“There are…no strings on me.” The last words of the first teaser trailer for what is sure to become one of the highest grossing films of all time, teased a much darker story than what actually occurs in Age of Ultron. While I must note the disparity between the trailer and the actual film itself as a tad disappointing, Age of Ultron is an undeniably fun movie. To kick off this review, let’s start off with the things I really enjoyed about this film, of which there are plenty.
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD
Most Avengers fans would be lying if they said that they weren’t mostly looking forward to all of the inevitable ass-kicking (no Aaron Taylor-Johnson pun intended) that would be taking place in the course of the film. At this point, Marvel has this concept mastered and they performed this section very, very well. From the opening battle to the Hulk vs. Hulkbuster sequence and all the way to the destruction of the last Ultron body, this movie did a fantastic job at showing the fans exactly what they wanted. All this being said, this film did not feature one of those “rewatch it in amazement 300 times” scenes like the first Avengers New York battle or even the elevator scene in Captain America: The Winter Solider. In Guardians of the Galaxy, when Star-Lord reaches for the infinity stone, the entire audience is mesmerized in the drama of it all. It’s a fantastic scene that Age of Ultron, unfortunately, did not come close to meeting. Simply put, it’s not like I’ve never seen any of this action before, but I certainly wasn’t sad that I got to see more of it.
I can already say that my favorite Avenger of the new Avengers team is Vision. Vision is, without a doubt, the absolute best part of this film. Having never read any of the comics, I had no idea how his character would come into existence, but was really impressed with the way the writers pulled this part of the story off. Instead of Ultron’s attempt to build himself a body being a complete waste, we get this entirely new and different element to the story. On another level though, it’s quite ironic that Vision is born from Ultron’s hubris. As the invention of Tony Stark, Ultron repeats the same mistakes of his creator. Where Tony Stark fails in creating Ultron, Ultron fails in creating Vision. On top of all of the irony behind it all, Vision is just a cool character. Being the only character besides Thor that can pick up Mjolnir (Thor’s Hammer), Vision has an immediate level of wisdom and respect both from the original Avengers team and to their successors. He’s the only person, as far as we know, besides Thor that is capable of picking up this weapon of immense power and responsibility. As a result, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that he will not only be an amazingly awesome addition to the Avengers lineup, but also leading the junior Avengers team.Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were extremely different from what I originally expected. They were both fantastic characters that served multiple purposes for the film. Their origin story created a great example of the demons that Tony Stark is forced to grapple with and also gave us a reason to care about them as characters. The inevitable comparison between Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Evan Peters was not even a contest in all honesty though this was no fault of Johnson’s (Evan Peters was just extremely well used in Days of Future Past). While I enjoyed Quicksilver and Hawkeye’s “You did not see that coming?” back-and-forth banter, I felt like the movie needed more of Quicksilver in action. I had read the rumors about Quicksilver’s death long before walking into the movie theater, so I was not surprised to see him depart the franchise so early, but I was a tad disappointed because I felt like there was a lot more to his character than this movie gave him. In all fairness though, someone had to die in this movie and getting rid of Quicksilver now will certainly make it easier for Fox to bring Evan Peters back (Fox, if you’re reading this: Please do that!). Scarlet Witch was equally as impressive as her speedster counterpart, however. I’m really looking forward to seeing what the next Marvel phase has in store for Scarlet Witch, especially what she will be up to in Captain America: Civil War.
Now, Marvel comic book readers please do not tear me apart mercilessly in the comments section for my next complaint: the humor. One of my favorite parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the not-so-serious tone. It fits the stories and the over-the-top action sequences perfectly so I always welcome Marvel humor with open arms… except in the case of Age of Ultron. For me, the jokes were simply hit and miss. Captain America’s “Watch your language” complaint grew old fast and by the time the movie was over I was ready to start swearing just because of it. Other jokes hit just like they should. Stan Lee’s comedic cameo was well placed and hilariously executed and Vision’s “Well, I was just born yesterday” fit in very nicely to offset the massive amount of destruction from earlier in the film. A decent amount of the jokes worked well, but a large portion of them just felt out of place. The worst joke of them all came from Ultron. In response to Thor’s claim that no one needed to break anything, Ultron responds, “Clearly, you’ve never made an omelet. “ I know the goal in including this cheesy (pun intended) line was to point out that Ultron has some of Tony Stark’s characteristics, but I can't even imagine Iron Man saying something so silly. It just felt offbeat to me. I know a lot of people could disagree with me on this though, so if you do, please leave a comment below and I’d love to talk with you about it.
