AVENGERS: Age of Ultron

[BentonGrey]

Haha, fair point, 'Mato!  I have to wait a few days too, so consider this seconded!    I'm so excited!

[detourne_me]

Just watched it tonight with my wife and some friends.  It was fantastic!!
This first set of spoilers is my reaction, nested spoilers are about story/theories.

Spoiler

Glad to see a lot more Hawkeye this time. Ultron had some amazing lines, and they did a really great job of setting things up for the next phase of the marvel universe.

Spoiler

i feel Hawkey's family was not only a great way to write him out of the MCU, but it also really freed up Mockingbird to do whatever in the TV universe.
The Jarvis coming back explanation was kind of garbage, but it was great to get a really good, believable version of the Vision. He was superbly done, especially as he kind of takes the place of Adam Warlock a bit too. (Artificial man with infinity gem in forehead.

How cool was the latest lineup of the Avengers? Glad to see Falcon on the team!

Finally, I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING, either!

[hoss20]

Can you confirm if there is a final post credit scene? There are many stories flooding the internet and Shogunn even posted about. Obviously, you don't have to give details; just a "yes" or "no" will do.

Post credit spoiler:

Spoiler

From the Spiderman post credit scene that I saw online there was a "Spiderman created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko" credit along with a tag for Sony Pictures. I wouldn't think you would bother with mentioning Lee and Ditko in this fashion and mentioning Sony doesn't make sense unless Marvel doesn't yet have full rights back at this point. This almost makes me feel like this was a post credit scene from one of the first two Amazing Spiderman movies that may have been cut. Spidey also sounds a lot like Andrew Garfield. Plus the scene appears to be in Spanish, which is weird since I didn't think the movie had been released anywhere yet, let alone in another country.

I just figure you could save a lot of people from the suffering of sitting through the credits for nothing.

I'm glad you enjoyed the movie. I do have a question that's been bothering me for a while:

Spoiler

It appears in nearly every preview that something bad is happening/will happen to Thor. He's been my favorite character since I was a young kid and feel that that they've done a great job with him in the movies. In the comics, however, it always seems like every now and again they really screw him up, including him being "unworthy" in recent events. If you give me details, I won't mind as I'm going to see the movie even if it's deemed the worst film debacle of all time.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

It's actually been released in over 26 countries so far this week.  North America's one of the last to get it, I think.

[hoss20]

Ah, thanks, Cat. I probably should have done more research regarding that fact.

[BWPS]

I just saw it and I thought it was really strange how Howard the Duck randomly showed up for the final battle. I mean it was kinda funny in Guardians but to have him just fly down and start making awful quips without so much as an introduction really took me out of the movie. Pretty solid other than that, was sad to see Nick Fury wear a toupee. I appreciated the Hulk giving a blood transfusion to his cat, that was really funny. 7.3/10.

[JeyNyce]

I just saw it and I thought it was really strange how Howard the Duck randomly showed up for the final battle. I mean it was kinda funny in Guardians but to have him just fly down and start making awful quips without so much as an introduction really took me out of the movie. Pretty solid other than that, was sad to see Nick Fury wear a toupee. I appreciated the Hulk giving a blood transfusion to his cat, that was really funny. 7.3/10.

Uh Hello?, Spoilers Alert.......  Now we all know that Hulk Cat is going to take out Thanos and joined the Guardians of the Galaxy because of you...Sheeeseh, you had to ruined it for the rest of us.

[crimsonquill]

For those who were wondering if the Spider-Man Post-Credit scene was REAL or NOT, It's NOT..

The folks who created that footage and the Batman vs Superman Fake Trailer finally made a video which explained how they pulled it off..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2FWJgKMbFQ

- CQ

[Reepicheep]

I just saw it and I thought it was really strange how Howard the Duck randomly showed up for the final battle. I mean it was kinda funny in Guardians but to have him just fly down and start making awful quips without so much as an introduction really took me out of the movie. Pretty solid other than that, was sad to see Nick Fury wear a toupee. I appreciated the Hulk giving a blood transfusion to his cat, that was really funny. 7.3/10.

