Age Of Ultron [SPOILERS]

[Delightful]

So I just saw it, and as a friend put it,"They could have just called it Avengers: Age of Sass and it would be just as accurate." I liked how they developed Barton as a character, and having the Vision show up was cool. They set up for Black Panther pretty well. Having the Vision worthy of Mjölnir after the party scene was pretty good as well.

I would be completely happy if they made a 6-hour Avengers: Age of Sass, in which they spent the entire time teasing Cap for swearing and trying to lift Mjolnir and bickering. It would be *awesome*.

 

I was a little disappointed waiting for a second end credit scene when there wasn't any

Do we know what it is that Thanos is actually after, and what direct relevance that had to Age of Ultron, if any?

(This coming from someone who doesn't know the comics but loves the movies/TV)

[Edgedancer he/him]

I would be completely happy if they made a 6-hour Avengers: Age of Sass, in which they spent the entire time teasing Cap for swearing and trying to lift Mjolnir and bickering. It would be *awesome*.

 

I was a little disappointed waiting for a second end credit scene when there wasn't any

Do we know what it is that Thanos is actually after, and what direct relevance that had to Age of Ultron, if any?

(This coming from someone who doesn't know the comics but loves the movies/TV)

I'm not exactly a comic expert but rom what I know he wants to colect all the infinity stones (one of which the Vision now has) to build the infinity gauntlet that would more or less make him god or some other reality warping power stuff.

[the Gleeman he/him]

     In the comics at least, Thanos has a crush on Death (literately the personification of death). He has become virtually immortal, so his love is... difficult to say the least. He is also the reason Deadpool will not die (he gave Deadpool immortality because Deadpool also likes Death). The Infinity gems give Thanos extreme power which he planned on using to destroy all life in the universe and thus, impress Death; so, nice guy. The movies have not revealed his true motives yet so they may be sightly different but they will probably be similar to what they were in the comics. 

 

Thanos

[Delightful]

In the comics at least, Thanos has a crush on Death (literately the personification of death). He has become virtually immortal, so his love is... difficult to say the least. He is also the reason Deadpool will not die (he gave Deadpool immortality because Deadpool also likes Death). The Infinity gems give Thanos extreme power which he planned on using to destroy all life in the universe and thus, impress Death; so, nice guy. The movies have not revealed his true motives yet so they may be sightly different but they will probably be similar to what they were in the comics.

Thanos

A crush.

On Death.

Well that's a little different from 'I want to destroy the world because ULTIMATE POWER MUAHAHAHAHA' type villain.

I- wow.

[mail-mi he/him]

A crush.

On Death.

Well that's a little different from 'I want to destroy the world because ULTIMATE POWER MUAHAHAHAHA' type villain.

I- wow.

 

Your signature means a little bit more now, doesn't it.   

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

All right, I just saw it. And while I think it was missing some of the original's charm, it was a fantastic movie and a lovely setup for the next one. 

 

I'll probably post more coherent thoughts later, but for now, I shall use the ancient art of memes.

 

First of all, I loved what they did with Hawkeye. 

 

 

I think the film could've stood to have a little more of him, but making him the most interesting member of the team by virtue of making him the most stable? The one whose position on the team is not an identity, but simply a job? That was brilliant.

 

Second, Ultron was…pretty scary. Having read Firefight before seeing Age of Ultron, his Scripture-quoting immediately reminded me of Obliteration. So, like any good fangirl, I began imagining what would happen if Ultron and Obliteration teamed up. 

 

 

I was surprised at what they did with Quicksilver, since in the comics he's usually teamed up with Scarlet Witch, but I did think toning down her powers was a very smart move. 

 

Overall, I liked this installment of their story. I enjoyed the focus on how defending the Earth from bizarre threats like aliens and undead Nazis messes you up—which, once again, really made Hawkeye stand out. 

 

I have one final thought before I return to my dungeon. 

 

[Delightful]

Your signature means a little bit more now, doesn't it.

Honestly......I'm on mobile most of the time and I've forgotten which bit of my signature you're referringn to.

[Delightful]

Your signature means a little bit more now, doesn't it.

Honestly......I'm on mobile most of the time and I've forgotten which bit of my signature you're referringn to.

[Edgedancer he/him]

     In the comics at least, Thanos has a crush on Death (literately the personification of death). He has become virtually immortal, so his love is... difficult to say the least. He is also the reason Deadpool will not die (he gave Deadpool immortality because Deadpool also likes Death). The Infinity gems give Thanos extreme power which he planned on using to destroy all life in the universe and thus, impress Death; so, nice guy. The movies have not revealed his true motives yet so they may be sightly different but they will probably be similar to what they were in the comics. 

