Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 1st, 2015)

[ronri]

Well, Loki is a cool villain and like the Joker he can be more of a psychological/Mastermind villain, so their true danger and "power" doesn't necessarily come from their physical strength, which allows them to beat their opponents in none physical ways through out the film, but in Ultron's case, although he had a big "evil" plan, he should of had some scenes where he completely dominated each of the Avengers through out the film, except the Hulk maybe, that way it builds up the villain, so that the scene where Thor, Vision, and IM attack Ultron simultaneously, feels more meaningful, imo. Capt should have never been able to put up a fight against Ultron. And didn't Iron Man destroy one of Ultron's bodies in the second act? To me, he didn't feel strong. That's one of the problems with Zod in MOS. He was beat up within the first 10 minutes of the film by a scientist, then in his first fight with Superman, he loses AGAIN, so by the time he fights Superman in the last battle, he has very little credibility because you know that in the end the villain will lose. So you have to make the villain look as strong as possible so that when the inevitable defeat happens, it's more meaningful and it feels like the hero is overcoming the impossible.

Being cool doesn't really excuse Loki from being a bit of a punk in terms of his physical capabilities during his fights with Thor/Hulkk. It took the combined efforts of Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, and Vision (Ultron's desired final form with vibranium and the power of an Infinity Stone) to beat down Ultron's final form. Heck his primary final form only "died" when Scarlet Witch took out his heart in which he still survived until Vision personally took out his last remaining body.

Iron Man beating him down in his first major fight felt inconsequential when Ultron's main driving force in terms of being a villain is that he's a technopath that controls multiple bodies and never really dies. I don't even know if people realized it but he kept using his primary body as a big distraction while he conducted his actual schemes and goals through his Sentries. It's not weakness when Ultron is just being strategically smart in the way he presents his primary form as a big distraction and obstacle for the heroes to tackle.

 

[hunnipot85]

I enjoyed the movie but it had it's flaws.

I loved Scarlet Witch. I didn't like what they did with Pietro. Vision was a neat addition and had some good scenes.

Spoiler

I didn't like how Black Widow was reduced to a love interest and than captured. I find it hard to believe she couldn't escape on her own. She didn't need Bruce to save her.

I am ready for the new blood moving forward. Honestly, I'm already tired of almost all of the main characters.

I hope Hawkeye stays home on his farm. Hulk can go to outerspace and Thor can stay busy with finding the stones. Hopefully Tony will finally retire and his role be heavily reduced after Cap 3.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I am ready for the new blood moving forward. Honestly, I'm already tired of almost all of the main characters.

Fickled.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

Being cool doesn't really excuse Loki from being a bit of a punk in terms of his physical capabilities during his fights with Thor/Hulkk. It took the combined efforts of Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, and Vision (Ultron's desired final form with vibranium and the power of an Infinity Stone) to beat down Ultron's final form. Heck his primary final form only "died" when Scarlet Witch took out his heart in which he still survived until Vision personally took out his last remaining body.

Iron Man beating him down in his first major fight felt inconsequential when Ultron's main driving force in terms of being a villain is that he's a technopath that controls multiple bodies and never really dies. I don't even know if people realized it but he kept using his primary body as a big distraction while he conducted his actual schemes and goals through his Sentries. It's not weakness when Ultron is just being strategically smart in the way he presents his primary form as a big distraction and obstacle for the heroes to tackle.

Loki might be a punk compared to Hulk and Thor, but he was not really a physical villain, hence the magic glow stick and his ability to trick people...even if his plan didn't make sense, but at least it's clear. Ultron is an 8 foot robot capable of being a physical threat, not just a guy with a secret plan to crash a city...or whatever it was. He had a plan but the Avengers kind of got the best of him through out the film, and they seemed to have an answer for everything, they even stole Ultron's "final" body (Vision) and they used it against him. I think Scarlet Witch was more of a threat than Ultron and actually dominated each of the Avengers through out the film with her powers, which makes me wonder, why didn't Ultron use Loki's scepter to control the twins? He used it on the Doctor to create Vision. Yu would think he wouldn't take any chances, especially when dealing with two humans, the very people he hates or sees as a potential problem.