I want to be sad that robot clint eastwood died, but you just know they're going to bring him back somehow in the next movie.

[JeyNyce]

For those who were wondering if the Spider-Man Post-Credit scene was REAL or NOT, It's NOT..

The folks who created that footage and the Batman vs Superman Fake Trailer finally made a video which explained how they pulled it off..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2FWJgKMbFQ

- CQ

Give those guys credit, because they made fans go crazy after watch that clip.

[XStream]

Bummed....

End of my semester and I can't go see the movie on opening weekend. 

*Hangs sign*

"Be back in two weeks..."

[Tomato]

Bummed....

End of my semester and I can't go see the movie on opening weekend. 

*Hangs sign*

"Be back in two weeks..."

You are not alone

[spydermann93]

Bummed....

End of my semester and I can't go see the movie on opening weekend. 

*Hangs sign*

"Be back in two weeks..."

You are not alone

We are legion

[BentonGrey]

Ditto, and it's killing me.

[Talavar]

Saw it yesterday, and really enjoyed it. 

Spoiler

Like the first Avengers movie, Age of Ultron is a bit disjointed.  It's a big movie, with a lot of character moments and a lot of action set-pieces, and apparently a lot of scenes cut for time (there are already rumours of an extended edition DVD).  Everything meshes, but not quite perfectly.  There are fewer "heck yeah" moments, but more character development, particularly for Banner, Black Widow and Hawkeye.  This is sounding a bit negative, but my view of the movie definitely is not.  It's a highly entertaining sequel to the Avengers, and sets the stage for the next round of Marvel movies.

[JeyNyce]

Just saw the movie and all I have to say is that with so much going on, it should have been longer.
One thing that bothers me is

Spoiler

Wait for it....

Spoiler

Quicksilver.  I really enjoyed him in the movie, but they killed him off at the end.  Why did Marvel did all that work with Fox for the character, just to kill him off??

[BWPS]

Holy crap this movie is amazing. I felt like my brain was exploding the whole time. It's also really funny, a ton of good jokes. I loved it, it's easily the second best movie.

[SickAlice]

About a two month wait here yet. Wow it's eating all the hype one would imagine. It also seems to have every form of complaint lodged against it one could imagine and then invent on top of it. If I went by many peoples accounts this is the single worst film production ever made. Luckily I never do and the more popular or noticeable a thing is the more it's going to attract negative review so nature of the beast and really what else would cynics be doing. I'll point one thing out though is that now that it's hit a lot of it has hit the internet in turn of course and I've seen that, couldn't look around it to be honest. And I'm looking at this swarm of shopped pictures were a comic reader took a scan of the comic Ultron and put it in the movie setting, or tried to make the movie one look like the comic in an attempt to say the film version " doesn't look right " and sorry but all those shop-ups and the actually film really showed is me that a direct translation of the comic version would end up looking like dingus and they did right by coming up with the version they did.

Anyways as always I have to see it's really something to be an era where a character like Ultron is in a movie and on the screen. A decade ago or better if you asked me and most comic readers if that would happen I would have shrugged and said " Notta ". I would have been just like one of those bratty kids from Ray Bradbury's All Summer In A Day about it. Yet here we are. What an age we live in and how lucky and spoiled we are to such things. Simply fantastic.

[Outcast]

Saw it last week. Didn't really enjoy it much to be honest. It just seemed bland to me. The story wasn't all that great in my opinion. The action wasn't that exciting for me either. I dunno. Maybe it's just me. In the end, it's just not a movie i would be really thrilled to see again.

[Shogunn2517]

So I just watched Avengers:AoU again and I do have to say I liked it, but like many critics, have said already, there are some things about this particular movie that bothered me.

Spoiler

Well, first of all, the action of course was good.  Actually in parts I think it was better than the first.  The director did a great job of making the team work well together.  Very seemlessly.  The new characters and the new lineup was special.  Very special to see.  And I'm glad the team has some diversity.  Not just diversity in the humanity sense, but diversity from the original lineup.  I could easily see THIS lineup being the "Home Team" in Civil War.

