The Avengers? WTF?

Okay, so far be it from me to lay claim to the title of "all knowing comic geek", but I like to think I'm something of an authority, albeit small authority, on some comic book heroes, especially the ones I hold dear to my heart. The last decade has shown an influx in comic book movie adaptions. Now when I go to a "comic-book movie", I usually go with two important things in mind. A.) Low expectations; Cause let's face it, no Hollywood director is going to be able to live up to the way we comic book nerds envisioned our spandex and armor clad heroes. B.) Whenever I go to one of these movies I actually want to see something a little different than what I read. I like it when someone takes a little creativity with it, actually.

Now, the comic book heavy hitters, as everyone knows are Marvel and DC. DC has had some major successes, I think, with Nolan's Batman movies and Watchmen, but has had some cinematic abortions with Catwoman and Jonah Hex. Marvel has done just the same, if not with a bit more mixed feelings, with the X-men, Spider-Man, Iron-Man films being on the successful side with Dare-Devil, Electra, and Ghostrider being their "disaster" pieces.

One title that sticks out in my mind especially is the Incredible Hulk. Now, in 2003 the movie titled simply "Hulk" was released and made many weep audibly with it's shoddy script and Sy-Fy channel special-effects. However, in 2008, the Incredible Hulk was released and was such a vast improvement over the first attempt that it all but disappeared from our minds. In the newer adaption Ed Norton played the main character, Bruce Banner, who, after being exposed to a massive dose of Gamma Radiation, became afflicted with a condition that causes him to mutate into a giant, green, smashing machine simply called "The Hulk". With that film, along with the Iron-Man movies, fans saw a number of hints at the inevitable comic-to-film adaption of Marvel's popular comic series "The Avengers" which features a number of notable comic heroes including Iron-Man, the Hulk, Captain America, Thor, and several others. My personal feelings aside in regard to "the Avengers" comic series, I was looking forward to seeing this movie...that is until I found out about Marvel's casting decision in regard to everyone's favorite green, smashing machine.


Recently, Marvel studios' Kevin Feige said this, "We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in the Avengers. Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. The Avengers demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble, as evidenced by Robert, Chris H, Chris E, Sam, Scarlett, and all of our talented casts. We are looking to announce a name actor who fulfills these requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming weeks."

Now, far be it from me to make a series of gross assumptions regarding what Feige's words mean, exactly, but I have an opinion regarding it that I feel deserves to be said. It sounds to me that they're saying that Norton isn't a team player. Now, I don't know the guy, buy if any of the words from his camp are true he's sounded, to me, like he's been nothing but excited to be a part of the coming "Avengers" movie. What's more, in all of the Marvel movies made thus far I feel that Edward Norton played the most believable characters. Period. I think that Norton is one of the finest actors of our time and it seems to me that he's almost "too good" for the rest of the cast of the coming "Avengers". I realize that's a rather harsh statement, but it's what I genuinely think. I love Sam Jackson and Robert Downey, but I think Norton is in a whole different ballpark. As for the Chris's...who gives a fuck? I sure don't.

I think this whole movie is a stupid move on Marvel's part. A "big group super hero" movie is risky. Very risky. Look at the X-men films. While they were, for the most part, entertaining, they all left something to be desired in one facet or another. You get that many characters up on the screen at one time and no doubt one, if not many of them, will end up falling short of what the fans want and what the characters in and of themselves deserve.

The trend with Marvel's movies has been back and forth. They do one or two good, if not great, films and then one or two stinkers. I, for one, am not expecting much from the upcoming slate of adaptions, but we shall see.