Marvel Entertainment

I got to see the latest Avengers' movie this weekend. As a major comic book fan who has actually read thousands of comics in my lifetime, I can say it is one of the best comic book movies ever. But I'm afraid that most people who have seen it we're probably left gasping for breath. They really did try to shoe-horn too many characters, and too much dialog and action into one two-hour movie.

I could follow it because I knew who everybody was going in. But there was so much of EVERYTHING that they really couldn't take there time with much of anything. The best part? Hawkeye having a family was a nice touch. The developing relationship between Black Window and Bruce Banner made the Hulk so much more likable and human was good as well. The worst? The "bad language" humor line that fell flat and wouldn't go away.

But like all action movies, there was too much action. I usually kind of zone during action sequences in movies because I just don't think they add too much to the overall plot. I was pleasantly surprised that I could follow most of it this time because so many of those scenes added to the overall story. For me, that doesn't happen often.

This movie would have been better as a two-parter. I read somewhere that the NEXT story (with the Infinity Gems) will be told as TWO movies. I hope so. It's just that Marvel has so many movies in the works that they had to get ALL of this accomplished before the next Captain America and Thor movies come out, so I guess I understand the rush.

I like the more relaxed pace of Marvels Agents of Shield so much more. That show does a better job of giving us a few characters at a time over a whole season. Last night they put an awful lot into their two-hour finale as well, but it was a satisfying ending with some surprising character deaths. They even set up next season's story lines. Season two was so much better than their first season. There was humor, but they took themselves far more seriously. That was a major step in the right direction.

I still can't believe how comic books have become so mainstream. People don't actually read the comics anymore, but they sure follow the movies.