Film critic Anthony O. Scott recently incurred the wrath of actor Samuel L. Jackson over his weary review of The Avengers. The following remark is a solid microcosm of Scott’s feelings about the film:

The secret of “The Avengers” is that it is a snappy little dialogue comedy dressed up as something else, that something else being a giant A.T.M. for Marvel and its new studio overlords, the Walt Disney Company.

It’s a backhanded compliment, certainly, but Scott’s thesis is that The Avengers is not a work of art (even commercial art) so much as it is the horse to which Marvel and Disney have both hitched a lot of merchandising carts. Some films just feel that way, like when Elvis made movies that weren’t there to touch our souls but because Col. Parker knew The King’s career would benefit from the publicity.  Read the rest of this entry »