Avengers: Age of Ultron- Grading & Discussion (spoilerific)

[Admiral2]

As I was leaving the theater after watching AoU I was thinking 'It took Marvel eight movies and a TV series to get to this level of awesomeness, and DC thinks they're going to match it with one sequel. Good luck with that one, Defective Comics!'

Solid freaking 'A' fo9r packing 11 Avengers in one film. And making Ultron the bad guy.

 

[Data Soong]

lol Veronica. The way i hear it is that Betty is Banner's girlfriend and in Archie comics Veronica is the opposite of Betty, so they gave that name to the HulkBuster.

 

[Sci]

It was a plotpoint. Authorities called for Banner's, and by extension the other Avenger's, arrest. They had all but a worrant for him out.

That's why they layed low during the middle of the movie at Hawkeye`s house.

or do you mean the fans?

I think he might mean a certain Wakandan King who is due to show up in Civil War.

Was that actually Wakanda we saw though? I guess I took from the line that Serkis's character got away with some of their "trade goods" that they were in a neighbouring country. Mind you there was a lot going on so I may have misheard or misunderstood something.

That aside, I know my Marvel comic knowledge is spotty at best, but isn't Wakanda supposed to be *very* technologically advanced and almost fanatically isolationist? That place just looked like a modern African nation.

^Yes, they said Wakanda about 4 times in the dialogue.

No, they said that the vibranium was from Wakanda, but they did not identify what country they were physically in; we only know it was on the coast somewhere. However, the credits identified it as Johannesburg (it identified some actors as playing Johannesburg Police), so I'm inclined to think they were in South Africa and that the vibranium had been imported from Wakanda on its way to other ports.

Just got out of the theater. Idk, does anyone else feel the film could've been stronger if there were more civillian casualties? The first trailer made it look like Marvel was finally going dark, but in the film they went out of their way to illustrate that everybody in danger made it out ok. The lack of menace from the cannon fodder Ultron bots didn't help matters. The final battle in Slovia felt tensionless because you knew every body would be saved. Even the dogs!

That battle in Wakanda or Africa, or wherever. That had me on the edge of my seat. Just wondering how Tony was going to juggle saving people and fighting a berserker Hulk, in a suit that Hulk keeps ripping to pieces.

I'm pretty sure that Tony did not succeed in saving everybody from the Berserker!Hulk. There were probably at least a few deaths from the Hulk's rampage -- which of course opens up the question, why did Wanda apparently serve no prison time for having set a mind-controlled Hulk upon the populace?

* * *

So, you have Nick Fury, apparently out of hiding, running a large Avengers organization with access to a hellicarrier, with Maria Hill working for him, all apparently under the umbrella of Stark Industries...

.... is it just me, or is this basically just SHIELD by another name? What does this imply for Coulson's team on the show? Is their SHIELD, or the Gonazales!SHIELD, going to merge with Stark-Industries!Off-Brand-SHIELD?

 

[Karzak]

It'll be interesting to find out who's the Hydrox and who's the Oreo of the various groups, that's for sure.

HAIL HYDROX!

 

[RoJoHen]

Just got back from the theater. Really enjoyed it. I don't know that Joss Whedon's snarky character banter works as well on the big screen as it does on TV, but I still enjoy it.

I absolutely loved what they did with Hawkeye. We've been wanting more of him from the start, and we finally got it. I also loved how they basically set him up to die. There were so many hints that he was going to die that if they had actually killed him off it would have just been too damn obvious. I'm glad they pulled off a twist with the death of Pietro instead.

 

[BillJ]

B.

Not a bad movie but not very different from the first Avengers film. I saw that one once in the theater and had massive feelings of deja vu throughout Age of Ultron.

 

[DarthPipes]

I really enjoyed it. I thought the first Avengers was a better movie but I think this film was exciting with some excellent character work.

Pietro and Wanda were good (although X-Men Pietro has him beat) but Vision and Ultron were the new scene-stealers. Ultron was very funny and one of the better villains in these Marvel films. Also really liked his initial introduction inside the computer and interacting with Jarvis. Vision came to life and did not disappoint. Definitely looking forward to seeing more of him and I wonder if they'll set something up with him and Wanda.

As I said, the character work was excellent. The party scene was a lot of fun that built off the relationships with the existing characters. I also really liked when Natasha, Cap, and Thor went through their respective hallucinations.

I totally bought the Natasha and Banner relationship. I thought they had a real spark in their interactions in the first movie and they built on that here.

Didn't expect the reveal with Hawkeye but I've been a fan of Linda Cardellini since Freaks and Geeks so it was very cool to see her.

Great opening scene with the team in action. Very, very funny movie too.

Loved the ending with the Avengers Academy. I really wonder what the team will look like by Infinity War.

Like I said, the movie wasn't perfect. I think the first film was better and there are certainly off moments here. At times, it felt like there was three to four different movies going on here.