That said my problems seem to be the sort associated with many sequels.  Off the top of my head it seems really weird for some of the romantic involvements through the movie.  Some seemed more natural than others, but out of place all the same.  More than that though, it just seemed to scream of "contractual obligations" to give Hawkeye a COMPLETELY random wife and kids... like truly out of nowhere?  Not only did it slow the pace of the movie down, but it was just totally unnecessary.  I couldn't help to think, why is this in the movie?

Another slight annoyance was Ultron.  His creation and origin seemed a little too convenient.  In addition, he seemed far too sentient than I would have ever expected.  That lead a lot of wonky very non-serious dialogue from Ultron.  Like, despite it being comical, his exclamation of "Oh for the love of God" when Hulk tossed him out of the Quinjet.  There's also Hawkeye, with his pep talk to Scarlet Witch, him not taking himself seriously by saying "hey I'm just some guy with a bow and arrow".  Just a few of those scenes just seemed rather silly than funny.

Overall, I liked the movie.  But it almost seemed like it was too "the middle part" of something bigger, IMO.  The Avengers, that was almost a perfect movie.  There was no way AofU could capture what it did at all.  It tried, but it really couldn't and they knew it.

[Silver Shocker]

Saw it on the weekend, really enjoyed it, might not be as good as the first one. I think I liked Winter Soldier and Guardians a lot better. Action was great and the ensemble cast all did fine.

Spader was pretty awesome as Ultron. Lots of memorable, quotable lines from him, and a very cool, menacing voice. I found it amusing that he kinda looks like the Bayformers and TF Prime version of Megatron.

I was perfectly happy with Olsen and Johnston as Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Pietro's funny accent reminded me of Chekov from Star Trek, which amused me. I'm torn on which movie version of Quicksilver I like more. QS's one of my favorite characters from the comics and I like both movie versions, though neither perfectly replicate the comic version.

Hulkbuster Hulk fight was awesome. I was very impressed with it and imagine the comics will likely emulate it in the future.

Spoiler

More than that though, it just seemed to scream of "contractual obligations" to give Hawkeye a COMPLETELY random wife and kids... like truly out of nowhere?  Not only did it slow the pace of the movie down, but it was just totally unnecessary.  I couldn't help to think, why is this in the movie?

Well Hawkeye did have a wife and kids in the Ultimate comics, but other than that, it was meant to explain what Hawkeye's been doing since Avengers since he hasn't been showing up since, and to make you think he was going to die, so that Whedon could get you with the one two punch of Quicksilver dying in his place.

Speaking of which, I was sad about that, but I'm not really ticked about it. I liked the character and would have liked to see him appear in more movies alongside his sister, but it's possible he could come back somehow (he does have a multi-film deal) and we at least still have the X-Men version for now.

I loved War Machine's appearance for the final battle. So awesome. I would have liked Falcon to show up there too.

While I didn't really mind Wanda's outfit for the movie, seeing her don a more comic-accurate costume at the end was pretty sweet (and sadly, there doesn't seem to be a picture of it online yet, but I'll give it time.

One thing y'al might want to know is that a good chunk of footage got cut from the movie, including Loki's cameo, and a longer version of Thor's "cave" subplot. It's apparently already been announced that there will be an extended cut Bluray/DVD, which I'm happy to hear about. I'd get that.

[edit] Oh I forgot to talk about Vision. I thought he was awesome. Paul Bethany did a good job portraying him, he looked cool, he got to do cool stuff in the action scenes, and his final encounter with Ultron was great. As someone who's read quite a few comics featuring the character, I think they did a great job adapting him.

[Reepicheep]

Spoiler

Another slight annoyance was Ultron.  His creation and origin seemed a little too convenient.  In addition, he seemed far too sentient than I would have ever expected.  That lead a lot of wonky very non-serious dialogue from Ultron.  Like, despite it being comical, his exclamation of "Oh for the love of God" when Hulk tossed him out of the Quinjet. 

