking out the talent at Westfield, strolling through the crowds wondering where a guy is supposed to meet chicks as beautiful as these.. even though they're all around us.
I would've been happy to continue strolling until about half 6, and then bop down to the cinema for around 6:45, but luckily my accomplice had the sense to want good seats, so we got there around 6:20...
Man, did I ever underestimate people's eagerness to see this film! The queue was huge! The organisers had asked people to dress up as their favourite Avengers character, with prizes on offer for the best dressed. I think about 3 people dressed up in total.. Good for them though, 'cos they all won prizes!
The queue was very good natured, and we broke English queueing protocol (standing in silence & looking miserable) by actually talking to one another& joking around!! The guy behind us had travelled all the way from Yorkshire to be at the screening, and to top it all off, he was missing his daughter's birthday too!! That's dedication folks; the fact that he didn't even bring her with him incase she might distract his viewing pleasure shows that he is a true fanboy and deserves those tickets!
There was quite a rigorous checking of I.D. to see if the names on our tickets matched. After that we had to check in our mobile phones and any other clandestine recording equipment we might be trying to smuggle in. They make us check in our phones, and there's a full blown camera crew walking about? Anyway, their tiny bags weren't big enough for my DVD burner, blank discs and labels, so they let me take them in.. Kidding. Obviously. But I guess they had to take precautions.
My friend and I walked into the auditorium.. and all the centre aisle seats wre gone!! Dammit! Fortunately there was still a few seats left up top, so breaking one's neck by being sat in the front rows was averted!
No trailers, just a small speech from one of the head honcho's thanking us for coming and telling us how lucky we were to be part of a select few around the world to see the film so early. You're welcome dude; I'm sure we'd all be happy to come back for future world exclusive screenings!
The lights dimmed. The audience drew their baited breath. The film began.
Now I won't spoil it for you; nor will I do an exhaustive review to rub your nose in the fact that I got to see the film before you. But I will tell you what I thought.
It's good ('phew!' I hear you all cry).
It's funny too!
Iron man totally owns the film. The film comes alive whenever he's on screen, and that's thanks once again to the Robert Downey Jnr. charm. The guy's charisma just leaps off the screen; the good thing is, none of the actors he shares the screen with try to compete with him either. They let him steal the show, and the film is all the better for it, because lets face it, some of the other characters aren't that great (Hawkeye anyone?).
My major apprehension towards this film was the fact that there were too many characters. The film still suffers from having no central character, or central character arc, but I think Joss Whedon (co-writer & director) does a good job of handling that many huge characters and giving each a sufficient amount to do. Lets face it, it's a balancing act, and in a crew of this many super powered beings, what the hell are Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) & the Back Widow (Scarlett Johansson) gonna be doing other than twiddling their thumbs? But they're both given pivotal roles.
The introduction of the characters and bringing them all together isn't drawn out either, and whilst this may please those fans that are eager to see them all 'assemble', I thought it was a weakness. A lot of great storytelling is to do with creating anticipation in the audience; playing with their expectations. Unfortunately, everything unfolds in a pretty standard manner; there's no wrong footing or misdirection. The way all the characters come together feels rushed, as if someone said 'Look, just bring them together, and then worry about what to do with them!'
Again, some people might prefer it that way, but I would have preferred each introduction to have more weight. I mean for crying out loud, these guys were in separate films, and now they're on screen together! It's a big deal! Treat it that way.. not like Han Solo running into Indian Jones whilst buying a pint of milk in the newsagent. Actually that's a bit harsh. The way they come together isn't that bad, it just could've been done better.
Now what would necessitate the coming together of Earth's Mightiest Heroes?
You need a pretty bad-ass villain right?
I have to say Tom Hiddleston's Loki is pretty cool. He does well with the role, as any English man would. But it's all too 'Transformers', with both sides chasing Marvel's version of the 'All-spark'. I found that to be pretty weak.
Another MAJOR weakness was Loki's minions (I don't want to spoil it for you, but you know he's gonna have bad guys to do his bidding right?). Again, I don't wanna give anything away here, but they look proper menacing.. but they go down like stack of cards. Note to all story-tellers: A hero is only as strong as his villain; in fact the villain should be much stronger, otherwise where is the heroism in defeating him?
