I went to the midnight showing of The Avengers. I will admit to you, dear reader, that I am a total nerd for superhero movies. I love them. I devour them. Of course, I oftentimes scorn them (and all too many of them deserve their share of scorn) but deep down I am still fascinated by them. Naturally, I had high hopes for The Avengers. I was enthralled by both Iron Man and Captain America, though less thrilled with Iron Man 2, Thor, and either incarnation of The Hulk in recentish years. But Iron Man and Captain American both had a depth and level of investment that I looked forward to being further explored in The Avengers.
Despite the overwhelming adulation that has been heaped upon The Avengers (by my Facebook friends, at least), I found myself a tad underwhelmed. The movie was funny, to be sure, and had its fair share of eye candy. But the depth I was hoping for was mostly absent. At no point during the movie did I feel emotionally moved, which I had experienced in both Iron Man and Captain America. The characters felt superficial, relegated once again to popcorn-movie status. I think if I had not been set up by the fantastic predecessors, I would have been less disappointed. But Iron Man and Captain America, as well as the contemporary Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, have proven that superhero movies can have depth, true character development, and solid plot. Sadly, I did not experience those things in The Avengers. I think I may go see it again, now that I know what to expect, and see if I can enjoy it for what it’s worth.
I suppose I should make amends for our recent absence from the blogosphere, but it has been time well spent. Sam and I have been hard at work on several projects, not least of which is Hanu Zan the Hero. It’s been project that’s spent awhile on the back burner, as we finished Buk Tu, but which has come to the forefront once more. We are very excited to tell the tales of Hanu Zan. Though much of his history is discussed in The Tale of Telsharu, there is far, far more to Hanu Zan than has yet been revealed. Sam and I have been working diligently on the project over the past several weeks, and we are eager to share the results with you, which will be coming in the near future.