Spoiler

His character was actually one of the things I liked best. When he was first brought into existence he researched Tony Stark. All his dialogue from then on sort of sounded like an emulated pseudo-Stark - same with his goals and ambitions. It made me think, this is what Iron Man would be if he wasn't held back in his ambitions by his humanity or association with the Avengers.

[XStream]

XStream Update:

(Cause I know everyone wants to know).  I didn't get to see it this weekend.   

I had forgotten that one of my little bros (not h2o for those who remember him... though h2o is already married with a family) had a ... wait for it... couples' wedding shower    So yeah, there are some embarrassing photos of me in a toilet paper wedding dress now...

Worse than that, no chance of seeing the movie until Thursday night... which is my ten wedding year anniversary and not very likely.  Not that Mrs. X doesn't want to go (I've come home a total of four times to find her watching Avengers alone), but we already have a babysitter for something we must do for her job tomorrow night... Hard to get a sitter twice during the week...  Maybe a matinee next Saturday.

[stumpy]

Ok, saw this yesterday morning and really, really enjoyed it. It may not have been as good as the first Avengers movie, but I generally had fun from the time the Ant-Man and Fantastic Four trailers played right up until the end credits clip with a certain famous Eternal.

There was plenty of action, but enough story to keep things interesting. Especially after so many of the preview trailers had me thinking, "Wow, audiences really are just going to watch a Summer of destruction porn." And, then, self-consciously wondering if that's what I was doing, too. Avengers: AoU had plenty of action, but it was more than that, too. It had some character development and insight into what makes the characters tick, some charm, some humor, and even some romance (though, I will agree that some of the latter was kind of odd).

Spoiler

I will agree that Ultron was in some ways a bit too human. I mean, I get it that his personality was informed by Stark's snarkiness and cycnicism, but Ultron  really was in many ways indistinguishable from a human villain with a metal helmet. Not altogether a bad thing, but I can see how it detracts a bit from the robot-villain-with-no-obligation-to-his-human-creators theme.

And, it's worth noting (though not necessarily a movie flaw) that Ultron was, ultimately not free of the strings that bind the flesh-based heroes he was criticizing. He was emotional and angry and arguably worried about dying.

Of course, some of that humanity in Ultron was what made him fun to watch. The "Oh, for God's sake" and "I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan <then proceeds to not explain and fights to win instead>", etc.

I was sad to see Pietro's story end the way it did. Of course, with a superspeed metabolism (not to mention a twin sister who is a witch), such things aren't really set in stone.

Anyway, there is much more to say, but I generally enjoyed the movie and the strength of it has me thinking I will want to see the next pair. Of course, without Whedon at the helm, it's less of a sure bet. But, this was fun.

[windblown]

I liked the film. I have a couple of thoughts about it (don't click if you didn't watch it):

Spoiler

Does anyone know why Scarlet Witch's powers were changed for the film? Her powers here resembled Jean Grey's instead of Wanda's (hex bolts or Chaos magic or whatever powers she has now)

I liked Aaron Taylor-Johnson's portrayal of Quicksilver, so I was sad to see him meeting his fate, I hope he can be brought back in future films.

[crimsonquill]

Spoiler

Does anyone know why Scarlet Witch's powers were changed for the film? Her powers here resembled Jean Grey's instead of Wanda's (hex bolts or Chaos magic or whatever powers she has now)

Spoiler

When the MCU Production Team arrived at handling THOR/Asgard and setting that "magic" is just technology/science we don't understand then trying to apply it to Scarlet's Hexing Powers just didn't work without a serious amount of explanation they did not have time for. Not being able to call Scarlet and Quicksilver mutants because of the whole FOX/Disney rights issue however served as a bonus because Jean Grey wouldn't ever be within the MCU so they could easily use her power set to their advantage. Her telekinesis/telepathic powers are horribly twisted versions of them (they seem to be more destructive/manipulative in nature) and if Doctor Strange eventually takes interest in Scarlet as a student then they might be able to weave her powers with the skills he teaches her into creating "Chaos Magic" which would be very useful in battling The Infinity Gauntlet.