My biggest problem with this movie was its pacing. A lot of fans, including myself, admit that the original Avengers had some pacing issues, but Age of Ultron made zero notable improvements. If anything, it was actually worse in this category. The team’s big break at Hawkeye’s family home felt completely unnecessary except to slow the movie down and to show us that Hawkeye had a family (and thus further justify the unnecessary romance between Hulk and Black Widow). Outside of this, I was at a complete loss as to why our heroes were spending such a huge chunk of the middle of the movie camping and fixing tractors.
Rating: 8.1/10 - Overall, Avengers: Age of Ultron was not better than its predecessor, but it was another enjoyable part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Considering it along with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe I rank it at #6. Below is my complete ranking of Marvel movies for those who are so inclined. Be sure to let me know how you liked the movie in the comments and rank your favorite MCU movies.
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Iron Man
4. The Avengers
5. Thor: The Dark World
6. Avengers: Age of Ultron
7. Captain America: The First Avenger
8. Iron Man 3
9. Thor
10. Iron Man 2
11. The Incredible Hulk
I find it interesting that your biggest problem with the movie was its pacing, specifically that it got too slow at points. I would agree that the film has a pacing problem, but I actually think it moved a little too fast at times. I liked the bit of downtime at Hawkeye's home, and I think a lot of other storylines could have been served nicely if the movie slowed down and fleshed some things out a little more. For example, I liked the concept of a Black Widow and Banner pairing that the movie presented, but as it was played out it felt rushed, and like you said, not entirely cohesive. I also think some more time could have been spent on the Scarlet Witch nightmares; as it was I felt Cap's went nowhere and Thor's didn't really serve any other purpose other than to plant the seeds for Ragnarok, and even how that was presented was unclear (what exactly was that magic pool?). A lot of my other problems with the movie kind of stem from this idea that things just moved too fast. Supposedly, Whedon's assembly cut was 3 hours and 15 minutes; I'd be curious to see that version.
ReplyDeleteOn another point, I'm surprised how many people seem to have had a problem with the film's humor. I really enjoyed it and it didn't feel any more over the top or out of place to me than in the first Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy. Maybe it was just people's expectations, since the trailer's did seem to present a much darker movie than the one we got (but can the film really be blamed for false marketing?), and the fact that The Winter Soldier was near humorless. I will agree that some jokes did fall a little flat, such as the omelet one, but I thought they were few and far between.
Also, Quicksilver is totally going to be brought back to life. I'd be amazed if this is the last we see of him.
I enjoyed the movie, but did feel the pacing was off, I will get the disk and watch again because my favorite line I can not tell you who said it, something like They Breed like Catholic rabbits.
ReplyDeleteNice review!I really enjoyed the movie myself,just as I was expecting.Loved the new additions,the twins a little bit more than Vision.Ultron was also fun.
ReplyDeleteThere were definitely some flaws.The pacing surprisingly did not bother me that much.
My major issues with AoU are two.First one,the Natasha/Bruce romance and not because I didn't want these characters together and I wanted some other characters together,not at all.My problem is that it came out of absolutely nowhere and yeah,did not make much sense.I mean,Natasha went from being terrified of the Hulk to blushing in front of him..Huh!?If we had explored it a bit more,perhaps I would have been all for it.But now,it's like they just wanted a romantic relationship and these were the only available characters.And yeah,it bothered me that this was Natasha's main story line,mainly because I was expecting something different.
Which brings me to my second issue:character continuity.AoU would have been very good in terms of the characters if it was just the Avengers sequel.Which it was,BUT there were also 3 movies between them,that majorly affected at least 4 of the main characters.And that I didn't see.It was like we picked up from where we left of in the Avengers as far as the individual characters go,with the diffrerence that now they work much better as a team.Natasha,for example.When we last saw her in TWS she had just dropped every single SHIELD/HYDRA secret online,including hers,and was leaving to try and figure things out.For a character with a dark past,like Natasha,that was a huge deal.I was hoping to see more of that.
To be fair,this is a problem (for me,at least) not easily fixed,mainly because it includes story lines that need to be picked up in future films and can't be resolved here.I would have liked them to be more addressed however.
I also found something a bit strange.During the talk with Steve and Sam we hear them giving a vague update on their search for Bucky.It seemed however that they were kind of secretive about it.Which makes me wonder.Do the rest of the Avengers know about Bucky(apart from Natasha,of course)?I expected Steve to have told them,but now I'm not so sure.It'll sure be a nice surprise in Civil War.
