The Non-Spoiler Review - Avengers: Age of Ultron

By

It's going to be really difficult to talk about this movie because some of the things I'm most excited to talk about are major spoilers However, that spoiler-filled review will be coming possibly at the beginning of next week once the vast majority of you have been able to see it yourselves.

The problem with this film is that is faces the rough task of carrying the same amount of excitement that the first Avengers had. The major appeal of the first one was the pure excitement over finally seeing the big four finally fighting together in the same movie. All of that is now out of the way and Age of Ultron now has to keep us interested when some of that "newness" wears off. Basically, the challenge of this movie is "you've got us on the hook, don't screw up reeling us in." Does Age of Ultron accomplish that? I absolutely do. I'm not going to say if I prefer one over the other just yet, that may take a couple more viewings in the coming months but I'm very pleased how AoU lived up to the ridiculously high expectations in my book.

The story itself is incredibly intriguing because there's some moments that grey the difference between absolute good and absolute evil. It also brings up the thematic question of "does good intent really matter when the outcome is catastrophic?" I also really like how this movie elevates characters that aren't the big 4. The biggest joke amongst fans after the first movie was how useless Hawkeye was and then we turn around to Age of Ultron and the script comically leans into that joke and basically makes Hawkeye the MVP of the movie. AoU also does a good job adding more depth to those "secondary" characters such as Black Widow, Hawkeye, Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver. Of course there's a couple surprises when it comes to some other characters that pop up but more on that in the spoiler review.

As for Ultron himself, in a moment of just nitpicking, I was confused about a robot whose mouth moved like a human's but that's a very minor complaint. I was willing to overlook that because it's James Spader voicing a robot whose perception of absolute good was actually absolute evil in the same sense as a Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins.

I will say this, Mark Ruffalo continues to do an amazing job giving depth to Hulk. Give this guy a chance a Hulk solo movie in the near future.

There isn't a whole lot else I can really say without giving away really great moments in the movie but let's just say it has all the charm of a Joss Whedon movie with original, inventive action sequences. If you're on the fence about Age of Ultron, hop off the fence, go watch the movie and join us on Monday for the Spoiler Review.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Full Spectrum: Dear Hunter's White EP

By
Image
The Dear Hunter: White EP The White EP doesn't really resonate with me, to be perfectly honest, not to say it's bad because it isn't but it just doesn't quite click with me. That piano-driven element that I praised so much in Violet makes a return and even gets kicked up a notch but beyond that, aside from the occasional moment here and there, I found White to be a bit bland and boring. However, don't let the color fool you because the lyrics cover some interesting topics such as "No God" which essentially reflects a distrust in any sort of spiritual being that gets the credit for things that people in your life contribute, a theme that carries over into a couple songs in Act IV. I will say this, however they mixed the piano in the intro of "Lost but Not All Gone" deserves an award for making liquid gold, easily the highlight of the White EP.
Read more

Day 5 of Halloween - The Fly (1958)

By
Image
Jason:  First of all, I hope that everyone watched the right iteration of this film. The one with Vincent Price, not Jeff Goldblum.  Now that we’ve gotten that straight… This movie is considered to be a Halloween cult classic. It doesn’t have a whole lot in the way of scares or terror but it still remains a seasonal favorite. For the time, the make-up effects were decent. The way Andre’s fly head twitches and vibrates makes it look pretty convincing for a 1950’s puppet mask. The story, however, is what is so captivating. I have been reading a lot of Lovecraft stories lately and I couldn’t help but draw a comparison between them and this movie. The plot is very Lovecraftian. Let me explain: The main character is a highly intellectual recluse who spends most of his time in research. He stumbles across some natural secret that ultimately leads to his destruction. As he is trying to rectify his discovery, he slips farther and farther away from his humanity until he is com...
Read more

Five Bizarre Attempts to Continue the Brady Bunch Franchise

By Joelgleo
Image
  The Brady Bunch is one of the staple classics of television. Despite the show never receiving much critical praise, or even being that big of a hit during it's five season run, in syndication, the show had become one of the most well known television series of all time. Today almost everybody has at least a passing familiarity of the story of a man with three sons and a woman with three daughters getting married and creating a blended family with six children. Several of the series episodes have gone on to rank among the top episodes of television of all time. It's no wonder that with the belated success of the series, people have tried time and time again to recapture the magic of The Brady Bunch . While the original show is still remembered fondly by many fans today, almost nobody remembers the many bizarre attempts at making a Brady Bunch successor.  The Brady Kids The first series actually aired while The Brady Bunch was still on the air. This was an animated series f...
Read more