C-minus

Rating: 3/10 (21 June 2012)

With the high budget this film had, I should not be noticing the staging.
"OK, Mark, you stand there and look annoyed but knowing, Scarlett, look like you're pondering, Chris, focus on keeping some of the accent but not all of it . . . "
There was no scene in the film where I didn't see with my mind's eye the director on set barking stage direction. Perhaps if the script had been stronger, I wouldn't have noticed. But pair a weak script with a long series of obviously staged (and very non-dynamic) scenes, and you end up with more flat scenes than I can count.
Character development: With this cadre of fun and interesting actors and the huge budget that hired them, you'd think you'd end up with quality oozing out of the screen. No. Robert Downey's Stark was one- note, snarkie, and that's it. A few fun lines, but zero cleverness and no depth. The same with the rest of them. Except for Mark R. and Scarlet J. They were the only two who created anything interesting with their parts - and of these two, Mark R. created a genuinely interesting character in Banner.
CGI: Big budgets mean you shouldn't notice the CGI. In one scene in particular, it was obvious that the actors were in front of a green screen, with the CGI added later. They should blend into the CGI not stand apart and obviously in front of it.
Script: Could the script have been more plodding and obvious? It was not a smart or clever script. It read like . . . a comic book! Perhaps that's all Marvel can do well.