I saw the Avengers--MASSIVE SPOILERS INSIDE.

[Kingsmythe]

Oh, this is just too stupid...

http://news.yahoo.com/pentagon-cant-...nlwYWdl;_ylv=3

[JBK405]

Well, I also wondered at the precise nature of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s command structure and authority....but this is still dumb.

[Benel Germosen]

BTW, has everyone seen this excellent analysis of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner's relationship in the movie on Tumblr? (Via John Hodgman, but not by John Hodgman.)

As someone that gets their enjoyment from stories predominantly through characters rather than plot, it sort of exemplifies why I loved The Avengers so much, and why the plot problems didn't really bother me. When was the last time there was a summer tent-pole movie where you could have these kind of character discussions like the one I linked to, or the one we were having about Loki or the one about Black Widow and her fear of Hulk? For having 6 major characters, there is more going on with them than there is with one character in most other action films. It's wonderful (and it might just be the reason why 40% of the audience was female).

One of the things I've thought (and Warren Ellis touched on in his Ultimate Iron Man/Hulk miniseries) between Bruce and Tony is that Bruce is basically Tony if Tony had none of the opportunities he's had in life.

[Matt_Y]

Anyone read Film Crit Hulk's piece in the New Yorker? It really gets at the heart of why Ruffalo succeeded where Bana and Norton failed.

THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE WHILE WATCHING BIXBY IS THAT HE RADIATES THIS KINDLY, PATERNAL ENERGY. BANNER IS USUALLY CONSIDERED THE “WEAK” HALF OF THE EQUATION, BUT BIXBY’S GENTLENESS WASN’T A CASE OF BEING MEEK, BUT DIGNIFIED. HE OFTEN HAD EVERY REASON TO TRY AND DISAPPEAR, TO REFRAIN FROM TRYING SITUATIONS, BUT HE JUST HAD TO HELP ANY TIME IT WAS NEEDED. IN TRUTH, BIXBY’S BANNER WAS HIS OWN KIND OF HERO; A TRUE MORALIST IN THE GRAND TRADITION OF ATTICUS FINCH. WHICH MEANS THE REASON HIS MANIFESTATIONS OF THE HULK RESONATED SO DEEPLY IS BECAUSE WE TRULY CARED ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM. IN TRUTH, HE WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU WOULD EVER WANT CURSED WITH BEING THE INCREDIBLE HULK.

...

HE DOESN’T QUITE HAVE BIXBY’S PATERNAL ELEMENT, BUT HE DOES HAVE THAT SAME INHERENT KINDNESS. HE ISN’T MOPING OR OBSESSED WITH HIS OWN PROBLEMS, HE’S GENTLE AND DIGNIFIED. THERE’S SOMETHING SO UNASSUMING AND EVEN CUTE ABOUT HIM. WHEN WE FIRST MEET DR. BANNER IN INDIA, HE’S DOING MEDICAL WORK FOR THE POOR IN “THE MOST STRESSFUL PLACE IN THE WORLD.” BUT THAT DOESN’T SEEM TO BE AN ISSUE FOR HIM. SOME YEARS HAVE PASSED AND SOMEHOW HE SEEMS IN FULL CONTROL. BUT HE ALSO SEEMS IMPOSSIBLY WEARY AND HAGGARD. HE’S A MAN WHO HAS LIVED AND LOST MORE THAN IMAGINABLE.

It's worth reading the whole thing. And forgive the ALL CAPS he is a Hulk afterall.

[Dreg]

IN TRUTH, BIXBY’S BANNER WAS HIS OWN KIND OF HERO; A TRUE MORALIST IN THE GRAND TRADITION OF ATTICUS FINCH.

Ha. Aha. Let's not get crazy here, folks.

[Matt_Y]

He's not. Crazy would be saying Bixby's Banner is equal to Atticus Finch.

[scs]

....he's intelligent, if it were just naivete he'd learn from his mistakes, but arrogance isn't so easily fixed. He's so convinced he'll somehow come out on top, he'll never see a reason to change.

Check my original post. I said he was arrogant. But he was also naive.

[KalenO]

Check my original post. I said he was arrogant. But he was also naive.

Err, I know. I was simply disagreeing with you. I think it was just arrogance, not naivete.

[scs]

Err, I know. I was simply disagreeing with you. I think it was just arrogance, not naivete.

Ah, I see. Cool, thanks for the correction.

[Personamanx]

Okay, just got back from seeing it. Pretty darn awesome. Surprised by how much I loved Ruffalo's Banner. Loved Norton to death but Ruffalo was just fantastic. Also surprised by how much I enjoyed Thor in it considering how much I disliked his solo film.