# Favorite Joss Whedon Lines **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 26, 2016, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189 "2016-04-26T15:09:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/61 "2016-04-27T18:37:20Z")
The last few lines from Angel: Spike: And in terms of a plan? Angel: We fight. Spike: Bit more specific? Angel: Well, personally, I kinda wanna slay the dragon. Let’s go to work. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/62 "2016-04-27T19:34:56Z")
Willow: I’m a witch! I worship Beelzebub! I’m dating a musician! Black Widow: I have red in my ledger. I want to wipe it out. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/63 "2016-04-27T20:43:57Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > If you say so. :rolleyes: You can make any silly face you like, but it is not just my “say so”. Film review aggregator [Rottentomatoes.com](http://Rottentomatoes.com) shows the 2012 _Marvel’s The Avengers_ has holding a 92% All Critics positive rating (91% audience score), while the 2015 _Avengers: Age of Ultron_ has a 75% All Critics rating and an 84% audience score. By comparison, _Captain America: The First Avenger_, a film most people were clearly kind of ‘meh’ about holds a 79%/74% ranking, while _Captain America: The Winter Solider_, which was widely acclaimed as being far superior to its predecessor, is 89%/92%. So, it seems I’m not alone in considering _Age of Ultron_ to be broadly inferior to the earlier _Avengers_ movie. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > No, I don’t feel the second movie was as good as the first one. But I also don’t feel it was as bad as you seem to. > > May I ask how many times you saw it? Personally, I found it worked a lot better the second time I watched it. The first time I watched it, it seemed chaotic and unstructured. But the second time, I knew the overall plot going in and I noticed it actually held up pretty well with a lot of apparently meaningless details that fit together to support the story. So the structure is there. I have it on Blu Ray and have probably seen it three or for times with various people after having seen it twice in theatres. I wouldn’t describe it as a ‘bad’ movie, certainly not in the sense that the abysmal J.J. Abrams _Star Trek_ reboots have been, but it lacked the characteristic wit and charm of pretty much everything else Joss Whedon has previously done regardless of budget or scale. I wouldn’t describe it as random or having meaningless details, but much of the dialogue is kind of trite, and the plotting is very linear, especially compared to _Avengers_ where Loki was playing the team members upon each other. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/64 "2016-04-27T21:28:44Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > You can make any silly face you like Thanks, I’ll make one again. :eek::rolleyes::dubious: That’s just so much fun. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/65 "2016-04-27T22:09:56Z")
Paraphrasing here, but he once said there should be a sarcasm font. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/66 "2016-04-27T22:43:27Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Film review aggregator [Rottentomatoes.com](http://Rottentomatoes.com) shows the 2012 _Marvel’s The Avengers_ has holding a 92% All Critics positive rating (91% audience score), while the 2015 _Avengers: Age of Ultron_ has a 75% All Critics rating and an 84% audience score. By comparison, _Captain America: The First Avenger_, a film most people were clearly kind of ‘meh’ about holds a 79%/74% ranking, while _Captain America: The Winter Solider_, which was widely acclaimed as being far superior to its predecessor, is 89%/92%. So, it seems I’m not alone in considering _Age of Ultron_ to be broadly inferior to the earlier _Avengers_ movie. Be careful about citing Rottentomatoes scores, or someone might use them against you the next time you rip on Star Trek. > [@](#): > > I wouldn’t describe it as a ‘bad’ movie, certainly not in the sense that the abysmal J.J. Abrams _Star Trek_ reboots have been Gah! You did it in the very same post! The “abysmal” Star Trek reboot in 2009 got a 95% rating from critics and 91% from audiences. For context, that’s as good or better than the first Avengers on both counts. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/67 "2016-04-27T22:53:20Z")
I was just making a comparison between the critical and popular reception of the two _Avengers_ films in which the second is clearly regarded as inferior to the first. I realize that a thundering herd of people think the lens-flare ensconced _Star Trek_ reboot and its even worse sequal populated by attractive people doing nonsensical things was fantastic, but then, for some reason people think J.J. Abrams is clever and original when he actually cribs unabashedly from other and better material and then makes it is own by inserting non sequitur conspiracies that are then never satisfactorily explained or resolved. Personally, I think J.J. Abrams is the worst director working in mainstream films today, and that includes hacks like Michael Bay and Zack Snyder, and I preferred the the 2009 _Star Trek_ when it was called _Galaxy Quest_ and was populated with good actors knowingly playing in a satire. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/68 "2016-04-27T23:09:13Z")
Sounds like you unfairly blame Abrams for Lost. Abrams wrote and directed the pilot, and consulted on story concepts for a bit. He was gone early in season one. From here: > [@](#): > > Together, Abrams and Lindelof fleshed out the initial setting of the show. Abrams is credited for co-creating Lost and co-writing the two-part pilot episode, “Pilot, Part 1” and “Pilot, Part 2”, together with Damon Lindelof and Jeffrey Lieber, directing the two-part pilot episode, and as an executive producer of the show. He also had the idea for the opening theme and the title card. [2] > > Early in Season 1, Abrams was busy with producing and directing Mission: Impossible III. When Damon Lindelof was considering quitting Lost due to the sudden burden, Carlton Cuse talked him out of leaving and joined the show’s staff as an executive producer.[3] From this point on, Abrams stopped being directly involved with the show.[4] This also helps explain why it was stated that the island wasn’t purgatory early on (Abrams’ vision) but then it got retconned into exactly that in later seasons. (Lindelof and Cuse) Lost started out excellent, thanks in no small part to Abrams. It started going off the rails after the first season, but that can’t be blamed on Abrams. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/69 "2016-04-28T00:03:14Z")