The bad guys in this film were all too easy to defeat.
It's a non stop action packed film; and if you love a film with non stop action, you will love this film! I prefer character lead action films. To my mind, Chris Nolan's Batman films are the epitome of this. So for me, 'Marvel's Avengers Assemble' is too action packed! The action begins early and does not stop. I would have liked it if there were moments to allow the characters (and the audience) to breath, and develop.
The climax was like watching someone else play a video game, and the bad guys went down easier than the locust in Gears of War.
So where does this film rank?
I'd say it's not as good as the first Iron Man or Thor films, but a lot better than Iron Man 2, Captain America and The Incredible Hulk.
Mostly, it's just a fun popcorn film. It's a million times better than the likes of Transformers or Clash of the Titans, or most other big budget blockbuster. The characters are good, the story is decent (sorry, as a writer/filmmaker and former comic book guy, I have to believe I could have done some things better, if not the whole film), it's funnier than you'd expect and the graphics are good. Also, this is the best Hulk we've seen on screen thus far (though I must admit to preferring previous incarnations of Bruce/David Banner).
If anything, it does leave you wanting to see more from these characters, and that's always a good sign.
Go watch it an make up your own mind!
PS. remember to hang around after the initial credits!
UPDATE!
Check out the video of the event. I saw a camera and literally dived in front of it!! See if you can spot me!!
It's as if the marketing guys had a last minute brainwave to use the film's title as an opportunity to market the company behind the film! Can you imagine DC calling the next Batman film 'DC's Dark Knight Rises'?? ..Actually, I wouldn't put anything past these Hollywood types.
Just how did I manage to bag tickets to this exclusive event, which preceded the actual UK première of the film and the nationwide release by two weeks?
I'd like to say it was my connections, but in actual fact, it was once again my luck that came to the rescue. Sometimes I feel like the X-Men character 'Longshot', with an uncanny mutant ability for good luck (just proving my fanboy credentials with that reference folks!). Seriously, I have got many stories; not just about winning prizes either (even though I've won a shed load of those too!). I entered the Showfilmfirst draw, and as expected, won tickets. That simple.
Luckily (again) the screening took place in Bush (Shepherd's), a mere 12 minute tube journey from where I live (stalkers amongst you, take note, because that's the most info you're gonna get!), even then, my friend and I were pretty far down the queue. The doors opened at 6:15pm for a 7pm start. So at 6pm we're busy checking out the talent at Westfield, strolling through the crowds wondering where a guy is supposed to meet chicks as beautiful as these.. even though they're all around us.
I would've been happy to continue strolling until about half 6, and then bop down to the cinema for around 6:45, but luckily my accomplice had the sense to want good seats, so we got there around 6:20...
Man, did I ever underestimate people's eagerness to see this film! The queue was huge! The organisers had asked people to dress up as their favourite Avengers character, with prizes on offer for the best dressed. I think about 3 people dressed up in total.. Good for them though, 'cos they all won prizes!
The queue was very good natured, and we broke English queueing protocol (standing in silence & looking miserable) by actually talking to one another& joking around!! The guy behind us had travelled all the way from Yorkshire to be at the screening, and to top it all off, he was missing his daughter's birthday too!! That's dedication folks; the fact that he didn't even bring her with him incase she might distract his viewing pleasure shows that he is a true fanboy and deserves those tickets!
There was quite a rigorous checking of I.D. to see if the names on our tickets matched. After that we had to check in our mobile phones and any other clandestine recording equipment we might be trying to smuggle in. They make us check in our phones, and there's a full blown camera crew walking about? Anyway, their tiny bags weren't big enough for my DVD burner, blank discs and labels, so they let me take them in.. Kidding. Obviously. But I guess they had to take precautions.
My friend and I walked into the auditorium.. and all the centre aisle seats wre gone!! Dammit! Fortunately there was still a few seats left up top, so breaking one's neck by being sat in the front rows was averted!
