Hey everybody, NWC's Geddy Cahoon here! Rather than do a THIRD straight-up review of The Avengers, which I will say was pretty fucking good as far as comic book movies go, I figured I would share my thoughts on what was, for me, and probably a lot of comic fans, the film's high point: The post-credits sequence. I want to talk about some of the pros and cons, and what the appearance of a certain character could mean for the future of comic book movies.
Hit the jump to hear Geddy's thoughts on the post-credits sequence of Marvel's cinematic achievement, The Avengers! SPOILERS OBVIOUSLY ABOUND, DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM!
OH MY GOD THAT POST-CREDITS SEQUENCE WAS FUCKING AMAZING. I KNOW IT WAS ONLY 5 SECONDS LONG, BUT HOLY SHIT THANOS!
This photo is barely visible, but I'm creaming in my pants right now.
Ahem... Now that that ridiculousness is out of my system... I really am extremely excited for the prospect of an Avengers 2 now. Going into the film, based on Scott's analysis and Alex Hajna's review (He's new to the site, show him some love by checking it out), I was optimistic. But not necessarily to the point where I ever thought I would be excited for a sequel of any kind. Well, the appearance of motherfucking Thanos has changed that mentality considerably. If he's in Avengers 2, I will watch the shit out of it.
I don't think I've ever been this excited for a comic book film before, aside from the upcoming Dark Knight Rises. But Marvel, bless them, appear to be doing things the right way. However, the more astute or knowledgeable in the area of film among you may be asking yourselves: How right is the inevitable inclusion of Thanos? Well, I figured we could look at some pros and cons. Since I'm a cynical prick who hates everything, even the things that I like, let's start with the cons!
CONS: The biggest issue with Thanos' inclusion and the whole concept of an Avengers 2 is obviously the budget. This film cost somewhere in the area of 220 MILLION dollars to make. Now, it made that back and then some very very easily. It's going to break 1 billion worldwide soon enough. It's the first must see movie of the year, and the revenue is reflecting that. But a second movie, which would cost even more, would still be a massive gamble on Marvel's part. I don't think there's any such thing as a "sure thing."
Sure, everybody is riding that Avengers high right now, but will it be the same way in a couple of years? And even if you can get people excited for a sequel, how do you write one that's original? Answer: You bring on more team members. Maybe you bring in Vision and Scarlet Witch. Maybe you bring in Power Man. Regardless, the budget just balloons and balloons. That's not even taking into account the amount of money it would take to initialize an ad-campaign that would make the general public familiar with the more obscure members of the team. Speaking of familiarity, that's a whole other, less obvious can of worms involving Thanos...
No one besides comic fans fucking knows who he is! I went to see the film with a group of people who know little to nothing about comics. I literally screamed out in excitement and joy when I saw that dark, nearly opaque shot of Thanos smirking. I then spent the next 10 minutes explaining to EVERYONE I arrived with who he was and why I had reacted in such a manner. Now, you could argue that no one really knows any comic book villains, aside from mainstays like the Joker, and that they're usually playing second fiddle to the heroes anyway. But in the Avengers 2, Thanos would be the most important part! Again, an ad-campaign could easily educate the public. But there's that cost issue again. Avengers 2 would break the bank, and again it would be a huge gamble. I think they're confident, but they would be spending a ridiculously huge sum of money.
PROS: First off, for me personally: I've never been a huge Marvel fan. At least of their comic books. I plan to, next time I'm at the comic store, purchase every collection of comics related to Thanos available to educate myself a bit. Despite my lack of total knowledge on the subject, I have some familiarity with the character and whatnot. Regardless of that crap I just stated, Thanos is probably my favorite Marvel villain, purely from an aesthetic standpoint. He's intimidating and awesome. Even if people don't know who he is, they still can tell that that huge fucking purple guy is obviously a huge threat to the team.
Thanos would be the most powerful villain to ever appear in a comic book movie, and definitely a step up from Loki, who I think was something of a weak choice for the villain of the first Avengers film, but nothing can be changed about that. Thanos' power could give a real sense of meaning and importance to the second film. This guy just wants to kill half the universe. The Avengers have to stop him. Sounds like a simple plot that would still be pretty enjoyable to watch. In terms of his aesthetic and his legacy, Thanos would be one of the most powerful, awe-inspiring villains ever put to a film of this nature.
I don't know about you guys, but I thought that the last 30 minutes of the Avengers, which was essentially one long action sequence, was fantastic. I don't usually go for huge action movies, but this was special. Now, imagine that scene, which took place against a bunch of generic alien thingies, taking place against THANOS and his army. The budget would be enormous, as I stated, but I think it would be worth it. Marvel would make it back if they could market it the right way, which is something they're obviously capable of. Just look at The Avengers' worldwide gross for proof positive of that.
Ultimately, I'm really excited for this. The negatives are things that could be very easily alleviated through marketing. The budget will be fucking enormous, but they could make it back it they do everything as correctly as they did it this time. Like I said, I screamed out in excitement and joy when I saw Thanos. It's difficult to get a jaded comic fan like me that excited, but Marvel has done it. They pulled that off. I'm confident they can pull this off too.
Thanks for reading, and Welcome to Your Doom!
- Geddy
Read Infinity Gauntlet.
ReplyDelete