May 3rd, 2012

I took the day off for the Marvel Movie Marathon.

Before going to the theatre, I picked up a couple of pork buns for breakfast, and made a Target run and picked up a new coffee maker.

I got to the Metreon a little after 10 am, for the 11:30 am start.  Upon arrival I had my ticket printed, then torn and punched.  I was given a free comic, a scrap of paper with the film schedule, a lanyard with an ‘Avengers’ AMC movie pass, and my choice of Avengers-themed 3D glasses.  Since there were no Agent Coulson glasses, I picked Captain America.

Once inside I found an aisle seat and observed about a hundred or so folks already in the theatre.  I pulled out my GT2 tablet and read a couple of comics and more of my current Kindle read.  The theatre began to fill up, yet for a supposed sold out show, I did see more than a few empty seats, including the one between me and a couple of cute high school/college age geek girls to my left.

11:30 am rolled around, and about 30 seconds later, Iron Man started.  It’s always great to watch films like this in a theatre full of fans, who all cheer and laugh at the same time you do.  That happened a lot.

During The Incredible Hulk, I made my one foray to the snack bar.  The pork buns held up during the first film, but the granola bars and Milk Duds, not so much.  I bought a pizza and stuck with the bottle of water that I bought with me for a drink.

By the time Iron Man 2 finished, I realized that it wasn’t as bad a film as I originally thought, IF placed in the middle of a marathon like the one I was watching.  Indeed, the marathon experience added to the enjoyment of the film.  A few folks around me were talking about this and we all agreed that all the films seemed that much better because of the context of a marathon, with each and every preceding film so fresh in your mind.

Once Thor was over, I decided that I needed caffeine to get me through the rest of the films, so I bought a $4 20oz bottle of Coke Zero.  I hate movie theatre pricing.  Good thing I bought my Milk Duds at Target for $1 a box.  And I never got to my second box, which I was saving for The Avengers.

I made my last bathroom break before Captain America, and before the bottle of Coke Zero.  By this time my cell phone battery was down to about 10%, so I shut it off after that movie.  I managed to leech off someone’s phone hotspot with my tablet for about 10 minutes before they shut it down.

May 4th, 2012 12:01 am

Like clockwork, the screen came alive at 12:01 and the audience was treated to… previews.  About 15 minutes worth, including The Dark Knight Falls and The Amazing Spider-Man.

And then The Avengers started.

When I was about 11 years old, Superman: The Movie came out.  Since that time I was hoping that Hollywood would make a Justice League of America or Avengers movie, either theatrical or made-for-TV.  As the years went on, and films like Tim Burton’s Batman and the other Superman films came out, I began thinking that this would never happen, it would be too Herculean a task to get that many heroes into one movie.  So I was content with films such as Spider-Man and pre-made team films like X-Men and the Fantastic Four.

Then Iron Man came out, with the first post-credits scene, with Nick Fury talking about “The Avengers Initiative”.  And then there was one at the end of The Incredible Hulk.  And so on, building up to the film released today.

In a word, it was AWESOME.  Hands down the best superhero film ever made.  It has topped Spider-Man 2 (GASP) as my favorite superhero film.  The story, pacing, action, characters, EVERYTHING was perfect, IMHO.

There was one single moment that I found myself teary-eyed.

The S.H.I.E.L.D.Helicarrier.  The damn Helicarrier rising out of the water and taking flight.  And I got misty-eyed, but smiling.  I’m still a little speechless, I can’t really articulate why this scene hit me so hard.  The audience whooped and applauded, and I along with them.

There were so many parts that I really loved, hell, probably the whole damn movie if I listed them all.  So many comic booky moments, and so many Joss Whedon-esque moments, including the post credits scene, after the during credits scene, both of which were fantastic.

I’m still annoyed that the Avengers toy line doesn’t have figures for Fury, Coulson, Hawkeye or Black Widow.  They’re as much a part of the movie as the main 4 heroes.

I may have to see this film again in 2D, to catch the dialogue I couldn’t hear while the crowd applauded certain scenes, and to see if watching it without the 5 movie build-up changes my view of the movie.

I highly recommend The Avengers, for comic fans and non-fans alike.