One of this year’s biggest, and most hyped, films The Avengers opened in cinemas around the country today. So we thought we’d dedicate this post to showcasing the very best of film’s promo, for you to overdose on before seeing the actual film (if you haven’t seen it already!).
So suit up, put on your mask, don your shield, grab your hammer, and turn yourself into an enormous green promo monster…
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The Introduction:
The Avengers comic series was created by the legendary Stan Lee in 1963. It was designed not only to group Marvel’s leading superheros together but to also cash in on the success DC Comics was having with with their Justice League of America franchise. The original Avengers group, dubbed “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes”, was made up of Iron Man, Ant Man, Wasp, Hulk and Thor. Captain America was then added to the line-up in Issue 4 of the comic. But over the years the group as seen many characters come and go, and come again.
The plan to make an Avengers movie was first announced in 2005. However, Marvel wanted to introduce each of the new Avengers line-up, to non comic book fans, by giving them their own movie first – or in Iron Man’s case, two movies. So in multiplexes across the globe we bore witness to: Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger. These films also introduced us to the two non-superpowered members of the The Avengers, Hawkeye (played by Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johansson), as well as S.H.I.E.L.D stalwarts Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) and Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg). Some of the films were well received, especially the first Iron Man. However, others felt more like filler before the main event.
At Comic Con 2010, writer/producer/director extraordinaire Josh Whedon was officially announced as The Avengers’ director – with Whedon also taking over script duties from The Incredible Hulk’s writer Zak Penn. It was also announced that The Hulk role would now be played by Mark Ruffalo – replacing the notoriously difficult to work with (but exceptionally talented) Edward Norton.
As for the movie itself, well what better introduction than the official synopsis: Marvel Studios presents “Marvel’s The Avengers” – the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.
Point of note: ‘the unexpected enemy’ refers to Loki (Thor’s unhinged adopted brother from Thor) who, with the help of an otherworldly army, is hell bent on ruling the Earth.
Your Avengers Are:
Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man: A self-described genius, billionaire, playboy and philanthropist with a mechanical suit of amour of his own invention.
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America: A World War II veteran who was enhanced to the peak of human physicality by an experimental serum.
Mark Ruffalo as Dr. Bruce Banner / Hulk: A genius scientist who, because of exposure to gamma radiation, transforms into a monster when enraged.
Chris Hemsworth as Thor: The ‘God of Thunder’ from the realm of Asgard (based on the Norse deity of the same name).
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow: A highly trained spy working for the international peacekeeping organization, S.H.I.E.L.D.
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye: A S.H.I.E.L.D agent and master archer. Known as the ‘World’s Greatest Marksman’.
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The Best Trailers:
The two main trailers released for the film set things up nicely, without giving too much away – a pleasant change for blockbuster promo. Not only did they show that we were in for an action-fest, they also eluded to a story with some depth; how the team must overcome their own insecurities and egos to save the Earth together. Ok, that’s not all that deep, but many recent blockbusters haven’t even provided us with that.
But my favourite video promo was actually one of the TV Spots. It was short but very catchy and dramatic. We got to see the main line-up and sample a taste of the film’s humour. Sold!
Trailer One –
Trailer Two –
Favourite TV Spot –
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The Best Clips:
If you pieced together all the bonus clips released in the last few weeks you could almost watch the entire film! Ok, that’s a slight exaggeration, but there were heaps. Here are the best:
‘Head Count’. Loki and Iron Man have a little chit-chat –
‘Face Off’. Iron Man v Thor –
‘Imprisoned’. Loki tries to goat Nick Fury –
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The Best Featurette:
Several featurettes were also released. There wasn’t a heck of a lot of depth to them; similar footage to the trailers with some quick snippets from the cast and crew. The best was probably the one they called ‘Wild Ride’ because it gave you some of the film’s backstory.
‘Wild Ride’ –
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The Best Images:
There has been posters and banners galore, but my favourites were most definitely these:
The ‘group shot’ poster –
These badass character posters –
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Well, that about covers it. Now go see the movie!
Having been lucky enough to see an advanced screening, I can say The Avengers is definitely worth your hard earned cash… and you should see it on the biggest screen possible. Enjoy!
What was your favorite piece of promo? Are you going to see The Avengers? If you’ve already seen it, what did you think – did it live up to the hype?