 

Thanos

Right... that explains the name. Thanos did the thought ever cross your mind that pushing more work on your spouse isn't the best idea?

 

Second, Ultron was…pretty scary. Having read Firefight before seeing Age of Ultron, his Scripture-quoting immediately reminded me of Obliteration. So, like any good fangirl, I began imagining what would happen if Ultron and Obliteration teamed up. 

 

 

Twi, you're thinking about it the wrong way. Remember

 

When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world, will be metal.

Ultron isn't Obliteration as a robot. He's the fusion of Steelheart and Obliteration as a robot.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Twi, you're thinking about it the wrong way. Remember

Ultron isn't Obliteration as a robot. He's the fusion of Steelheart and Obliteration as a robot.

Great, thanks, Edge. It's not like I wanted to sleep tonight.

[Redbird he/him]

Right... that explains the name. Thanos did the thought ever cross your mind that pushing more work on your spouse isn't the best idea?

 

 

Twi, you're thinking about it the wrong way. Remember

Ultron isn't Obliteration as a robot. He's the fusion of Steelheart and Obliteration as a robot.

But just a little bit more human, in the sense of how he speaks.

[Mailliw73 he/him]

I think Iron Fist is one of the characters lined for an upcoming Netflix series.

If you don't know, Marvel is planning on doing a few Netflix series, then bring those characters together for a Defenders miniseries. As well as Daredevil, I believe the cast includes Power Man, Iron Fist and Jessica Jones.

Oh, yes. I do remember that now.

[Curiosity he/him]

Did anyone else walk out of the theatre thinking, "I just saw Andy Serkis's real live face in a movie!"?

 

Vision handing Thor the hammer? Very nicely done moment. 

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Did anyone else walk out of the theatre thinking, "I just saw Andy Serkis's real live face in a movie!"?

 

Vision handing Thor the hammer? Very nicely done moment. 

 

That moment was perfect, and if they take a similar route to the comics, I think they'll have Vision become a Christ figure in the fight against Thanos.

[Left he/him]

I thought the movie was good, what character development there was, was good. Ultron impressed me, although the twins were...well they weren't bad, they weren't anything special either though. I do see Vision becoming a very interesting character as the universe keeps going. I thought that the time where Thor goes off to that pool was hastily done and needed more screen time to explain exactly what was going on. The humor....Some of it was excellent, the Hammer and Cap with language being the shining points....and then there were just a lot of moments where I was just thinking that some more meaningful dialogue would've been much more appropriate to the environment and let the movie age better, especially through re-watches. I'm confused about how they got Serkis to come in for such a small part, is he getting a part in a show or different movie? And where's Bucky? (I don't look up this stuff because comic book fans and marvel geeks have so much information that they throw out that it feels like half the plot of each movie is spoiled before I get to watch which is super annoying.)

[Briar King]

Serous was doing work on Star Wars 7 probably very close with this one. Idk the exact timeline just answering his other work question.

[Delightful]

I'm actually still confused about the whole Thor-vision-pool thing. What was going on there?

[Quiver he/him]

I thought the movie was good, what character development there was, was good. Ultron impressed me, although the twins were...well they weren't bad, they weren't anything special either though. I do see Vision becoming a very interesting character as the universe keeps going. I thought that the time where Thor goes off to that pool was hastily done and needed more screen time to explain exactly what was going on. The humor....Some of it was excellent, the Hammer and Cap with language being the shining points....and then there were just a lot of moments where I was just thinking that some more meaningful dialogue would've been much more appropriate to the environment and let the movie age better, especially through re-watches. I'm confused about how they got Serkis to come in for such a small part, is he getting a part in a show or different movie? And where's Bucky? (I don't look up this stuff because comic book fans and marvel geeks have so much information that they throw out that it feels like half the plot of each movie is spoiled before I get to watch which is super annoying.)

 

Speculation!

 

The character Serkis plays, Klaw, is actually a pretty major enemy of Black Panther. Considering that he is scheduled for a film in Phase 3, the fact that they put Serkis (and Wakanda) in Avengers is probably meant as an early cameo- I'd imagine Serkis would be playing Klaw again in the Black Panther movie.

 

As for Bucky- at the end of the credits in Cap 2, there was another scene, showing him entering the museum exhibit from earlier in the film. Presumably, Bucky is still on the run after having his world fall apart in the Winter Soldier. They imply it in the movie (by saying the Winter Soldier has changed the course of history), but the assassinations Bucky performed would have made serious enemies; between that and everything that went down in Cap 2, it's likely to assume Bucky is still on the run, keeping his head down while he tries to figure stuff out.