That was Fury's line! Got to love Fury.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I don't go to movies often as I keep wanting to pause and back up to see what I just missed. ;)
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ReplyDeleteI agree with most of this review, especially the Widow/Hulk pairing, it just felt so forced & unecessary, Natasha flirting/teasing Cap in Winter Soldier felt natural & was amusing. I had such hope when the first Avengers movie was announced but now after a second Meh Avengers I think Joss Whedon should stick to TV shows where he has enough time to slowly establish his characters/humour/vision.
ReplyDeletei would rank the movies a bit different:
1. Winter Soldier
2. Gaurdians
3. Iron Man
4. Dark World
5. First Avenger
6. Thor
7. Iron Man 3
8. Age of Ultron
9. Avengers
10. Iron Man 2
11. Incredible Huk
Well, I actually wanted to write a comment but you said everything I wanted to say.
ReplyDeleteI don´t really understand why so many people hate the Hulk/Black Widow pairing. It absolutely felt right to me, as the reviewer stresses out the understanding of the pairing. I think the problem that the "romance doesn´t fit well with the story"-feeling is actually on purpose. They would want to have romance but they cannot at the points in their lives. That´s why Banner leaves.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this movie especially the fighting but there were some scenes that were really cheesy which was fine but I rolled my eyes a few times. I didn't really like Vision tbh, I loved the scene with Mjolnir and I liked that they connected the stones in the story, does that mean next time the Guardians of the Galaxy will join? I did love Ultron tho he was a fantastic villian even tho I was surprised how many people got killed if you think about how much Ultron and The Avengers destroyed. One thing that I thought they didn't have to add, is the death of "You know who I mean". It would have been an awesome movie without him dying. Another thing that I thought was cheesy was the love story of Black Widow and Hulk. I would have rather seen more about Natasha's past, or maybe one day they will give her, her own movie. Anyway I really liked it but one question how is Bruce struggling in the second movie and in the first one he wasn't? He said his secret is that he is always angry, was a sick fight tho with him and Tony! and excussse me, I love how they threw Thanos at us once again! Please at least make him an important character in the next movie because in Guardians he didn't play a big role either. But anyway I honestly loved it and I am defs going to go and by myself an Audi (if you get what I mean) :)
ReplyDeleteIt absolutely did move fast at times (Ultron's introduction was actually very rushed if you ask me). At the same time though, once the movie got moving, it was really, really good! Slowing down in the middle of the fight without any real reason to me just felt unnatural though. I'd definitely be interested in seeing the 3 hour version as well, although 3 hours is awfully long.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Glad you enjoyed the movie and my review of it. I am definitely interested to see how future films will address the lingering issues of the pre-Ultron movies. Obviously, they had a lot to fit in to one film and I think they just ran out of time to tell the overall story.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. I've never been a HUGE Joss Whedon fan in all honesty, but it does seem that his best medium is television. He's been getting a major amount of press for being exhausted and done with Marvel so I don't think it's much a stretch to say he won't be involved in any upcoming MCU films.
ReplyDeleteI get that, but then at that point, I'm left wondering why they spent so much time on it if Banner was just leaving. Maybe they'l pick it up again in a future installment and make it seem relevant to the overall film and then I'll be more than happy to praise their storytelling methods. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you that liked it. I'm hoping to see Thanos in action a lot more in the next Avengers film as well. There's a chance they could save him for the Infinity War Part 2, but I would love to see his character fleshed out to max potential in both films.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the Hulk/Widow plotline. My friends and I had the same reaction to Bruce saving Widow from Ultron's cell. The scene felt off to the point that we turned to each other commenting that maybe Nat is dreaming or that's someone is disguised as Natasha (wearing the mask tech from TWS).
ReplyDeleteSome people say that they saw this relationship coming from the first movie, because they talked. Umm so basically anyone that talks to each other makes them a ship. Sorry, but no.
I really wanted the science bros to bond, or Nat to A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS, or Ultron's cheesy puns. Honestly, I was so excited to get a menacing villain, but instead I got a sarcastic teenage metallic Pinocchio that hates his father.
Well, there were many rumors floating around with Hulk going into space for a potential Planet Hulk storyline and there is still some secretiveness about what might happen, with Whedon saying he shot a scene, they didn´t put it in but probably might put it into a later movie.