- CQ

[BentonGrey]

So, I finally got to see it, and I absolutely loved it.  I don't understand some of the rough treatment this movie is getting, because it was great.  It wasn't as good as the first one, but then it really couldn't be.  The first one gave us something truly unprecedented, and it gave us endless 'firsts.'  We'll never have that moment again where we see Thor face off against the Hulk, Captain America in his classic costume, or the Hulk tearing through an alien army, all for the first time.  That's okay, and this new movie gave us a lot of different firsts, but The Avengers I was magic, and the genie is out of the bottle.  You can't expect the next one to conjure the same sparks all over again. 

Fortunately, it doesn't really try.  Instead, it does something different, something great in its own way, and something that speaks clearly to the true nature of heroism (at the expense of the 'Distinguished Competition'). 

Here are my thoughts, in no particular order:

Spoiler

I think the main thing that brought me joy while watching this movie was the same element that did so in the first one: it definitely brought the comics to life in grand fashion. There were dozens of little (and a few big) moments that just seemed to have lept off the comic page, and I loved it. They weren't as profound as the first one, but then how could they be?  They were still wonderful.  I got a thrill out of Black Widow calling Iron Man 'Shellhead,' the relationship between the Twins, and many other little touches.

Hawkeye's portrayal throughout was one of my favorite parts of the movie, with Quicksilver's small but wonderfully utilized bits of characterization running closely behind. It was just awesome to see Hawkeye actually BE Hawkeye and Quicksilver actually BE Quicksilver, especially after both of them not really being themselves in previous films, just being the SHAPE of the character without the heart (and yeah, Hawkeye gets a pass in Avengers 1 because of the mind control).

I think my favorite moment may have been Hawkeye's line after Quicksilver runs past him and tells him to keep up. "No one would ever know....'yeah, last time I saw him, Ultron was sitting on him...real shame, I'm gonna' miss him...'" Ha, how utterly apt.

Who noticed the relief on Thor's face after Cap's attempt at the hammer? 

The Vision was amazing to see on screen. I am absolutely astounded and thrilled that he looks like he stepped off the comic page...and it totally works! Of all the characters that I would have thought they would HAVE to redesign to make him work in live action, Vision was at the top of the list. The fact that they gave him a straight translation speaks more to the love and reverence these films have for the source material than just about anything else I've seen. There is no longer ANY excuse for movie adaptations of characters to not have at least a resemblance to their comic sources. All arguments to the contrary have been rendered invalid by the Visions glorious yellow cape.

As for his portrayal, that was one of the few small nitpicks I have against the movie. They did a good job with him, but I feel like he really should have been given just a bit more development.  I know the pace was breakneck, but just a bit more dialog to clarify his motivations would have been really helpful.

The same is true of Ultron's rapid turn to villain.  I would have liked a bit more of a journey for him as he realized the only way to be sure was to 'nuke it from orbit.'  Still, the final effect was a good villain, and I liked his modus operandi, so it's a minor quibble. 

Another problem I had with the movie, and once again, a minor one, was that Thor's vision in the divining pool was really poorly explained and set up. That scene either needed to be cut or expanded significantly.  I'm glad to hear there's a longer version of it.  I look forward to seeing it.

I'm not sure what I think of the upcoming Civil War. Folks have talked about the seeds being planted....BUT I don't know that I really see it. This movie's resolution was all about UNDOING those very moves towards discord. I'm not sure how they're going to get to a Cap vs. Tony fight, really. I mean, they've got their differences, but they have some narrative and character gymnastics to go through in order for them to disregard the lessons from this film.

The dissolution of the Avengers at the end was also sorta' surprising. I'm guessing this will lead to Cap's vs. Tony's...but once again, I don't really see how.