[Curiosity he/him]

Thor apparently has a sub-plot that will work itself out in deleted scenes. I'm assuming that it is affected by the current state of Asgard.

[Delightful]

Thor apparently has a sub-plot that will work itself out in deleted scenes. I'm assuming that it is affected by the current state of Asgard.

If it needs deleted scenes to explain, surely it shouldn't be in the movie as is?

[Curious Anamaximder he/him]

It's about Thor: Ragnarok

[little wilson she/her]

Here's an article I read the other day explaining Thor's pool scene and why the very little bit of it is in there and nothing more. This also explains more of why Loki's scene got cut too. I'd heard Tom Hiddleston filmed a scene, and I'd been hoping it would be the end credits scene, but then it wasn't but now I get why. At least we'll get the deleted scenes. Producers can't stop us from getting that, even if they can cut it out of the theatrical version.

[Mckeedee123 he/him]

After actually seeing the movie... eh, it was ok. I can't say I hated it, but CGI really does make all combat look the same if it's used too much. 

 

The movie had too many characters, and not a whole lot of development. The best part of the original was that it was almost constant banter, something Whedon is pretty good at. The characters bounced off of each other and competed for space, letting them grow and develop relationships. Most of the characters were pretty static in this installment, because again, there were too many. Why is Dan Cheadle there? Why is the... the Falcon there? What does Captain America's presence do for the plot?

 

The characters whose roles I liked were Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch, whatever their real/fake/whatever names were. Coincidentally, I realized afterwards that those were the characters that had arcs or new developments (Bruce/Natasha does not count. I thought that whole thing was kind of ridiculous, since the relationship totally just flies in from left field and does nothing for either character.) Stark totally needed an arc. Dude! He made Ultron. He needs to confront his arrogance! Does he? Nope. He flies in, lasers some robots, and flies out of this movie with exactly the same ego he came in with. Thor? Steve Rogers? Falcon? Nick? Natasha? Banner? Falcon? Dan Cheadle? Girl from How I Met Your Mother? Nope. They showed their faces and collected their paychecks and waited for Phase 3 to start.

 

Doctor's diagnosis: Too many characters.

 

Does Ultron have an arc? That might be the most important thing of all. I asked myself afterwards why he was an unsatisfying villain, and I just realized now that it's for the same reason as everything else. Villains don't necessarily need arcs (eg. The Dark Knight. The Joker has no "character arc,") but if they don't have one they need to compensate by being fascinating or mysterious somehow. Ultron is fascinating and mysterious for about 5 minutes and after that we know absolutely everything about him. He doesn't learn, grow, or change in any way. He's utterly disposable, even if he does command an army of thousands of murderous Iron Man suit robots.

 

Again, can't say I hated it, but... I didn't like it.

Edited May 15, 2015 by Mckeedee123

[Claincy he/him]

I'm going to disagree a bit with some of the criticism. These are, of course, my personal opinions.

 

To state this clearly, I really liked the first avengers movie, but I liked the second more.

 

Personally, I think some of the people reviewing/talking about AoU in comparison to the first avengers are remembering the first one as being better than it actually was. Don't get me wrong it was pretty great as a whole, but the plot wasn't, nor was the character development. Loki's plan was, well, "not a good plan". Tom Hiddleston made the role awesome, but that doesn't change the plan being very poor. In terms of character development in the avengers:

-Hawkeye got nada, we learned a teensy bit about his character but for obvious reasons it didn't develop at all

-Black Widow got plenty of screen time but I'd argue she only really got one or maaaybe two scenes with much development, and it was more insight for the audience than development

-Thor got a slight amount of development in learning to work as part of a team

-Stark got basically the same as Thor until the nuke at the end

-Cap got a little development in learning how to work with a, erm, difficult, team of individuals, but I don't think he really developed much personally

-Banner's development was summed up in the line "I'm always angry", you can decide for yourself how much sense that part makes

So really, it was a movie about the avengers struggling to team up together and then being awesome all together in the same movie....and that was all it needed to be to be awesome. But now that the first avengers movie had done that, age of ultron needed to do more. We gave the first film a free pass on a lot of stuff for getting the heroes on screen together

 

So now to actually talk about age of ultron specifically:

 

I won't comment on the CGI cos it's really not my area. I can sorta see what people are talking about with some lower quality bits but to be honest it didn't really bother me.

 

-Some people have said that some of the characters didn't get much in the way of development.