ReplyDeleteJoss Whedon just said in an interview that he actually wanted the last frame be, Banner/Hulk looking through the quinjet window and see some stars, like the air is getting thinner because he is leaving earth. So this ambiguous scene could have been a hint at Planet Hulk or just a potential eternal exile for him.
The fact that they have spent so much time on him and Black Widow.... well, that´s the story. To say the ending makes the whole story more or less pointless could apply to many movies, 500 days of summer is the first that comes to my mind.
Completely agree. From what I hear about the comics, this was actually a pretty faithful adaptation of Ultron's personality, but the way the marketing for this worked just made it seem like he would be menacing like you said so, it was hard to not feel a bit let down in this regard.
ReplyDeleteI saw those rumors as well. That would definitely bring a lot more meaning to it, if Banner met up with the Guardians or some other MCU movie. I just didn't think their romance melded well with the rest of the movie.
ReplyDeleteI loved the movie and loved Vision's character. Also loved how much we got to know Hawkeye. I love all the Avengers and one of my few disappointments with the first Avengers movie was how long he spent under the control of Loki. It was also nice to see that despite not always getting along the team have become good friends.
ReplyDeleteThe pacing didn't bother me. I feel like the break at the farmhouse was actually kind of nice cause I don't want action all the time, I also want the characters interacting in calmer situations and it helps get to know the characters even more.
Some of the jokes were a bit cheesy, I agree. The introduction to the language joke felt kind of random. But after the first time I actually started laughing at it.
As for Bruce and Natasha it was okay. I didn't dislike it like some, but I'm not 100% sold on it either.
The humor was about the same as the first Avengers. Better, actually, there were maybe only TWO unnecessary jokes and you mentioned one of them, the rest was funny. Thor was surprisingly one of the funniest this time around, his face when Cap almost picks up the hammer was priceless.
ReplyDeleteI definitely don't think there was a problem with the pacing, either, if anything, it was far too fast-paced. Actually this movie should have been 45 minutes longer, at LEAST. Ultron was introduced way too quickly to be terribly threatening.
All in all though, very solid film, better than the first Avengers IMO. (I was very very very glad they didn't cram Loki in somehow, I need a break from him.) Vision was great, the new characters were perfect. I'll miss Quicksilver.
Glad to hear that you liked the film. Like I said, some of their jokes hit perfectly, but for me the swearing and omelette were just out of place.
ReplyDeleteMy problem with the pacing was that it slowed down in a super awkward time. Ultron is out there doing God knows what and the Avengers are just chilling at Hawkeye's house? It just didn't make much sense to me. If they had slowed down Ultron's introduction and given the Avengers a legitimate reason to stop at Hawkeye's house, I may have liked the film a bit better.
As far as Loki goes, I'm definitely glad they didn't include him because the ensemble cast was hard enough to utilize as it was so I agree with you on that.
Thanks for reading!
Wow, I had a totally different experience and opinion on the movie. I totally felt all of the humour. To me the funniest moment of the movie was when Ultron removed Klaw's hand and apologizes for it like it isn't a big deal. The action I think truly blew away the first movie and I found the Hulk Vs. Hulkbuster scene was a scene worthy of watching over and over. I also enjoyed the romance between Banner and Romanov, although I think they had too many scenes together that were ultimately pointless I enjoyed the premise of the two together.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest problem with the film was the death of quicksilver, although I loved the scene and it was well done and beautifully executed. I was hoping that Hawkeye would of been the one that was taken out because I feel it would of been even more impactful on the team. The whole end scene with Ultron was well done and one of my favourites in the whole Marvel universe. My rating for AoU is a 9
Marvel Movie Rankings:
1. The Avengers: Age Of Ultron
2. Guardians Of The Galaxy
3. The Avengers
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
5. Iron Man
6. Captain America: The First Avenger
7. Thor: The Dark World
8. Iron Man 2
9. The Incredible Hulk
10. Thor
11. Iron Man 3
Wow. Thanks for taking the time to write such a long and in-depth response. Glad to hear that you liked the movie.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the Hawkeye front. I'm not sure where his character really has to go from here, except retirement. Lol. I actually did enjoy the Klaw scene even though it was 90% setup for the next Marvel phase. Glad you liked the movie.
ReplyDeleteWell I am hopeful that they will be able to continue to use Hawkeye in new and inventive ways. I think I enjoyed the Klaw scene so much because of the way that they potrayed Ultron. He was such a different take on a villain in the series. A very nice contrast to Loki from the first. Thanks I did enjoy it, I have seen it like 7 times. I hope you will do a review on Ant-Man I would love to read it.