No, I blame Abrams for the smear of shit that he’s dragged around Hollywood for the past decade or so, from the incoherent _Mission: Impossible III_ through yawn-inducing _Super 8_, the excrable _Star Trek Into Darkness_, and the imitative fan service of the recent _Star Wars: Episode VII_ film (although to be fair, Disney probably specifically picked Abrams for his sense of pastiche and not taking risks with ther $4B acquisition of the _Star Wars_ franchise). He’s not original, clever, visually inventive, or frankly a good director of eithe actors or action set pieces. But he makes shit blow up real good which is all you need for a crowd-pleasing blockbuster. Whedon, on the other hand, has shown a flair for being original and inventive even when working in an established genre or with an adaptation like _Much Ado About Nothing_; unfortunately, I think he was just too tired and burned out when it came to the second _Avengers_ movie to do good work. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/70 "2016-04-28T00:11:36Z")
Resolved: _Avengers: Age of Ultron_ was not nearly as good, either overall or in the number of good lines, as the original. Likewise resolved: _A: AoU_ was still better, both overall and in the number of good lines, than most movies. Are we settled on that? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/71 "2016-04-28T01:04:01Z")
Can you please take the Age of Ultron debate to another thread. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/72 "2016-04-28T01:31:25Z")
From Cabin in the Woods: Mordecai: Cleanse them. Cleanse the world of their ignorance and sin. Bathe them in the crimson of… [pauses] Mordecai: Am I on speakerphone? Hadley: No, absolutely not. Speakerphone, no, no, I wouldn’t do that. Mordecai: Yes I am. I can hear the echo. Hadley: Oh, my God, you’re right. Hang on one second, I’ll take you off. Mordecai: That’s rude. I don’t know who’s in the room. Dana: I’m so sorry I almost shot you. I probably wouldn’t have. Marty: Hey, shh, no. I totally get it. I’m sorry I let you get attacked by a werewolf and then ended the world. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/73 "2016-04-28T12:07:04Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Mal: Darn. This. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/74 "2016-04-28T13:06:49Z")
Natasha Romanoff: These guys come from legend. They’re basically gods. Steve Rogers: There’s only one God, ma’am, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that. Nick Fury: I don’t know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I’d like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys. Thor: Monkeys? I do not understand. Steve Rogers: I do! [Stark rolls his eyes, while Captain America looks proud of himself] Steve Rogers: I understood that reference. Thor: Have a care how you speak! Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard and he is my brother! Natasha Romanoff: He killed eighty people in two days. Thor: He’s adopted. (The sheepish tone with which Thor delivers that last line really sells it beautifully.) ---
**Author:** ![Dante\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@Dante\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante_G)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/75 "2016-04-28T14:49:46Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > Can you please take the Age of Ultron debate to another thread. Was just going to say that myself? Did I just get ninja’d? ---
**Author:** ![pseudograph](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pseudograph/32/19768_2.png) [@pseudograph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudograph)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/76 "2016-04-28T16:04:43Z")
Willow: She’s being kind of a b-i-t-c-h. Xander: Bitca? I love it because it gave me a new word that I was able to use around (not about) my sister for a couple of years, before she finally tweaked to what I was saying? ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/77 "2016-04-28T16:07:07Z")
A lot of my favorite Buffy quotes have been taken already. ☹ “Does this sweater make me look fat?” “No, the fact that you’re fat makes you look fat. That sweater just makes you look purple.” “Humans make the same mistakes over and over. I saw it when I was a vengeance demon. Some guy dumps a girl, she calls me, I exact vengeance, blah blah blah, the next year, same girl, different guy. I mean, after you smite a few of 'em you start going, “My goodness, young lady… maybe you’re doing something wrong here too.” “I’m up…I’m suddenly very up… it’s just, um…I’ve never been up with people before.” “Just relax. Take your pants off.” “Those two concepts are antithetical.” From Firefly: “Ohhh, I’m going to the special hell…” “You see, morbid and creepafying, I got no problem with, long as she does it quiet-like.” And, of course, the entirety of The Hero of Canton. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/78 "2016-04-29T03:33:35Z")
Zoe: Jayne, this is something the captain has to do for himself. Mal: No! No it’s not! Stark: Your work in anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I’m a huge fan of how you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage-monster. Loki: If it’s all the same to you…I’ll have that drink now. Cap: No one has to break anything. Ultron: Clearly you never made an omelet. Stark: Beat me by one second! Ultron: I’m glad you asked, because I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you my evil plan! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/79 "2016-04-29T04:45:16Z")
Spike: Yeah, I could do that, but I’m paralyzed with not caring very much. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189/80 "2016-04-29T05:37:38Z")
Mal. That means bad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-joss-whedon-lines/753189.md?page=5)