ROTTEN TOMATOES: Marvel "Avengers" Movie More than Possible

Marvel "Avengers" Movie More than Possible

by Fred Topel | June 15, 2007

Just hours before The Hollywood Reporter posted a story about Marvel hiring Zak Penn to write an "Avengers" movie, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige was joking with press on the "Iron Man" set about bringing all the characters together. Where studio boundaries prevented it in the past, Marvel is now its own entity.

"The idea that what's preventing certain characters from crossing over in the past is the fact that they were all divvied up at different studios," said Feige. "There were big giant gates in between them and they couldn't play in the same sandbox. Now that we have Hulk and Thor and Captain and Iron Man and Ant Man, it certainly would indicate to me that it might be fun to see them all in the same sandbox at some point."

Penn may be toiling away at a script, but he may have to wait until each of those characters get their own movies "Certainly we're introducing them and building them into their own franchises first."

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(1-19 of 19 posts) | Reply

Bear45 writes:
on Jun 15 2007 08:16 AM

My opinion: With all those characters, I can only see this turning out to be "Street Fighter: The Movie" bad.
But I'm not gonna whine about it.

(Reply to this)

PlanBFromOuterSpace writes:
on Jun 15 2007 08:50 AM

[b]Ummm, Street Fighter: The Movie?[/b]
They kinda laid it all out here: Introduce the characters in their own films, then bring them all together for some big adventure. How in the WORLD does that sound like the Street Fighter movie? I think that if this is the way that Marvel chooses to go, then it could be really, really interesting, especially if the filmmakers keep the big picture in mind while doing the earlier individual films. Yes, Actor A might be a good choice to play Captain America, but would he have good chemistry with Robert Downey, Jr. and Edward Norton further down the road?

In terms of storytelling, it SHOULD be a comic fan's dream. As much as I liked the first Spider-Man, the first X-Men, and a lot of the other films that were trying to lay the groundwork down, I did find it to be a little annoying to have to sit through another re-telling of the origins that I, as a long-time follower of many of the characters, already knew. It's not to say that they were boring or done poorly, but I wanted to get to the story already.

Assuming that the individual films do a good enough job in establishing the characters and showing what they're capable of, The Avengers movie could very well be an X-Men 2 or Spider-Man 2 caliber film. The faces are familiar, the world they live in has been defined, and they can get on with the REAL storytelling.

Oh, and to anyone that thinks of Ant Man as a total joke, I suggest checking out the current Ant Man comic. It's not the same character that they would use in a movie (because you'd HAVE to have Hank Pym in an Avengers film in some way), but he's probably one of the more realistic characters going right now since he's just a low-level SHIELD desk jockey running around in a stolen suit doing things like using his powers to check out Ms. Marvel in the shower. He's a cheater, a liar, and an absolute jerk, yet very likable because you can relate. Funny stuff.

(Reply to this)

cgcbooks writes:
on Jun 15 2007 10:02 AM

Won't work!

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Merlin235 writes:
on Jun 15 2007 10:15 AM

It could work. Why wouldn't it work? I'm still bummed that Spiderman and X-Men won't have a crossover, unless Fox starts getting along with Columbia. Who wouldn't pay to see Wolverine and Spiderman team up/go at it?

(Reply to this)

cgcbooks writes:
on Jun 15 2007 10:34 AM

In reply to this comment (#869545)
[b]Impossible![/b]
For one thing, the film would cost around 500 million dollars or more and they would never make their money back. To have that many superheroes in a live action film would be way too confusing. The actors playing the parts would all want the most screen time. There would be way too much tension on the set. They should just make it an animated film like Shrek.

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Bigbrother writes:
on Jun 15 2007 11:07 AM

Only work if they have the writers from Heroes do the screenplay. Vigo for new Spiderman!!!! He wouldn't even have to adjust to people calling him Peter. It's almost too perfect.

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Robert Fuller writes:
on Jun 15 2007 11:10 AM

In reply to this comment (#869546)
500 million dollars? Five superheroes is confusing? Too much tension on the set? Animated film "like Shrek"?

Where are you getting this stuff from? Clearly you don't know what you're talking about.

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Bear45 writes:
on Jun 15 2007 11:13 AM

In reply to this comment (#869543)
Calm down Tigerlily. Don't let a difference in opinion higher your blood pressure.
You think this would be an X-Men caliber film - I think this would be a Street Fighter caliber film.
You think just because everybody's origin stories would be established elsewhere, this doesn't have a chance to be a mess?! And even crazier; you think they're gonna get all the stars together in this one movie? Don't bother wondering about the chemistry between Downey and Norton, cause... c'mon, you really believe they'll come together for "some big adventure"? You think they're gonna have a biggo ensemble cast of A-listers? What's it gonna be? "Oceans 14: The Avengers Big Adventure"?
I just can't see it working, that's all.