Yep. This is 100% true. That doesn't mean it's actually that big a problem. If they had tried to give significant character development to all of the avengers they would almost certainly have failed to do it well. Giving 10 wildly different characters significant growth in a 2 and a bit hour film while keeping it flowing well would be a pretty incredible feat

 

-Well that's because there were too many characters!

Sort of, yeah. But it's explicitly a team movie, and who exactly would they have cut? The twins and/or vision I suppose leaving the cast more or less the same as it was in the first movie and having a couple more characters appear from no-where with no setup to join the avengers when the current team effectively disbands at the end of the movie? I couldn't really get behind that idea. Yeah there's a lot, and yeah that means the film can't give each as much detail, but if any of the major characters weren't there we'd be seriously wondering why the heck not. Falcon, warmachine, etc were essentially cameos, and that's fine by me. The movie didn't really need more heroes taking centre stage but I would have been wondering what was going on if they hadn't rocked up for a scene or two. Kind of like how in all the solo films we keep wondering why Thor isn't around to help, or ironman, etc. Except it would have been much worse to have that feeling in an Avengers movie.

 

Basically what I'm trying to say is that Age of Ultron selects a portion of the major characters to focus on and develops them while the rest of the team act as supporting characters in the story. And frankly I think that's the best way to do a large teamup movie like this. Give everyone important some awesome scenes, but focus on making the narrative and development of a few of them really good rather than trying to give all of them an equal share and overall I'd say that character development was significantly better than the first movie. I suppose this could be a matter of personal preference.

 

 

Hmm, if it feels like I'm just disagreeing with you Mckeedee I apologise. I mean, I do disagree with some of what you said but I'm not just responding to you here, you're just the most recent one to say some of this That said, the following 2 thoughts are directly in response to you

 

 

Bruce/Natasha does not count. I thought that whole thing was kind of ridiculous, since the relationship totally just flies in from left field and does nothing for either character.

From left field? Yeah I spose so, largely because they haven't been in a film together since the first avengers. Plenty of time for a relationship to grow. I certainly wouldn't say it does nothing for either character though, it gets both of them considering how important the team is to them, and how important their own personal happiness is, what they are willing to do and what they are willing to sacrifice. There's plenty of potential there. I'm not saying I loved the subplot, but I would say it did cause some character development It was a lot better than Jane/Thor in both of the Thor films, particularly the first. It didn't annoy and distract me the way that did.

(As a side note, I'm generally not overly interested in romance in movies, books, or any other media. It largely springs from not caring all that much about it in real life (Too much better stuff to be doing.) Which, perhaps, means I'm not hugely qualified to talk about it, oh well.)

 

 Does Ultron have an arc?...

Ultron has an opening 5 minutesish of extremely rapid character development, though I don't feel he develops too much during a lot of the movie. In some ways it's more of a discovery for him and the audience of what he wants/thinks: his constant quest for a better body, his "vision", his opinion on humanity and what should be done, or perhaps more how it should be done than anything else. As the movie gets towards the end he also develops or discovers something of a penchant for drama and symbolism. A final showdown with all the avengers against all of him with the fate of the world at stake, creating a meteorite of sorts to cause his desired extinction event. There is also the moment near the end where he's in a quinjet and just having fun. Anyway, my point is that it was more about discovery and learning than a typical arc, but (I personally ) felt he had a fair amount of character & some development though there certainly could have been more. I'd say he had more development than Loki did in Avengers one. I mean, Loki was awesome in that film, but he didn't really change from when he came in to the end of the movie.

 

 

I do think that Thor's pool scene needed a bit more. It was clear enough by the end of the film roughly the kind of thing he learned I think (though not how he learned it), but it was a bit too short and vague in my opinion.

 

I also felt that the film was occasionally held back a bit by how much it was trying to set up future films. Some of it was well done, but some of it felt a little clunky to me.

 

So not a perfect movie, but I still really liked it and will happily watch it again in future. Possibly again before it goes out of the cinemas.

Edited May 16, 2015 by lord Claincy Ffnord

[Mckeedee123 he/him]

(As a side note, I'm generally not overly interested in romance in movies, books, or any other media. It largely springs from not caring all that much about it in real life (Too much better stuff to be doing.) Which, perhaps, means I'm not hugely qualified to talk about it, oh well.)

 

I feel the same way, actually. Kissing scenes are the part of the movie where just sort of roll my eyes and wait till they're over.

 

To be fair, I saw the movie in a crowded theater, and so was forced to sit in the very front row, where the screen took up my entire field of vision and then some. Not exactly the optimal mode of viewing

Edited May 16, 2015 by Mckeedee123