Back to the good, I liked the central peril of the 3rd act.  The island/meteor was a neat idea, but I LOVED the double jeapordy of the inability to either sink or destroy it.  You have the lives of the few against the lives of the many, but the Avengers are unwilling to make that sacrifice.  I LOVE that.  Heroes find a third way.  That's what they do, and that whole section of the film with its undercurrent of 'our job is not just to stop the supervillian, but to save lives,' made me really happy.  It was a pretty clear refutation of Man of Steel, and it was great.

[Tomato]

Finally saw this yesterday. Going back and reading everybody's posts right now, so I'm just gonna jot some quick responses to stuff first. Since I am going to be talking about spoilers, keeping most of my points in the spoilers. That said, here's a non-spoiler-review: Don't believe the critics. Avengers 2 has some issues, sure, but it's nothing deal-breaking, and there is a lot of fun character interaction in this one that makes up for it.

Spoiler

Shogun: The thing with Hawkeye having a random wife and kids... Thematically, it was to show the contrast with the other characters. Having a family is not something a lot of these characters can ever have, and having a normal guy around who had a life and family was the easiest way to bring those character developments around naturally.

That having been said, as my sister(who only knows comics by association with me and dad) was fond of pointing out, they were clearly setting up to kill him. The entire script was building to the moment when Hawkeye was going to die saving that child. And either because Marvel came down and said "No, you can't do that" or because of the legal issues with Quicksilver, or even because Joss just wanted there to be this great twist, that death was switched over to Quicksilver at the last minute. But rather than compensating and adding in more of Quicksilver to give that death meaning, 90% of the script is still built around the death of Hawkeye.

As for Ultron... he was kinda weak, if only because of how he was presented. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the dialogue and interactions, but it would have been more meaningful had it been made clear from the start that his mind was based around Tony's. As is, Ultron basically happened due to an automated process, and he just happens to be very similar to his creator because... the needs of the plot said so. It's hard to swallow as is because the film makes no effort to give a reason for it, since all Tony really did was transfer the "AI" from the Soul Gem into his computer system, he didn't actually create it. Maybe that's better in an extended cut, but in the theatrical release that's easily one of the weaker aspects of the movie.

Speaking of weak points... Vision. I'm with Benton on this one, Vision *looks* fantastic, but he was a bit *too* perfect in this one. I'd have liked to see him a little more developed and given a bit more of a personality. That said, the bit with him looking at Thor's cape and making one for himself? That was great. I kinda wanted more bits like that.

But yeah, all criticisms aside, I really liked this one. I actually enjoyed it more than I did Avengers 1... we actually got to see a lot more of the actual Avengers this time around through all their interactions.

[crimsonquill]

Spoiler

Shogun: The thing with Hawkeye having a random wife and kids... Thematically, it was to show the contrast with the other characters. Having a family is not something a lot of these characters can ever have, and having a normal guy around who had a life and family was the easiest way to bring those character developments around naturally.

That having been said, as my sister(who only knows comics by association with me and dad) was fond of pointing out, they were clearly setting up to kill him. The entire script was building to the moment when Hawkeye was going to die saving that child. And either because Marvel came down and said "No, you can't do that" or because of the legal issues with Quicksilver, or even because Joss just wanted there to be this great twist, that death was switched over to Quicksilver at the last minute. But rather than compensating and adding in more of Quicksilver to give that death meaning, 90% of the script is still built around the death of Hawkeye.

Spoiler

For those who also are familiar with Ultimates, which the MCU has great inspiration from, One of Hawkeye's major motivations to return to duty after retiring was the death of his wife and children when an assassin struck his home when they learned of his civilian double life. THIS makes a lot of sense since they seemed to imply that Clint quit the team at the end of Avengers 2 to spend more time with his family upon seeing Quicksilver sacrifice himself even after they didn't along very well. I could see Clint picking up his gear again if his farm and family was attacked because he refused to join the government's new program during CIVIL WAR. Why else show him returning home for good and then just a few films later have him back in action again unless something major shifted his priorities in life.

[JeyNyce]

I'm not sure, but there was talks about an extended version of the movie coming out on DVD/ Blu-Ray.  While the movie was great, I felt that they left out a lot of stuff.