You know about Marvel’s The Avengers. Heck, you probably had the religious experience that most superhero fans had this past May, when not only did the movie exist but it also happened to be really good. It’s funny, because every time I consider the movie, I realize what an amazing accomplishment it is that it even happened. They made other movies, and then they all culminated into this movie, and the story goes on. I honestly don’t think I would have thought it possible not long ago. Then, on top of all that, the flick went on to be wildly successful. It really is remarkable.
As with all movies, eventually, usually after a 3-5 month window, it will come to handy home media that you can add to your collection. Today is that day. The Blu-ray and DVD versions of Marvel’s The Avengers hit stores today, and you’re probably going to pick it up regardless, but I went through the whole thing, and here’s what I found. For reference sake, I have the 2-disc Blu-ray combo pack. I didn’t watch it in 3D, because I think 3D is the instrument of Beelzebub.
The Feature: The movie is as you remember it. It might be a little better, but if you watch it outside of the warm glow of the theater, and with some time behind it, it might not be quite so stunning as it was at first, but it mostly holds up to repeated viewing. The thing that stood out to me most was that Mark Ruffalo acted the pants off of everyone else in the flick. And they were good. He was just really good. Other than that, the scope is still tremendous, and as long as you ignore the fact that almost all the NYC action takes place on that one viaduct supposedly outside of Grand Central, then you’ll be good to go.
I can’t comment on the specifics and quality of the picture and sound any more than to say it’s right up there with what you would want it to be. In 1080p, it’s a great visual experience, and with the right sounds system, you’ll be in True Believer heaven.
Audio Commentary: I haven’t actually listened to an audio commentary in a really long time. We’re talking nearly a decade long time, but I listened to this one. Director Joss Whedon pulls out the rare feat of doing a commentary all by his lonesome, and managing to avoid dead air and keep it entertaining. While Whedon’s tone never changes all that much, you get all sorts of tidbits from filming and pre-productions on the film, and he talks about the reasons why we see what we see. He’s very candid about budget, which is interesting considering how successful this film was financially. The other thing that comes through is just how much enthusiasm he brought to the project, and how it still seems to tickle him to the day he recorded the commentary. He was obviously the right guy, and this wasn’t just “a job” for Whedon. If you loved the movie, it’s definitely worth listening to.
Marvel One-Shot: Item 47: This one is a fun little short about some missing weaponry falling into the hands of two kids who try to rob banks with them until SHIELD has to get them back. Starring Lizzy Caplan and that guy who played the weird, rich intern from West Wing as well as the older kid from My Blue Heaven, it’s a fun little romp, and gives Agent Sitwell a chance to shine, which I think we were all missing. It’s not going to blow your doors off, but it’s a fun sidetrack.
Deleted Scenes: I’m usually of the mind that deleted scenes are called that for a reason. We’d already seen the sad Cap deleted scene, which was probably the best of the bunch and even that was rightfully cut out. It was a long movie to begin with. It felt like about half of these scenes were Fury or Hill talking across a shiny table to bank of monitors, which made me realize that the thing I liked least about the movie was the shadowy overlords calling the shots that were ultimately ignored. Watch them if you’re bored.
Gag Reel: Confession! I forgot to watch this one because I love gag reels and I wanted to save it for last. I’m sure it’s great, because in the commentary, Whedon said that as soon as they cast had time, they started goofing around, which stressed him out. Whedon says he’s no fun on set. There’s also more Harry Dean Stanton, which ain’t so bad.
Featurettes: If you’ve watched other featurettes, you know what this is about, but it’s made better by Whedon’s exceptional enthusiasm. They talk about putting together the cast, and are obviously complimentary about each other, but again what comes out of it is that they all worship at the altar of Ruffalo, which is completely deserved.
“Live to Rise” Soundgarden Music Video: Come on, now.
