I finally got the privilege of seeing Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the more I read on the Internet (which is always my first mistake,) the more I find myself in the minority. So I have decided to pile my opinion on the heap of already stinking pile of dead opinions, like some glorious corpse pyramid, and write a review. I also want to warn you, right now, that THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD. (So if ye be behind the times and have not seen tharr film than ye best be shoving off land-lover for shores that... I can't keep the pirate thing up.) Come back after you have seen the movie.
I am going to start out by saying that I really really enjoyed the movie. However, I think that had more to do with the fact that with such big blockbuster movies I am really anticipating, I do my best to avoid any sort of speculation or possible spoilers. (I learned my lesson after Phantom Menace.) I even go so far as to restrict the trailers I see on the Internet so as to not ruin too much. I want to go in with as clean of a slate as possible. (Granted this has hurt me in cases such as with your Green Lanterns, but has proved generally a positive experience.) With that said, avoiding all knowledge of the movie (and obviously I have very extensive comic knowledge and lore to draw from,) is almost impossible. However, I believe that Age of Ultron hit all the strokes I was looking for: it was darker, filled with heroes, did a little setup for future projects, but mostly it was a fun Avengers movie, and I think that last part is important to remember.
A lot of people seem disappointed that this movie did not do more to raise the stakes for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. First of all, I would argue that it did, but secondly I would also argue that was not its job. This may be the eleventh Marvel movie in the MCU, but it is also only the second Avengers movie, and I think that is the better way to look at it. We all know the wheels are going to be coming off in Captain America: Civil War. Tony and Steve are going to be at each others' throats, but that conflict is not going to have any impact if there is not emotion more behind it, which I think AOU help set up.
The first Avengers movie was an origin story, the forming of the Avengers. And it was fun and great and big and explodey, but we did not get any time to see the team as a "team." This movie gave us that opportunity to see them just be Avengers and interact as friends and teammates. At the beginning of this movie we are made aware of the fact that the Avengers have been operating together long enough that they have battle maneuvers and code signals worked out. Tony has even made Avengers Tower for them and provides them with financial and technical support. That is great but as a member of the audience, I want to be able to see that dynamic. I want to see the Avengers being the Avengers and I think that is what this movie aimed to deliver. We have to see the bonds between Stark and Rogers, the missed chance between Widow and Banner, the glistening pectorals of Thors... What I got distracted there... Anyway, we can't just take the movie's word for it that these things exist. We need to see Captain America and Iron Man respect each other and have a friendship. This movie gave us the quiet moments we needed to understand the dynamic between the team, but it also sowed enough distrust among them to plant the seed for the coming conflict.
I was a little disappointed to see Quicksilver die, not so much that I enjoyed the character or the actor, but that I think the team is missing that hothead dynamic, which was so often filled by Quicksilver and Hawkeye in the comics. Still it was no real big loss, (and I suspect it has as much to do with not wanting to compete with the X-Men's Quicksilver,) but I am also way more excited about the possibilities that the appearance of the Vision have opened up. With the Mind Gem in his forehead I think there is a good possibility he will be playing a role that is more akin to Adam Warlock when it comes to the Infinity War, which I think is going to be a good fit. I was also excited for the inclusion of the MCU's B-list heroes (which in this context looks like it, unfortunately, stands for Black,) War Machine and Falcon, and their promotion at the end of the movie to full fledged Avengers. Falcon in particular is one of my personal favorite heroes and I am very happy to to see him finally get a little due. The creation of the Avengers training facility also gives later movies a device for introducing new heroes as Avengers Trainees.
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| It's funny because it Biblical. |
As a side note, the cast list for Captain America: Civil War was announced last week, and it very much looks like the movie is going to be Avengers 2.5. That will be the movie that is going to take all the team dynamics and setup of this movie and really blow everything apart. However, I am disappointed to see that Daredevil was not on the cast list. I would have liked to see a tie-in with the Man Without Fear and the Civil War storyline. (After all, in the comics Daredevil has one of the coolest four panels of the entire crossover event.) There still might be hope that he could be in the movie as a last minute addition, however I was also disappointed to see that Phil Coulson was no where to be seen in AOU. I thought at least a cameo appearance on the helicarrier could have been a possibility.
Maybe it was cut for time. Joss Whedon apparently wanted to make a three and a half hour movie, but had to cut out a lot of the Thor storyline and even some scenes at the Barton farmhouse. (Can I buy that uncut version anywhere? Seriously, I'll pay for it.) This also bring me to my last point. I am a feminist in case you never realized, and I have no problem with the way Black Widow was treated in this movie.
A lot of people are complaining that she was set up as nothing but a love interest for Hulk. I would argue that is not true at all. If anything Banner was setup as a love interest for her. I saw the two more as a juxtaposition of one another. Natasha was not wrong when she called herself a monster, but the only difference between the former soviet assassin and the raging anger monster is that Banner can't hide his green side as well as Black Widow can. Even when Widow was captured by Ultron, she was never a damsel in distress. In fact, she is the reason the rest of the team was able to find Ultron's base of operations and stop him from enacting his final plan. Widow once again seems to prove that she is among the most capable of the Avengers, not a secretary or a love interest, but a full-fledged member of the team.
In fact, as it was expressed to me by a very good female friend of mine, "The only thing I find offensive about Black Widow is that she can keep her hair looking so perfect." To which I would add, so can Thor. This controversy is a non-controversy, except for the fact that it drove Joss Whedon from social media. Good job, morons. Here is a man who is both a fan and a creator, one of the only people that actually listens to fans and tries to make quality entertainment for us, and you drove him out of the conversation... *slow clap*
Age of Ultron was good. It was a good Avengers movie, it was a good Marvel movie, and it even manages to erect some bridges for what is to come. It is also going to make all the money... like all the money in existence. I have already seen it, but I would not be surprised if I wind up back in a seat on some lazy Saturday morning to watch it again. I rate it 9,000 stars, which means nothings... much like this review. I'm just ranting... go home... go away... I'm done.
| I'm going to give it Disney on this one. Without there help this trailer could not have been possible. |
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