"Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015)
Iron Man, Thor and Captain America have all had their second solo films, so it's time for Earth's Mightiest Heroes to team up for the second time to face a threat that's too big for any one hero to face themselves. Even if that enemy is one that a member of the team created. Whoops.
Much like "Captain America: The Winter Solider" this movie takes it's subtitle from a comics arc that was relatively recent. In the comics, "Age of Ultron" was an alternate history where Ultron realized his dream of a cyborg domination and Earth's heroes form an underground resistance to stop him. It has nothing to do with this movie, but it's still a good read. You should check it out.
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" reunites the OG Avengers: Robert Downey, Jr as Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, Scarlet Johannson as Black Widow, Mark Ruffalo as Dr. Bruce Banner/The Hulk and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye. They are joined by Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson's, Wanda "Scarlet Witch" Maximoff and Pietro "Quicksilver" Maximoff. Paul Bettany appears in the flesh, sort of, as the Vision and James Spader voices Ultron. "Avengers: Age of Ultron" was written and directed by Joss Whedon. It opened nationwide on May 1, 2015.
As I mentioned in my post about "Marvel's The Avengers," it's my favorite movie. It's a thrill to see the Avengers finally together, it's written and directed by the creator of my all-time favorite tv show. It was basically tailor made to be a movie that I would really enjoy. So, I was doubly excited for the sequel since the first one was so good. I remember at the time of the movie's release that people seemed to not be super enthused. At least not as enthused as they were the first time around. I could see that, but upon re-watch, "Avengers: Age of Ultron" is a little overstuffed, but it's still a lot of fun.
There's a good amount of great in "Avengers: Age of Ultron." I would say the thing that I enjoy the most about the movie is the party scene after the team recovers Loki's staff, right before Ultron crashes the party. The Avengers are a team brought together mainly out of happenstance. They don't seem like they have a ton in common and they spend more time insulting each other than giving each other high fives. So, seeing them relate to each other, cut up and seemingly enjoy each other's company is great. The ensemble never seems looser than in these moments. It has one of my favorite Stan Lee cameos as the World War 2 vet who thinks he can handle Asgardian booze. The scene where each Avenger minus Natasha (perfect!) try to pick up Thor's hammer is wonderful. It's not a surprise that Cap is the one who comes closet. It's a small moment and I wish it would have lasted longer, but I feel like it's scenes like this that made Marvel choose Whedon for these films in the first place.
We also get to learn more about Hawkeye. I feel like Hawkeye kind of gets the Black Widow treatment in this one. It works to a point. Giving Clint a secret family makes you a bit more emotionally invested, but not in a way that makes me care more one way or another if he keeps on with the team.
The action sequences in "Avengers: Age of Ultron" are mind blowing. They are so huge. It's a scale that we haven't seen in the MCU up to this point. From the opening attack on Strucker's castle to Ultron's initial attack on the team to freaking Sokovia being lifted off the ground to be used as a meteor. The most memorable set piece in the movie may be Iron Man's square off against the Hulk. It allows Iron Man to bring out the Hulkbuster armor and go freaking HAM. It's really magnificent and it allows the movie to really show what Hulk can do. Hulk is a rampaging id and this reminds people that he can't really be contained. If there is one complaint about the scenes, it's that at times they can feel a little too CGI.
The additions to the movie are great. Elizabeth Olsen begins her tenure as Wanda Maximoff. She's immediately really engaging and interesting. Her powers are confusing. What can Wanda do? Well, basically whatever the writers need her to do. I had totally forgotten that she was screwing with people's heads. She doesn't do that anymore. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Pietro Maximoff and he nails the cocky pretension of the character and it's a bummer that he gets killed in the end, mainly because the X-Men movies were using Quicksilver at the same time. Paul Bettany gets to be a fully realized character as Vision makes his debut via the Mind Stone and Helen Cho's synthetic skin. He's worthy to hold Thor's hammer so that gains him the trust of the team. It's really James Spader as Ultron that steals the show. Ultron is a classic Avengers villain and Spader is equally parts whimsical and menacing. It's nice to see an MCU film with a really compelling villain.
The film has some flaws. It is overstuffed. There's a lot there. It's not just about Ultron. It's about the gathering of the Infinity Stones which the Avengers finally become aware of because of Thor. There are the hallucinations, the flashes of Natasha's back story, Clint's aforementioned family. It's a lot and these tangents that are more set up than anything detracts from the main story that the film is trying to tell.
Then there is Natasha and Banner's romance. It comes out of nowhere. It's a bummer that Natasha's whole storyline revolved around Banner. She doesn't have anything else and since her debut in "Iron Man 2" they've shown that Nat can do so much. I remember there being some discussion about Natasha bringing up her infertility due to the things that happened to her in the Red Room, and I don't have an issue with that. It doesn't make her weak to be sad about that or a little melancholy. Then, Banner runs off at the end and it feels like Black Widow is just going to be mopey, but luckily that doesn't happen. This seems to have been forgotten for the most part, so it just seems even more like a big why?
