I’ll See Avengers 2…Someday

The new Avengers movie hits theaters this week. It’s going to be HUGE and I do want to see it…eventually. But you won’t find me at the theater on opening day and I’ll be fast asleep while millions of Americans will be going to the midnight opening of the film.

Look, I like going to movies as much as anyone else, but I’ve never understood the need or desire to see a new movie on the day it’s released. Given the choice of being packed into a movie theater like sardines, elbow to elbow with people munching on popcorn or talking throughout the movie OR going a few weeks later, perhaps even during a matinee in a half-empty theater with more leg room and less peripheral noise and distraction…I’ll choose the latter every time. I'm in no hurry. I can wait.

Perhaps I’ve become a curmudgeon. When I watch DVDs, Netflix or On-Demand movies at home, my family knows I prefer to watch with minimal talking from the ‘peanut gallery’. If someone has a question or comment, then it’s better to just pause the movie and discuss. I just don’t want to miss anything when the movie is playing. At a packed theater, it’s more difficult to give the old ‘stink eye’ to the couple chatting in the row in front of me. And I can do without a stranger unwrapping their bag of Twizzlers or shaking their box of Milk Duds right next to me.

My worst experience came when I saw a new movie that had only been out for a few days. The theater was full and someone behind me, who had obviously already seen the film, blurted out to their friend “Oh, this is the part where he gets killed!” I was livid and after the movie was over, on the way out I sarcastically thanked them for their unwanted play-by-play and for ruining the movie for me.

So, I will definitely see the new Avengers movie and I’ll try to avoid reading any ‘spoilers’ about the plot before I go. But you won’t see me anywhere near the theater until June, maybe on a weekday afternoon. And if there’s only about a half-dozen other people in the theater at the time, it will be just fine by me. Chances are they'll all feel the same way.