(Reply to this)

Now it's dark writes:
on Jun 15 2007 11:14 AM

I could really see Kevin Bacon pulling off Ant-Man.

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wakko54321 writes:
on Jun 15 2007 11:19 AM

could work, but only if they get a good director, and theyll need a script thats above average.

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buddablz writes:
on Jun 15 2007 11:43 AM

In reply to this comment (#869545)
I disagree with you on a spiderman and x-men movie, in my opinion...
What works in the comic books wouldn't work for the film audience. I liked reading crossovers issues in comics too. But the film adaptations make them independent universes of each other, and I like that. How Amazing would Spiderman be if there are already a bunch of superpowered people living in manhattan? The same public from X-men wouldn't have loved Spiderman so much in part 3. Seperating them makes the hero a bit more extraordinary when you see it in theatres.

As for an Avengers movie, eh, i guess it could work. im not much of an avengers fan so im not in a rush to see it. I rather just wait and watch my favorites get turned into film and some not.

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Thundaar writes:
on Jun 15 2007 12:10 PM

I absolutely think it could work. I think sometimes people are too quick to write off a project before it even gets started. I also think they could get top talent to come together for a film like this (it worked in Batman Returns).

Also, I like his work, but does Downey Jr. really command top dollar at this point in his career? And is he considered an "A-list" star?

What I am not so sure about is Zack Penn. His track record is up and down. I am hoping for the best on this project.

(Reply to this)

cgcbooks writes:
on Jun 15 2007 12:39 PM

In reply to this comment (#869549)
Ditto!

(Reply to this)

dagreenman18 writes:
on Jun 15 2007 01:21 PM

Ant-man the movie? Why does this scream bad idea?

(Reply to this)

Sputnik99 writes:
on Jun 15 2007 01:31 PM

Why do people think this is any different than X-Men? The X-Movies were just scooping together a bunch of superheroes into a script three different times that more or less worked every time. It can be done, and as seen with X-1 and X-2, it can be done well.

Putting a bunch of heroes together in an Avengers movie is easy. They've already done it in the comics and in cartoons. If you want big stars in every role you might be in trouble, though, but again, X-Men didn't do too bad there, either. Who knows, this film might do okay.

All I'm saying is it is WAY TOO EARLY to be condemning it, so pull the corks out of your asses, all of you haters out there. I don't want to hear it yet.

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PlanBFromOuterSpace writes:
on Jun 15 2007 02:23 PM

[b]A-list doesn't equal enormous salaries[/b]
Just because you have a bunch of big-name actors in a movie doesn't mean that the budget is going to go overboard based on that alone. Big name doesn't necessarily translate to big price tag. Someone made mention of the "Ocean's" flicks I think, in terms of having so many characters to juggle and the potential for the kind of incoherence and craziness it can cause. Now THERE'S a series with lots of A-list starpower (Clooney, Damon, Pitt) and guys that can carry their own movies, plus some good supporting players that are pretty reliable (Cheadle, Garcia, etc.), and did you hear anything about salary disputes there? It IS possible to do a movie with a dozen different characters running around doing crazy things in a coherent manner that WON'T break the bank. Talent can attract talent without making it much of a financial issue.

Has anyone ever thought about how there are people that WANT to do certain projects that aren't all about the money? I'd rather see money spent on guys that want to be there, do a good job, and work with their fellow filmmakers than on someone like Chris Tucker, someone who has SERIOUSLY overestimated his worth, who clearly doesn't want to do anything except get paid to do the same thing he did in the only other two movies he's been in that have been blockbusters. His salary ALONE for Rush Hour 3 could probably cover much of a supporting cast of second-tier Avengers.

It's fine if you don't personally think that it can work, but I think that with the right people involved, ANYTHING can work...

(Reply to this)

cgcbooks writes:
on Jun 15 2007 02:35 PM

In reply to this comment (#869555)
Because it is.

(Reply to this)

Exode writes:
on Jun 15 2007 05:38 PM

Aside from the expense and somehow managing not to interfere with current film franchises the only obstacle would be to find a unique quality of style to blend each one of these hero's storylines into a single film. Though it may seem difficult to create such a style to where the characters won't seem out of place out of their various elements it can be done.

I would use Teen Titans as an example but it was rare to find anyone who had heard of any character before the show other than Robin so it was pretty much made easy for them.

(Reply to this)

romsy writes:
on Jun 18 2007 01:49 AM

ok, they just need to make a 10 hour Secret Wars movie, every hero and villain fighting on a big battlefield, then no more comic movies.

(Reply to this)

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