Louis D’ Esposito, Marvel Studios’ Co-President and Executive Producer of “Marvel’s The Avengers,” announced in a press release they are working with NASA to uplink the film to the crew of the ISS.
He is quoted as saying “The studio is privileged to share ‘Marvel’s The Avengers’ with those up in space exploring the universe. A special thanks goes to NASA for utilizing their incredible technology to make this special screening miles above us in space happen. It is a screening that would make Tony Stark envious.”
Not only is being an astronaut cool in itself, they also get to have a private screening of a record breaking film. This might be a gesture of thanks for letting Marvel film some of the movie at their Space Power Facility at NASA’s Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio.
The current space station mission is Expedition 31 and has a six-member crew consisting of 2 NASA Astronauts, 1 European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut, and 3 Russian (RU) Cosmonauts as follows: Don Pettit (NASA), Joe Acaba (NASA), Andre Kuipers (ESA), Oleg Kononenko (RU), Gennady Padalka (RU), Sergei Revin (RU).
For more information on this mission follow this link NASA Expedition 31
Dan Cook, a Psychological Support Coordinator with Wyle says “These are the types of things that help to keep the crew connected to home, which is a huge morale boost while being away for long periods of time.” Entertainment offers important aspects of psychological support for astronauts on long-duration missions, such as those on the ISS.
My review of the film
I am glad I was alive when they final got an epic superhero movie franchise right. I am not a fan boy of the comics. I was aware of them but I never followed them. I can say that these movies have made me a fan. We have spent a long time waiting for this film and I was nervous they would follow the path of previous hero series.
I saw this movie twice on Saturday. I like to see movies twice, so once I can get lost in the story, and the second time I can really examine the film. Honestly, I would like to see it again because the second time I was just as involved with this story as the first viewing. Needless to say, I am giving this marvelous movie a green light.
I usually talk about the plot in high level but I am going to forgo that and say this movie is about 130 min of high action. I can’t really talk about the plot without giving anything away so I will save most of the conversation for my spoiler section.
I will say that the Avengers are composed of Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). They are under the guidance of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). All of them did an outstanding job, I have absolutely no negative comments about the cast in any way, and they personified the characters in every aspect.
Hero films in the past have been victims of the studio machine. Once they have a story idea they mold and stretch it into something to fit everyone’s palate, thereby ensuring that no one likes it. Perhaps they try to write the story to get as much as they can get out of the toys and games that go along with a big budget picture. These theories have failed in the past and I am glad to see that this is an example of a movie franchise that can keep the focus on the source material.
Balanced Humor and Action
I am also pleased with the fact they balanced its humor and action well. They had a great feel for smart and witty without going to lowbrow levels. In the past I think that people who make comic book films feel that it’s going to pander to kids so they write for what they feel the 12 to 14 year old demographic will like. The writing in this film brings the humor level higher and is still understandable to that age range without talking down to them.
The second time around I did see some specific camera shots that seemed out of place for the pace of the surrounding scenes and there was a use of reflections in this film that was prevalent throughout the movie. I am really going to have to go again to catch more and to focus in on more of the setting than the action.
The big question is where do they go from here? How do they top this film? Joss Whedon is an exceptional storyteller and filmmaker. I know that he can do a long story arc well but even I don’t see how they can continue at this level. I will enjoy watching him try.
