1. Although the review is overwhelmingly negative, the only thing that critic A.O. Scott seems not to like about the movie is its action scenes, and what he doesn't like about them is that, he says, they're too long, too similar to action scenes in other movies and, as near as I can figure, contain too much action. For the record, those scenes are blessedly coherent (unlike those in many recent movies), consistently exciting and clever -- even, quite often, witty.
2. Although Scott allows that occasional other parts of the movie are humorous, he says they can't overcome the drawback of those dumb old action scenes. Actually, a lot of the non-action scenes are very funny, and the non-action scenes that aren't funny are frequently ingenious.
3. The review accuses the movie of "cynicism," but it's the review itself that is cynical. Scott calls The Avengers "a giant A.T.M." for Marvel and Disney, as if its probable popularity were somehow a strike against it. He attacks its audience as "submissive," which just seems like another way of saying that he feels superior to other moviegoers. The tone of the entire review brings to mind the aloof and dismissive spirit of the Times' review of Tim Burton's 1989 Batman, a film now considered a classic. That review was written by Vincent Canby, not long before Canby retired. Memo to Scott: Could be your turn.
No comments:
Post a Comment