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As if you don’t know how or where to get it, but if you haven’t put much thought into it yet, you can get Marvel’s The Avengers on Blu-ray at Amazon.
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My copy is being delivered as I type this. I can’t wait to watch it again.
I agree that Ruffalo did nail it. He’s fantastic. I really loved his work in The Brothers Bloom.
The gag reel should be a lot of fun.
Agreed. Ruffalo’s work is always on point. His work in Brothers Bloom was at least worth an Oscar nom.
Lets all jump on the Ruffalo band wagon! Seriously though, he was amazing in the film, which is apparently not easy when playing the Hulk. Hulk has always been my favorite super hero and I am so glad that someone was finally able do him justice on the big screen. I was talking to a coworker at DISH about the movie, and he told me that they were releasing another set of stand-alone movies before the sequel. I hope that means a Hulk movie with Ruffalo! I the movie in theaters and I liked it so much that I added it to my Blockbuster @Home queue right when I got home. I was pleasantly surprised when it showed up in the mail today, and I think I liked it even more the second time. I love renting Blu-Rays so I can check out their bonus features, and I am glad that I checked this one out because the extras are pretty lame. I think I may just by the DVD and wait for the collector’s edition to come out.
@SamB098: The next set of films before the Avengers sequel (2015) are:
‘Iron Man 3’ (2013)
‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ (2014)
‘Thor: The Dark World’ (2013)
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (2014)
and possibly:
‘Ant-Man’
https://ifanboy.com/articles/sdcc-2012-marvel-studios-panel-thor-2-and-captain-america-2-get-new-title-guardians-of-the-galaxy-confirmed/
RE: The Soundgarden music video.
Let me guess…the band is playing in, what looks like, an abandoned construction site or dilapidated building, with scenes from the movie randomly intercut in.
NO!
well… ok, yeah. thats exactly it.
As a HUGE Soundgarden fan, I am disappoint. Hopefully their new album is a LOT better than their throwaway Avengers track. Also disappointed at the OST in general… its pretty crappy.
i haven’t seen the video but i’ve heard the song. like jessecuster, i am an enormous soundgarden fan and this just sounds like bad, shitty chris cornell solo stuff.
honestly, it sounds like really heavy nickelback. stay. the fuck. away.
Aw I really like the song, I thought the rest of the OST was bad but I like “Live to Rise” quite a bit.
Soundgarden still has the talent, but they’ve definitely lost the edge that put them over the top before. It happens.
I don’t even remember the song. They should have gotten Green Day to do a song for this film.
I’ve watched it twice (we got the blu-ray last week here) and it still completely holds up. Wish there were more extras though – we haven’t got the commentary, which I was looking forward to.
An excellent purchase though, one of the best examples of the blu-ray format I’ve seen in terms of quality.
My Dark Knight Returns and Resident Evil: Damnation discs came in the mail already, but not the Avengers. I hope it’s not one of those days when the delivery man comes at 8pm.
I have the EU/UK copy. They changed the scene where Coulson is stabbed and removed the blade sticking out of the front of his chest for some reason. The amount of features is really poor and there was no triple-play edition. Overall a really rushed and disappointing package. Expect a reissue in the near future.
I’d read about this. Apparently the UK got the iteration of the film edited for the ratings standards of another country where the depiction/display of graphically violent sequences is prohibited. It was a mistake, but I’m not sure if anything’s being done about it re: replacement discs.
Makes sense I suppose. Germany in particular has a very strict censorship lobby.
10 years between audio commentaries? I’d shrivel up. Nine times out of ten, if I’m watching a movie or episode of television I’ve already seen once, I’m watching it with commentary on. They’re my favorite thing.
It’s probably been over 10 years since I’ve listened to an audio commentary.
I would always watch sans commentary first, and then if I went back, I’d listen. But honestly, it got to be so far between good ones that I stopped bother. Also, it turns out, I got really busy.
Lately I’ve been watching commentaries on the Seinfeld DVD’s, those are mostly really cool.
