Hi, my name is Karina and I'm a Joss Whedon fan. It's been four days minutes since I've dazzled someone with my ridiculous knowledge of random Buffy the Vampire Slayer trivia.
Now that that's out of the way, last Monday husband and I went to see The Avengers sequel, Age of Ultron. The Avengers are still working together, though no longer for S.H.I.E.L.D., and specifically to help Thor reclaim Loki's scepter (you remember the mind-controlling one he used to get his way in Avengers). Within it, they discover an AI which Tony and Bruce use to complete Stark's global defense program, Ultron. Who, as it turns out, is sentient and doesn't want to do what you wanna do. Avengers, assemble!
Rather than write a full review (there are plenty of those floating around on the Internet), and also because when I tried to write a review my thoughts were everywhere, here are Five Things I Did and Didn't Like About Avengers: Age of Ultron..
Things I Liked...
1. Joss' script is, as always, quick-witted, quotable and believable. The scene with Thor's hammer is priceless as is Stark's "how quickly can we buy this building?" before "accidentally" demolishing it.
2. Screen time! If you've seen this break-down of each characters' screen time and were a little irritated, you'll be pleased to know Hawkeye and Black Widow are definitely much more prevalent. I think we might've lost some Thor though...
3. James Spader's voice may just be the perfect choice for an AI trying to destroy all of humanity. Appropriately spine-chilling and humorous.
4. It's all starting to come together... BEWARE, this is a very spoiler-y link, click at your own risk and I shall say no more about it!
5. The female characters - Maria Hill is her usual cheery self, Dr Cho is appropriately brilliant and we get a lot more insight into Black Widow. Please let it all be worth it! Oh, and Scarlet Witch is very, very cool. Even if Elizabeth Olsen felt like a bit of a twit waving her hands around and not needing a stunt double.
Things I Disliked...
1. The things that made the first movie - Loki (I know he can't be in every Marvel feature, but he's so charismatic that Ultron is a bit of a let down), the impressiveness that was S.H.I.E.L.D., the leviathan flying through the skies of New York...
2. The "recasting" of Quicksilver. Evan Peters did such a brilliant job in X-Men: Days of Future Past (this scene springs to mind) that Aaron Taylor-Johnson's version really pales in comparison.
4. The love story. I said it of The Hobbit films, I'll say it here: we don't need it! You can't make me "ship" a couple when I just don't believe in their connection and even less so if it doesn't contribute much to the plot.
5. The fan service. I know you've all been waiting for Hulkbuster, and like most things in this movie, it looked great and was a lot of fun, I just didn't care.
I think that's the problem with this movie: I just didn't care as much. I wasn't as invested. I've seen a few reviews elude to the fact that this is setting up for later plots, specifically the third Captain America and Avengers installments.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, a lot. It was fun and there were some great developments. Those five things I liked are reason enough to check this out, and you definitely shouldn't skip it if you're a Marvel fan. I'm just left feeling like this was more filler and fan-service than much of a movie.
Also if you're a Buffy fan, I'm sure you were also reminded of a certain unfortunate season one episode. Terror has a new address!
x
NB: My impression may also be marred by the four-year-old who spent the entire 141 minutes commenting and asking what was going. Ratings exist for a reason and not all comic book films are suitable for children!
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