Thanos shows up in the mid-credits sequence to grab the Infinity Gauntlet and it's a wrap. All in all, this is a solid sequel. It moves everything forward, introduces an iconic villain and at it's core it's just pure popcorn entertainment and there's nothing wrong with that.
What do you guys think? Did you not love the movie in 2015, but have warmed up to it? Do you still ship Banner/Romanoff? Do you hope that Thanos can resurrect Pietro? Let me know in the comments.
Much like "Captain America: The Winter Solider" this movie takes it's subtitle from a comics arc that was relatively recent. In the comics, "Age of Ultron" was an alternate history where Ultron realized his dream of a cyborg domination and Earth's heroes form an underground resistance to stop him. It has nothing to do with this movie, but it's still a good read. You should check it out.
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" reunites the OG Avengers: Robert Downey, Jr as Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, Scarlet Johannson as Black Widow, Mark Ruffalo as Dr. Bruce Banner/The Hulk and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye. They are joined by Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson's, Wanda "Scarlet Witch" Maximoff and Pietro "Quicksilver" Maximoff. Paul Bettany appears in the flesh, sort of, as the Vision and James Spader voices Ultron. "Avengers: Age of Ultron" was written and directed by Joss Whedon. It opened nationwide on May 1, 2015.
As I mentioned in my post about "Marvel's The Avengers," it's my favorite movie. It's a thrill to see the Avengers finally together, it's written and directed by the creator of my all-time favorite tv show. It was basically tailor made to be a movie that I would really enjoy. So, I was doubly excited for the sequel since the first one was so good. I remember at the time of the movie's release that people seemed to not be super enthused. At least not as enthused as they were the first time around. I could see that, but upon re-watch, "Avengers: Age of Ultron" is a little overstuffed, but it's still a lot of fun.
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| You've got something in your chest. |
We also get to learn more about Hawkeye. I feel like Hawkeye kind of gets the Black Widow treatment in this one. It works to a point. Giving Clint a secret family makes you a bit more emotionally invested, but not in a way that makes me care more one way or another if he keeps on with the team.
The action sequences in "Avengers: Age of Ultron" are mind blowing. They are so huge. It's a scale that we haven't seen in the MCU up to this point. From the opening attack on Strucker's castle to Ultron's initial attack on the team to freaking Sokovia being lifted off the ground to be used as a meteor. The most memorable set piece in the movie may be Iron Man's square off against the Hulk. It allows Iron Man to bring out the Hulkbuster armor and go freaking HAM. It's really magnificent and it allows the movie to really show what Hulk can do. Hulk is a rampaging id and this reminds people that he can't really be contained. If there is one complaint about the scenes, it's that at times they can feel a little too CGI.
The additions to the movie are great. Elizabeth Olsen begins her tenure as Wanda Maximoff. She's immediately really engaging and interesting. Her powers are confusing. What can Wanda do? Well, basically whatever the writers need her to do. I had totally forgotten that she was screwing with people's heads. She doesn't do that anymore. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Pietro Maximoff and he nails the cocky pretension of the character and it's a bummer that he gets killed in the end, mainly because the X-Men movies were using Quicksilver at the same time. Paul Bettany gets to be a fully realized character as Vision makes his debut via the Mind Stone and Helen Cho's synthetic skin. He's worthy to hold Thor's hammer so that gains him the trust of the team. It's really James Spader as Ultron that steals the show. Ultron is a classic Avengers villain and Spader is equally parts whimsical and menacing. It's nice to see an MCU film with a really compelling villain.
The film has some flaws. It is overstuffed. There's a lot there. It's not just about Ultron. It's about the gathering of the Infinity Stones which the Avengers finally become aware of because of Thor. There are the hallucinations, the flashes of Natasha's back story, Clint's aforementioned family. It's a lot and these tangents that are more set up than anything detracts from the main story that the film is trying to tell.
Then there is Natasha and Banner's romance. It comes out of nowhere. It's a bummer that Natasha's whole storyline revolved around Banner. She doesn't have anything else and since her debut in "Iron Man 2" they've shown that Nat can do so much. I remember there being some discussion about Natasha bringing up her infertility due to the things that happened to her in the Red Room, and I don't have an issue with that. It doesn't make her weak to be sad about that or a little melancholy. Then, Banner runs off at the end and it feels like Black Widow is just going to be mopey, but luckily that doesn't happen. This seems to have been forgotten for the most part, so it just seems even more like a big why?
Thanos shows up in the mid-credits sequence to grab the Infinity Gauntlet and it's a wrap. All in all, this is a solid sequel. It moves everything forward, introduces an iconic villain and at it's core it's just pure popcorn entertainment and there's nothing wrong with that.
What do you guys think? Did you not love the movie in 2015, but have warmed up to it? Do you still ship Banner/Romanoff? Do you hope that Thanos can resurrect Pietro? Let me know in the comments.
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