I really have to knock Joss Whedon though on his bizarre decision to shoot like 85% of this film in darkness. Seriously, what was with so many scenes taking place in shadows? At times it felt like I could barely see the picture. Just an odd and foolish directing choice on his part.

Shield's return was cool. I understand why they're back but I call total bullshit on them being allowed to use the name Shield in the MCU. After Winter Soldier, the name Shield likely would be too strongly linked to Hydra. Something would have risen from the ashes but Shield couldn't return and be business as usual again. Just not going to happen after what they allowed Hydra to do to it.

They definitely set things up nicely for Civil War, which I can't wait to see.

 

[davejames]

Huh, never would have thought an Avengers movie could feel so routine and by the numbers. There were some cool moments and some funny moments, and there was clearly a good story there underneath it all, as well as a strong villain.... but there was no proper buildup with any of it or a sense that we were seeing something really special and unique with this movie.

Instead there was just this pervading sense of "ho hum, just watching the Avengers do their thing again, destroying another army of robot soldiers and battling another villain with a god complex."

Weird.

 

[Sistrin]

When comparing AoU to other Marvel movies it wasn't the best to date, but it was certainly better fare than the majority of everything else out there.

The opening sequence was incredible, and overall I thought it effective, a very good film. If Avengers II suffered it was from the standard "more is better" pitfall which plagues sequels. There are moments in the film which are classic Marvel and truly epic. It does change the direction of the Avengers and sets up the movies to come quite well. However the story does drag a bit, and Ultron came across more as Doctor Evil than Colossus. The death in the ranks isn't the one most people would have thought. The film also shows signs of the inevitable effect of the law of diminishing returns.

Visually it had its moments, but it wasn't near as visually stunning as was Guardians of the Galaxy. The action sequences were effective, but it was mostly action for the sake of action and lacked the purpose of Captain America The Winter Soldier. I will say the panoramic sequence featuring each character during the final fight scene was almost worth the price of admission just in itself.

I can guess how Honest Trailers will approach it, as the end of the movie was a bit reminiscent of the first. The mid-credit scene was uninspired. And Nick Fury just happens to show up at exactly the right time with an old helicarrier equipped with a bunch of made-to-order rescue craft?

Still, worth every penny to see it.

I liked what they did with Hawkeye's character. For some reason many fans of the Marvel movies and the Avengers in particular felt Hawkeye should never have been included, but I disagree. I have thought him a great character, well played. Many thought he would die in this film just to remove him from the starting line-up, and I think what actually happened may have been a way to address that issue without killing him. But as someone else said he is slated to return.

Prior to viewing I thought the whole Hulk-Black Widow relationship was a result of Wanda's mind tricks. Wanda bewitches Natasha, Natasha bewitches the Hulk in order to turn him against the Avengers. Not so as apparently they are an item. But then he is a rage monster and she is barren, so it probably won't go anywhere.

The whole Scarlet Witch dream inducing mechanism was, in my opinion, just a convenient vehicle to introduce elements of future films. But if so it was effective, and necessary. I also thought her character played in accordance with the comic history. She wasn't called a witch for nothing.

I was impressed with how they used this movie to set up phase three. Captain America Civil War was particularly addressed, but so was Thor Ragnorok and Guardians of the Galaxy Two.

Leaves you wondering who will fight Thanos in Avengers Three.

For any on the fence I advise going to see it. If you are going to spend 13 dollars on a movie, this will leave you feeling it was money not wasted.

I found this GIF, thought I would share:

 

[Grendelsbayne]

I really have to knock Joss Whedon though on his bizarre decision to shoot like 85% of this film in darkness. Seriously, what was with so many scenes taking place in shadows? At times it felt like I could barely see the picture. Just an odd and foolish directing choice on his part.

I honestly didn't notice this at all. (I mean I noticed some scenes in the shadows, but never that it was at all difficult to see.) Is it possible your theater didn't have the screen set up properly?

Shield's return was cool. I understand why they're back but I call total bullshit on them being allowed to use the name Shield in the MCU. After Winter Soldier, the name Shield likely would be too strongly linked to Hydra. Something would have risen from the ashes but Shield couldn't return and be business as usual again. Just not going to happen after what they allowed Hydra to do to it.

Maybe I missed something, but what makes you think they're returning and being business as usual? They showed up with a helicarrier and evacuated people, but the film didn't show anything with them after that. I assumed they just went straight back underground, with the majority of the world still completely distrusting them.

 

[M.A.C.O.]

So.... How do we feel about the two Quicksilvers?
Who did you like best?

Age of Ultron

Or

Days of Future Past

 

[Relayer1]

Oh, DOFP, by a mile - that Pietro generated a huge grin and much enjoyment. AOU Quicksilver was O.K., but not...special.

Much as I love the MCU (and AOU was hardly a dud like Iron Man 2), DOFP kicked it way into touch.