Those commentaries ARE really good.
i’ve not only stopped listening to audio commentaries, i’ve started to opt for the cheapest disc option (read least extra features) because i rarely will even look at a gag reel or deleted scenes let alone anything else. I just like the movies usually.
When I was in college, I listened to commentaries all the time. I’d just have them on while I was doing other things in my small dorm room or one bedroom apartment. That seemed to fall away when I had more options as to where to spend my time. Also, I gained a wife and she likes to watch things besides commentaries.
I still really love listening to the commentary from The Usual Suspects. Probably not a day goes by where I don’t think, “Bologna!”
Anyway – don’t buy DVD’s or Blue Rays anymore – what’s the point? I’ve got over 150 movies or so on DVD/BLURAY I don’t watch. Netflix for most everything else – streaming or in the mail – or cable.
It’s all about the “Futurama” commentaries, yo.
I haven’t seen The Avengers. And as a result of this I’ve been accused of not being a comics fan. A friend is taking to buy a blu-ray specifically so I can finally see this movie.. I’m sure it’s good and looking forward to it.
If you read comics, you’re a comics fan. If everyone who watched Avengers was a comics fan, I’d be driving a Porsche.
Wait, you guys don’t all have Porches? I assume Ron must, since he owns his own shop and all…
I haven’t seen the movie yet either.
@ Josh Flanagan: I hear you and take such remarks with a grain of salt.
@ Grandturk: I was concerned with how bad it might be that I hesitated to see it and then waited so long that I realized I’d simply pick it up on video.
Best audio commentary ever: Roger Ebert on Citizen Kane.
*END OFF-TOPIC COMMENT*
I definitely want to get this, but I can’t remember the last time I had enough time in one block to actually watch a movie at home. I’ll get it eventually, but I’m not going to watch it any time soon, so I don’t need to buy it any time soon. Definitely want those bonus features, though.
This will be the first Blu Ray( or any disc based thing) that i’ve purchased in over a year. I hope i remember where the movie selling store is!
I’ll probably pick up the basic BD+DVD package eventually but will wait until the price comes down a bit. I don’t have time to watch movies at home anyway. I look forward to showing it to my kids someday, though.
I haven’t seen the movie since it was in the theater but can’t stop thinking about how often Fury and Co. kept taking about “Phase II” in the movie and how Marvel Studios references that name as the next batch of movies. In the movie, Phase II is explained as the weapons build by Shield from the cube. Is there a connection to these weapons and the movies coming out next as they are both described as Phase II.
If anything, all of Marvel’s movies has taught us as fans to read between the lines and try to connect dots. Maybe this is a line that has yet to be connected…or has it?
I would watch the hell out of Mark Ruffalo was Bruce Banner for two hours. I don’t even want him to Hulk out.
Read this, got excited, bought it over lunch.
Now I just have to staaaaare at it until 5…
I just picked up the Walmart blu-ray pack (my first blu-ray!!) with the Avengers Season One book. Now I just have to wait through the rest of my work day to watch it!!!
When will the podcast review of Dark Knight Returns Pt. 1 be available?
Later this week. Text review this evening.
Actually thinking about stopping and buying it tonight after work.
Awesome. Thanks Paul. Really looking forward to it.
The film holds up just as I remember it in the theater. I was disappointed by the gag reel, wasn’t very funny IMO.
I hope various retailers have different, promotional packaging. When the first Iron Man movie came out, Target carried the DVD in a package that was a plastic mold of Iron Man’s face mask.
Got my copy from Target, afraid there is no cool promotional packaging. Just a Target exclusive bonus bluray hot glued to the back of the package.
So, I watched it for the first time cause I refuse to give ripoff movie theaters my money. I enjoyed it, though I found some of the dialogue straight up cringe worthy. Also I’m still trying to figure out why the Avengers were fighting the covenant from Halo at the end of the movie.