ReplyDeleteChances are they'll probably find a use for him. We are talking about the same people that made us all care about a talking raccoon and a tree that can only say his name. Lol. I don't think I've ever seen a movie 7 times in theaters so that is some true dedication. My plan is to do an Ant-Man review as well when it comes out. Thanks for reading. :)
ReplyDeleteI totally get what you mean on the action going too long sometimes. Obviously if a movie is going to have a halfway decent plot, it's going to have to slow down at least a bit, but I just felt that the movie didn't justify slowing down the way it did. Ultron was actively doing things and they were all hanging out with Hawkeye's family. Lol. Glad you enjoyed the movie. Thanks for reading and commenting.
ReplyDeleteI WAS a huge Joss Whedon fan before he got involved in MCU. Buffy was the show that turned me into a TV-aholic & Firelfy was amazing, so I was incredibly disappointed to see how horribly he's handled the Avengers films. It wasn't just the Widow/Banner pairing but the way he turned Widow into a freaking damsel. I guess he was trying to make her softer or whatever but it failed miserably.
ReplyDeleteThe Russo brothers, who did such an amazing job with Winter Soldier, seem to now be in charge of not just Civil War but also both Infinity Wars. Safe to say Joss has been kindly given the boot from MCU & its for the better.
To be fair, Whedon had to make a lot of concessions with Marvel when making this movie and the first Avengers. he's been more forthcoming about that during the press tour for Age of Ultron.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question about Dr. Cho, she was shown to be injured but alive after Ultron zapped her. Also, she was at the new Avengers facility toward the end of the film.
ReplyDeleteUltron's plan was to wipe out all organic life on Earth, which is pretty much his modus operandi in the comics. The big deviations were was him being a peacekeeping program gone wrong. Ultron then wanted to replace that life with Vision-like androids.
In terms of Hulk's one-time love Betty Ross, I am curious why she never gets so much as a mention in the Avengers films. Maybe Marvel wants to distance themselves from the red-headed stepchild film staring Ed Norton? Who knows?
I can see your issue with Falcon suddenly joining. I had no problem with Rhodey becoming Avenger since he came to assist during the final battle.
As for Scarlet Witch, in the film her powers were more clearly defined than in the comics. Telekinesis and Telepathy, though it would be cool if those powers were a manifestation of her chaos/probability altering powers. And I had no issue with her new costume. Heroes switch up their threads all the time :)
Yes, I've read the articles & heard the interviews but I honestly don't feel that those concessions are solely to blame for both Avenger films being subpar to the rest of the MCU films. To me, it sounds like Joss was digging his heals in just as much as Marvel was. Actually, he comes off sounding like a butthurt whiny brat who didn't get his way. Instead of making alterations to accommodate Marvel's insistences Joss just crammed in those bits & is now shooting his mouth off about all mean bully things Marvel did that ruined his vision . . . Um wow it just dawned on me that Joss is basically Ultron lol. This also isn't a new thing for him to do, he had major issues with Fox over Firefly; paired with low ratings & Fox's notorious cancel happy ways, it got Firefly cancelled.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest issues with the latest film though were all Joss, he insisted on the Hawkeye family & Widow/Banner pairing which created the lull in the middle of the film. He also repeated the basic theme from the first Avenger film, mid point of film has the team splintered, torn down & moping about only to rise back up at the inspiration of a single peripheral team member (Colson 1st, Fury 2nd). Sorry, been there done that, find a new plot device.
Joss needs to go back to television where he has more time to tell his stories & to a network where he has more freedom to do so.
1) Alright, so she was definitely at the New Avengers facility. I'll have to keep a closer eye out whenever I re-watch.
ReplyDelete2) See, I honestly couldn't tell if Ultron wanted to have the world run by more Ultrons/Visions, or if he had intended to terminate himself after the extinction of humanity. Thanks for the clarification!
3) I've been hearing rumors that William Hurt's General Ross may be returning for Civil War, so if that's true, then they clearly haven't totally retconned The Incredible Hulk. Although, it's sure felt that way...
4) I dunno, I guess I just would've liked another scene or two of Rhodey assimilating with the Avengers.
5) Well if her powers were more clearly defined here than in the comics, then I'm kind of afraid to getting around to reading them! lol. I thought the movie was terribly vague on her powers and seemed to just keep randomly adding to them at will.