 

[Rowan Sjet]

Age of Ultron isn't a bad movie, but by no means is it a strong one either.

While Avengers progressed (even if sometimes only slightly) the character's stories in meaningful ways, and had some cohesiveness to it's plot, AOU just, kinda lacked any of this?

Sure, Thor didn't have a hell of a lot to do in terms of scenes that weren't action in the first Avengers, but the story allowed him to come to terms with the new combative relationship with his brother. In AOU, he's only around for exposition and for the late-movie Mjolnir callback.

Natasha had so many amazing moments in Avengers, from her opening 'interrogation' and tricking Loki, to coming face to angry face with a force she found she couldn't fight or manipulate her way around. Here, she's one half of one of the least believable romances I've ever witnessed, decides to run away (?!), and gets kidnapped by the bad guy. Ugh. (hooray for morse code and a guy wandering willy-nilly around a somehow empty enemy base!)

Steve's original arc was a man lost in time becoming more sure of himself in a new world and growing into a leader again. Now he's a leader, but no one really listens to him and he mostly stands around being a platitude given human form. (I seriously groaned in disgust when he said his first line).

Tony of course had his first Avengers story culminating in him (almost) sacrificing himself to save New York from a nuke. Here, he feels guilty, makes a mistake, feels more guilty, makes the same decision again, only this time it turns out alright? And then...? vov

Hawkeye has a wife and 2.5 kids now. Ok.

The twins (already coming from a great place working for literal Nazis) hate the Avengers, and Tony in particular, through most of the movie. And then they discover Ultron's ultimate plan, join up with the Avengers and all that hatred is suddenly forgotten about.

Bruce is the one with the closest to something to a coherent arc. The first movie was about him accepting that the Hulk, a part of himself that he hates, could be used for good. AOU he rediscovers just how bad the Hulk can be, worse than even he imagined, and it's understandable that he runs away again at the end. Bruce/Nat is still 'WTF' though.

But like I said, it's not bad. The action scenes could be amazing, particularly Hulk vs Veronica, and Steve vs Ultron. And there were some good character moments in there, like the much previewed Thor's Hammer scene, and Vision's final scene with Ultron. Speaking of, Ultron was fantastic, one of my favourite villains of the MCU.

But otherwise, this was a fairly middling affair. A solid C+.

 

[Reverend]

So.... How do we feel about the two Quicksilvers?
Who did you like best?

Age of Ultron

Or

Days of Future Past

I liked them both just fine. Mostly I like how they're both radically different takes on the same character. DOFP Pietro however was a lot more fun and that heist sequence was probably the most memorable of that entire film. AoU Pietro had a little less going on, but to be fair he had to share the screen with a *lot* of other supporting characters and most of his scenes were relatively straight forward action scenes.

 

[Pauln6]

I think AoU Quicksilver had far less panache than DoFP. In contrast DoFP Pietro was too cool. He overshadowed the others by a mile. Hawkeye's instant family was both nice and disappointing (since it places a hook-up with Mockingbird out of reach).

I'm waiting for images of the final costumes to come out. I want to get a closer look at Falcon :-)

 

[davejames]

Yeah the DOFP Quicksilver was a lot more fun, but I still thought Whedon managed to come up with a lot of really cool and memorable moments for his movie's Quicksilver. Like the way he zigzagged in front of the train to remove all the people about to be hit, or the time he tried to grab Thor's hammer mid-flight...

And I thought the superspeed effect they came up with worked really well too.

 

[Mach5]

Saw it last night. IN 3-FUCKING-D!

It was on par with the first one. Solid, entertaining, although my eyelids got real heavy at one point, but that's probably because I got like 4 hours of sleep the night before.

BTW, this thing made $84 million on friday. It's almost certain to go north of 500 mil. domestically, and considering how much money movies make in China nowadays, it has a solid chance of crossing the 2 Billion dollar mark. The only two movies that ever did that were avatar (2.8B) and Titanic (2.2B).

 

[Kemaiku]

Yeah the DOFP Quicksilver was a lot more fun, but I still thought Whedon managed to come up with a lot of really cool and memorable moments for his movie's Quicksilver. Like the way he zigzagged in front of the train to remove all the people about to be hit, or the time he tried to grab Thor's hammer mid-flight...

And I thought the superspeed effect they came up with worked really well too.

Yeah, he was a fun character and did a good job the entire movie, interacted well with the others as hero and villain.

 

[Admiral2]

^^^Meh...DOFP Quicksilver was just another wise-ass kid. I deal with wise-ass kids all day at work. I'll take AoU Quicksilver every time.

 

[Kemaiku]

^^^Meh...DOFP Quicksilver was just another wise-ass kid. I deal with wise-ass kids all day at work. I'll take AoU Quicksilver every time.

I meant the AoU one, can't keep up with everyone using abbreviations I don't know. Ugh.

DOFP?