I was part of the lucky few that was able to get into
The Avengers. I actually didn't even expect to see
The Avengers. I planned to roll the dice with the Sony panel and stand in line several hours early. I really wanted to see the
Ghost Rider and
Total Recall footage. But after hearing that the Sony panel wasn't that good, I'm okay with missing it.
Next up was
The Walking Dead panel, and since I was already in line and rumors were flying that if you attend any show in the main theater you could stick around all day and see
The Avengers. Then the security guard verified that info by saying that fans attended the
Nikita panel just to get good seats to see all the main shows that day. Only issue is that if you have to pee, you won't be let back in.
So people planned early for
The Avengers by attending an earlier show with a lack of a line. The diehard Marvel fans surely suffered through
Nikita,, while most likely enjoying the Sony and
The Walking Dead panels.
Once the long wait was over the fans got their desserts. Avengers assemble!
Scene starts with a shot of what appears to be a semi-busy street, my best guess is India. Slowly pan to a building, then an interior shot of a poor medical facility, with Banner caring for sick patients on raggedy cots.
Little girl comes running in and frantically asks.
Little Girl: "You're a doctor?"
The little girl explains to Banner that her family members are sick. Banner inquires if it's the same sickness that has inflicted his patients that lay on the cots. Little Girl responds with a yes. Banner is concerned, then she begs him with a puppy dog look and a heartbreaking "Please." Once she senses that he will help, she takes off running, and Banner follows.
Next scene opens with the little girl coming back to that foreign room you saw Banner in during the last trailer. That is what appears to be the little girls home, but like I said it appears to be. Once Banner walks a few paces into the room the little girl sneaks out of a side window. The audience picked up on the trap and you heard them slowly roar with excitement.
Banner realizes he has been setup and he mutters something about he should've expected that. As he stands there a bit dumbfounded Scarlett Johansson's voice is heard in the near distance.
Scarlet: "A man who is afraid of stress, picked a hell of a place."
(Banner is now nervous and scans the room, peeking outside the windows.)
Banner:"I assume the place is surrounded?"
Scarlett:She says in a seductive way, "just you and me."
The quick and unexpected sexual tension was very cool. The audience was taken off guard by this and slowly responded with some husky cheers.
Banner: "Who are you?"
Scarlett: "Natasha Romanoff" (crowd hoots and hollers)
Banner: Asks her if she is here to kill him. Adding if so then that isn't going to work out.
Scarlett: She assures him that isn't the case. She adds that she is here for S.H.I.E.L.D.
Banner: The name drop of S.H.I.E.L.D. clearly gets his attention and takes him by a bit of surprise. He asks how they found him.
Scarlett: Tells Banner that S.H.I.E.L.D. never lost track of him. Even saying that the organization has helped guard him unknowingly from other interested parties. The reason for the help she says, is something about Nick Fury liking or trusting Banner. I forget. She requests that he comes with her.
Banner: He asks, what if he doesn't come with her?
Scarlett: Says in a stern but sexy way, "I'll persuade you."
Banner: He makes his first reference to Hulk, saying something on the lines of, what if his other personality doesn't want to go with her.
Scarlett: She says it's been two years since his last incident, and she didn't expect an encounter. She then implores his, saying that they are facing a global catastrophe. Banner laughs it off, like he has heard it before.
She then whips out a smartphone with an image of what I think is the cosmic cube. She slides the phone on a table that divides the two, pushing it toward Banner. She describes the image as a powerful weapon that could cause global damage.
Banner: "What's he want me to do with it, swallow it?" (crowd chuckled heartily)
Scarlett: It seems the cube has been taken and that it leaves gamma
markings emissions. And since that is Banner's field of expertise, his help could be very useful.
Banner: Asks to make sure that Nick Fury isn't after the Hulk. Scarlett assures him that isn't the case. Banner doesn't buy it and asks if they'll put him in a cage. Scarlett seems like she is about reply with a no, but Banner cuts her off with a shout of "Stop Lying to me!" The outburst scares Scarlett, she leaps backwards. Her cool and calm demeanor with a hint of nervousness is gone, replaced with full on fear.
Banner: His angry demeanor quickly changes to a an apologetic stance and says, "I'm sorry that was mean." Great line it breaks the tension and got more laughs from the crowd. The whole scene up til that point was great, and it only got better. It really balanced the tension and had such well timed humor. The humor wasn't forced, it flowed naturally.
Oh and I forgot, Scarlett pulls out a gun right after the outburst and has it pointed at Banner. He tries to calm her down. He says lets do this the easy way, so the "other guy" doesn't make a mess. There is a long delay, just building tension with her glaring at him.
Scarlett: Finally speaks, but this time into a mic or a walkie talkie saying, "Okay, stand down." The crowd laughs again as a shot of the outside of the hut shows a swarm of uniformed individuals with guns pointed. Banner has been swayed, and is peaceful and the scene ends.
The whole scene was outstanding! The musical score holding the scene together is brilliant, it was very dramatic, and really felt like the most impressive score that Marvel has had for any of their films. Like I said atop the blend of slow tension and well timed humor was marvelous. The way that the actors ran up and down their emotional scales was the best I've ever seen from the two. They showed range that would have had Anthony Hopkins on his feet clapping. If Whedon makes most scenes as good as the one I saw, then The Avengers is in terrific hands. The extra bonus footage after the Banner, Black Widow scene was good. First highlight was that they showed the building with "Stark" brightly lit up. The fans went bonkers for that. Then you have quick shots of all
The Avengers as Tony scolds Loki for picking a fight with each one of them. When Robert Downey Jr. ends that dialogue with an aggressive bark of, "We have a Hulk," I nearly wet myself.
But the best by far was after they flashed the movie's logo we see Banner and Tony Stark standing close to each other. Tony sneaks up behind Banner with a cattle prod like device and zaps him. It's a playful zap, Banner still screams like a little girl.
Marvel's The Avengers picks up when an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security. And 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. With director Joss Whedon at it's helm, and an ensemble cast including Chris Evans (Steve Rogers), Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark), Chris Hemsworth (Thor Odinson), Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff), Clark Gregg (Agt. Phil Coulson), Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), with Tom Hiddleston (Loki), and Stellan Skarsgard (Professor Erik Selvig), the film releases worldwide May 4, 2012!
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