Thursday, April 23, 2015

MOVIE REVIEW: AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (2015)

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Storyline

When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth's Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to The Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for a global adventure. Written by Marvel Studios

From IMDB:

Ratings: 9.1/10 from 8,966 users Metascore: 72/100 



TOMATOMETER 84%
Average Rating: 7.3/10 | Reviews Counted: 49
Fresh: 41 | Rotten: 8

Critics Consensus: Exuberant and eye-popping, Avengers: Age of Ultron serves as a suitably satisfying sequel, reuniting its predecessor's unwieldy cast with a few new additions and a worthy foe.

WANT TO SEE 100% want to see
Average Rating: 4.7/5 | User Ratings: 202,734


OPENS WORLDWIDE APRIL 23, 2015

This scene was pretty ridiculous. But awesome nonetheless. ©Walt Disney Studios

So this is the last time we'll see the Avengers as we know them...

Yes, you read that right. Which if it surprised you then that fact surprises me. Although, I guess only hardcore fans of Marvel and the Marvel movies would know this. Me, I just kept reading up on stuff. So yeah, this is the last time you'll see the Avengers as they are now. The next time there's an Avengers movie, it'll be a different line-up. So no more of Tony Stark's wisecracks or Thor's weird way of saying things or misunderstanding our earthly ways and customs. As for who joins up as the next Avengers? Well, you can find that out yourselves.


What happens when two geniuses get together? Bad things for the planet. ©Walt Disney Studios

So what's Age of Ultron about? Actually, I'm not going to do that this time. Nope. Not going to spoil it for you. Plus you can read a better one on the Wikipedia page for it HERE. Which also has a lot of interesting stuff other than a detailed spoiler for the movie. Go read it. I'll wait. Also there was just so much going on that if I did write a play by play account I'll probably miss something or put something in the wrong place, or something. And that would probably spoil it for you worse that actually reading it from the Wikipedia page. So go ahead and head on over there. I'll be here. Or this blog will.

What happens when a bunch of superheroes hang out after the party? They try to lift Mjolnir. ©Walt Disney Studios

Done? Good. So now you know that the gang is together and they're hunting down HYDRA and the whereabouts of that scepter that Loki stole from Asgard and to bring the Chitauri down to earth to kick Thor's ass and everyone who helps him. When they do find the scepter Stark and Banner get all science-y with it and discover it's some sort of intelligence. Stark then decides he can use this to create and army of super smart robots to protect earth in case another alien attack ever happens thus enabling the Avengers to call an early retirement. Things as you know don't go as planned when the AI goes all sentient and decides the problem with the world are the people in it. So big problems start happening for the Avengers. 

The first time you see Ultron he looks like a robot zombie. And that's pretty cool too. ©Walt Disney Studios

Also there are these twins that the Avengers call 'enhanced', one runs  really fast and the other can destroy you just by thinking about it, throw energy blasts and give you nightmares, literally. They started off with HYDRA, actually in this movie HYDRA gave them their powers but if you read up on them it's completely different. Depending on which story arc you read of course. Anyway, they have a grudge against Stark for ruining their childhood and are looking for revenge. They side with Ultron for a while until they discover that Ultron is way too loony for them and decide to work with the Avengers to stop him. 

The difference between superheroes and us is that when they lose they still look awesome. ©Walt Disney Studios

In between all that there's a lot of shooting, Ironman flying about, lots of other robots flying about, Ironman and a crazier-than-usual Hulk  going toe to toe in South Africa and a whole Eastern European town floating up into the heavens. There really is a lot going on in this movie.

The Hulkbuster was deployed from outer space from a satellite named Veronica. ©Walt Disney Studios

So does Age of Ultron live up to the hype?

To put it simply. Yes. Yes, it does. I was sort of worried that having so many characters in this movie I would find it unsatisfying that there wouldn't be much room for character development, but I was pleasantly surprised. You don't need to know anymore about the people that you already know which leaves enough space for the new cast of characters. And it was also cool to see all the other side characters from the Thor and Captain America movies show up too. 

Ultron. Coolest villain from the Marvel cineverse yet. ©Walt Disney Studios

And the story, well it's not exactly original but what Joss Whedon did with it this time was pretty cool but I don't think it would have been half as cool if anyone other than James Spader took on the role of Ultron. And that's what I found to be the best thing about Avengers: Age of Ultron. Don't get me wrong, watching the Avengers beat the crap out of the bad guys and occasionally each other is a lot of fun and watching them socialize with each other and rib on each other is funny but every time Ultron showed up he stole the show for me. Spader's who not only voiced Ultron but did the motion capture for him and what translated was just incredible. Here is a villain that the Avengers deserved, here is a villain that this Marvel Universe needed. I know most of you are going to watch this movie because of one of your favorite Avengers or maybe just to watch Ironman try to beat the crap out of Hulk wearing his Hulkbuster armor (which is really cool especially the way its deployed). But trust me, without James Spader's Ultron this movie would be all that interesting. 

He runs really fast but wears normal sneakers. I guess Stark just didn't have the time to come up with something for him. ©Walt Disney Studios

Other interesting things I found particularly interesting was seeing Paul Bettany who voices J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony Stark's AI assistant and concierge be reborn as Vision. That was pretty cool especially since Vision ties this movie with not only the Guardians of the Galaxy but with X-Men as well. The other thing was how I couldn't get it out of my head how the twins Pietro Maximoff / Quicksilver played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch played by Elizabeth Olsen were also in Godzilla together as husband and wife and before that Aaron Taylor-Johnson was also Kickass. Just found that a bit weird. Also weird, how he needs to put on a normal pair of sneakers to run that fast. You'd think those shoes would melt or something (I guess product placement is more powerful than any superpower).

Is it me or those Thor's nostril look really huge here. ©Walt Disney Studios

So all in all, if you're a fan of the Avengers go watch it. It's a really good movie and a hell of a way to end this particular story arc with this team. And of course it adds to the larger story that will happen god knows when. You know, with Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet (SPOILER: both show up at the end). If you're not a fan it'll still be a lot of fun to watch. It's pure comic book fun action. And I think it's a fitting end for the current Avengers. 

Vision. Interesting character and am looking forward to seeing more of him. Hopefully we do see more of him. ©Walt Disney Studios

I happily give this movie a 4 out of 5 because nothing is perfect but this comes pretty close. But it's good enough that I'll be watching it again on IMAX 3D. Can't wait to see what else Joss Whedon has in store for us in the future. Hopefully he takes on another Marvel project. 





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3 comments:

  1. Good review. It's still fun. However, by now, I am starting to feel a little winded with all of these superhero flicks. Especially now that they seem to be a lot like the others that come before them.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Dan O.! Thanks for the compliment. Yup it was a fun watch but not as much fun as say GotG or Kingsman was for me. Yeah, it is getting a little formulaic but what comic book isn't right? It'll still be a fun way to waste a couple of hours though, right? Hey thanks for dropping by!

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  2. Anonymous10:06 am

    When you take that and combine it with the fact that
    this is indeed a reboot tthat is takig lierties with the source material and its cast is a bunch
    of young 'kids', it certainly has the world against it.
    Tomorrowland hass the making to be yet another
    Disney classic aand it's from Director Brad Bird who arguably hasn't
    made a movie less than spectacular. The action in "Guardians of the Galaxy" is fast and furious, and
    it will thrill anyone who grew up during the science fiction boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s.



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    ReplyDelete