No trailers, just a small speech from one of the head honcho's thanking us for coming and telling us how lucky we were to be part of a select few around the world to see the film so early. You're welcome dude; I'm sure we'd all be happy to come back for future world exclusive screenings!
The lights dimmed. The audience drew their baited breath. The film began.
Now I won't spoil it for you; nor will I do an exhaustive review to rub your nose in the fact that I got to see the film before you. But I will tell you what I thought.
It's good ('phew!' I hear you all cry).
It's funny too!
Iron man totally owns the film. The film comes alive whenever he's on screen, and that's thanks once again to the Robert Downey Jnr. charm. The guy's charisma just leaps off the screen; the good thing is, none of the actors he shares the screen with try to compete with him either. They let him steal the show, and the film is all the better for it, because lets face it, some of the other characters aren't that great (Hawkeye anyone?).
My major apprehension towards this film was the fact that there were too many characters. The film still suffers from having no central character, or central character arc, but I think Joss Whedon (co-writer & director) does a good job of handling that many huge characters and giving each a sufficient amount to do. Lets face it, it's a balancing act, and in a crew of this many super powered beings, what the hell are Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) & the Back Widow (Scarlett Johansson) gonna be doing other than twiddling their thumbs? But they're both given pivotal roles.
The introduction of the characters and bringing them all together isn't drawn out either, and whilst this may please those fans that are eager to see them all 'assemble', I thought it was a weakness. A lot of great storytelling is to do with creating anticipation in the audience; playing with their expectations. Unfortunately, everything unfolds in a pretty standard manner; there's no wrong footing or misdirection. The way all the characters come together feels rushed, as if someone said 'Look, just bring them together, and then worry about what to do with them!'
Again, some people might prefer it that way, but I would have preferred each introduction to have more weight. I mean for crying out loud, these guys were in separate films, and now they're on screen together! It's a big deal! Treat it that way.. not like Han Solo running into Indian Jones whilst buying a pint of milk in the newsagent. Actually that's a bit harsh. The way they come together isn't that bad, it just could've been done better.
Now what would necessitate the coming together of Earth's Mightiest Heroes?
You need a pretty bad-ass villain right?
I have to say Tom Hiddleston's Loki is pretty cool. He does well with the role, as any English man would. But it's all too 'Transformers', with both sides chasing Marvel's version of the 'All-spark'. I found that to be pretty weak.
Another MAJOR weakness was Loki's minions (I don't want to spoil it for you, but you know he's gonna have bad guys to do his bidding right?). Again, I don't wanna give anything away here, but they look proper menacing.. but they go down like stack of cards. Note to all story-tellers: A hero is only as strong as his villain; in fact the villain should be much stronger, otherwise where is the heroism in defeating him?
The bad guys in this film were all too easy to defeat.
It's a non stop action packed film; and if you love a film with non stop action, you will love this film! I prefer character lead action films. To my mind, Chris Nolan's Batman films are the epitome of this. So for me, 'Marvel's Avengers Assemble' is too action packed! The action begins early and does not stop. I would have liked it if there were moments to allow the characters (and the audience) to breath, and develop.
The climax was like watching someone else play a video game, and the bad guys went down easier than the locust in Gears of War.
So where does this film rank?
I'd say it's not as good as the first Iron Man or Thor films, but a lot better than Iron Man 2, Captain America and The Incredible Hulk.
Mostly, it's just a fun popcorn film. It's a million times better than the likes of Transformers or Clash of the Titans, or most other big budget blockbuster. The characters are good, the story is decent (sorry, as a writer/filmmaker and former comic book guy, I have to believe I could have done some things better, if not the whole film), it's funnier than you'd expect and the graphics are good. Also, this is the best Hulk we've seen on screen thus far (though I must admit to preferring previous incarnations of Bruce/David Banner).
If anything, it does leave you wanting to see more from these characters, and that's always a good sign.
Go watch it an make up your own mind!
PS. remember to hang around after the initial credits!
UPDATE!
Check out the video of the event. I saw a camera and literally dived in front of it!! See if you can spot me!!
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