Well don’t say we didn’t give you time to see the movie because we did! That’s right, as is the tradition on the site when a new comic book movie is released we round up the gang and the interested parties give their thoughts and a score for the film. Today of course is the Avengers sequel, but you know what… there’s only like three of us on this thing… that might say more than the review. Here’s the synopsis:
The first Avengers film made like a billion dollars… they made a sequel by the same guy and with the same cast and added a few other characters and a new villain. Also there’s cameos… Do you like Marvel movies? Then you get the picture then.
SAMANTHA: 4/5
So this movie was one of those movies that takes a while to settle in your head. Although I liked it while I was watching it, I loved it after thinking about it. It had a lot of good qualities that a superhero movie needed. Some qualities that stood out for me were The Vision, the huge plot backdrop, the teamwork, and of course Scarlet Witch.
Not being a big A.I. fan, I didn’t think I would like The Vision or that he would be in it that much... but both of those fragments are wrong. He is in it a lot more than expected and he rocked it! Right away, he just looks so freakin’ cool. Then he plays this very nonchalant guy that can totally rock a cape. Paul Bettany plays him perfectly and almost makes me wonder if he himself is a robot…?
Then this movie came across bigger than the last one. Maybe just because it was mostly New York that we focused on and Ultron is everywhere, but either way the plot was huge. It felt like a huge crossover event that Marvel didn’t screw up. Leading into Civil War seems like a good step after this colossal story line. The first movie just introduced the team, this movie showed that these dudes are really superheroes on a grand scale, and now we move to the struggles of the hero/human aspect.
The teamwork was spot on. Even when the group was fighting, it seemed like a legit group of people fighting. Nothing was forced. And the action scenes that involved teamwork, such as Thor hitting Cap’s shield, made the sequences so tight.
Scarlet Witch is the woman! Everything she does is intriguing. I think introducing some new Avengers spices things up, but no one will add more spice than her. This is the main reason why this movie was so great!
Since overall, I enjoyed the movie I will only say one line about the wrongs in this film. The opening fight scene was too CGI’ed and Thor randomly leaving to go swimming and then randomly coming back felt out of place.
NICK: 4/5
I spent almost the whole two-and-a-half hour runtime of Age of Ultron holding my breath, waiting to be let down. The first Avengers movie felt like such lightning in a bottle, a first act executed so well in the solo films, and a stuck landing on the movie.
Luckily, Age of Ultron didn’t disappoint me.
The second installment in the Avengers franchise is as funny, if not funnier, than the first one. That serves it well in certain situations (like Rhodey trying to impress people with War Machine stories at a party), but other times it took me out of the movie. For example, given the trailers and literally any comic Ultron has ever been in, it was a little jarring to see him reacting to things so sarcastically (and the “I’ve Got No Strings” metaphor got beat to death). There’s internal logic behind it, but still, when your soulless A.I. villain rips a guy’s arm off and immediately does an “Ooooh, I’m so sorry, I think that’ll heal fine” reaction, it’s... weird. Not bad, not good; weird.
The one overwhelming thing I loved about Age of Ultron is its third act. After a couple hours of setting up future movies and introducing new characters and running the risk of getting kind of wander-y, the finale wraps up nicely. And if that whole sequence of the Avengers insisting that no civilians get hurt during their world-shattering final battle isn’t a huge fuck-you to Man of Steel, it still came off that way, and god bless you, Marvel, for making superhero movies where the superheroes save people.
I didn’t love this movie like I loved the first one. It did everything right, and the fight scenes were even more impressive, but it just didn’t fuck me up the way the first one did. Having said that, though, I have never been more hyped about Infinity War or Marvel’s Phase Three until this very moment, because holy crap you guys Infinity War is gonna rule.
DUSTIN: 3/5
Ha! This guy right? I know some of you were thinking it. Here’s the thing about this movie… it is every bit a sequel from the first. In fact it feels so much like the first movie that you could basically watch them back to back and not be lost or confused and maybe even wonder if you weren’t just watching a four hour movie that took a bathroom break and came right back.
And that’s okay. Isn’t that what the comic books do? Therein lies what I don’t like about it and subsequently Marvel’s comic books as well… not a lot changed. And that’s because there’s no danger. None of these characters are going to die (sure one supposedly does) and so the danger and really the feeling of danger is completely lost on the viewer or in the case of the comics the reader. Every character is a franchise and so every character is protected. Oh and I define change as something other than adding new characters and anew threat, that’s pretty much given.
It was entertaining though and that’s all I could ask for. For those who hated it because of casting or story direction I say to you that you were expecting far too much and it’s far too late to be complaining about any such things. The creative process can’t be questioned after the fact. You can criticize it, but not question it. Two different things, trust me. And if you didn’t like Black Widow then you should try reading her in comic book format because Whedon at least attempted to develop the character more than Marvel has since the character was created. She’s a former assassin… not a lot going on there which is why she’s been dumped with Hawkeye so much… nothing going on there either.
Overall if you enjoyed the first film there’s absolutely no reason for you not to enjoy this film. For me, well it’s just not special to see these characters on the screen anymore regardless of who they add to the roster because let’s be honest they’ll add every character they can.
Writer/Director: Joss Whedon Studio: Disney/Marvel Studios Rating: PG-13 Run Time: 2 hrs 21 min. Release Date: 5/1/15