 

[ronri]

Loki might be a punk compared to Hulk and Thor, but he was not really a physical villain, hence the magic glow stick and his ability to trick people...even if his plan didn't make sense, but at least it's clear. Ultron is an 8 foot robot capable of being a physical threat, not just a guy with a secret plan to crash a city...or whatever it was. He had a plan but the Avengers kind of got the best of him through out the film, and they seemed to have an answer for everything, they even stole Ultron's "final" body (Vision) and they used it against him.

Personally I would attribute that to the writers not coming up with decent scenarios for him, especially how every time he held the upper hand against someone (Cap and Thor particularly), he was instantly supplanted by someone else i.e. the twins or Vision.

Again, I don't think Ultron relied on his physical capabilities to achieve his goals for the majority of the film (save for in the final battle and even then it was his Sentries that did most of the work) and it doesn't help that his plans heavily relied on him getting that final body that ended up being Vision. This isn't trivial at all, as getting a humanoid god-like body is actually something he did in the comics as a big deal.

As an Ultron fan, I felt that his character was written more in a bittersweet and borderline sympathetic way instead of someone who was meant to be outright menacing. It might not be people's cup of tea, but I thought it made for a more interesting nuanced portrayal of the character than say, Loki in Avengers who felt more 2D than his depiction in the first Thor film.

Personally by the end, I found Ultron's plot of crashing the city to be big enough in that it spoke more about him (it was a literal nod to his fasnication of godhood) than Loki who just let the Chitauri loose to go on a rampage. Unlike Loki and the Chitauri though, I took Ultron's army of Sentries as the collective form of Ultron himself, especially in terms of how he interacted with the Avengers through them a lot and how his last remaining body was a damaged Ultron Sentry.

I think Scarlet Witch was more of a threat than Ultron and actually dominated each of the Avengers through out the film with her powers, which makes me wonder, why didn't Ultron use Loki's scepter to control the twins? He used it on the Doctor to create Vision. Yu would think he wouldn't take any chances, especially when dealing with two humans, the very people he hates or sees as a potential problem.

Not so much arguing against you, but Ultron actually treated the twins with respect and sympathy. He had planned for them to survive and join him as the next step to human evolution hence why he was genuinely disappointed that they joined the Avengers. It's why he showed care for Wanda's well-being with the city ready to crash during the final battle, even though Wanda was out to kill him.

 

[hockeyflow33]

perfect review, all points valid, he really nailed where the movie fails.

this review really brings it home

'Avengers' Review: 5 Things 'Age Of Ultron' Gets Dead Wrong - Forbes
[/B]

I just read this drivel and was reminded why I consider critics to be some of the lowest forms of people out there. Most of his points are very easily explained upon actually watching the movie and perhaps doing a bit of research. Stating the Ultron was a way to show off cgi as if this is 1995 and we're waiting on Jurassic Park for new technology is just plain ignorant. Is this "movie reviewer" really too busy to do a simple wiki search to find out who Ultron actually is and to see the character has been around for almost 60 years.

1. ‘Age of Ultron’ is too sappy for no reason, and without a payoff.
The BW storyline weaves through all films so we see her start to open up to team members.
Hawkeye's

Spoiler

entire backstory is to lead us to believe he's going to be killed, when he's not it's shocking

2. ’Age of Ultron’ has a serious pacing problem.
He names these scenes that he says slow down the movie, not due to the content but because he saw a brief clip in an ad.

3. Unfortunately, the action scenes don’t improve matters.
His big complaint is the Avengers win

Spoiler

THEY ALWAYS DO

The rest of his complaints seem to stem from not paying attention during the movie. Was anyone else confused at the danger at the end besides this mush?

4. We’re introduced to too many new (and old) characters, but not all the best characters.
Loki doesn't show up is a big complaint; yea he's great but there are 60 years worth of villains to utilize, let's branch out like they did.
His other complaint is these didn't hit enough EEOC guidelines for Avengers hiring; this one drives me nuts to just fill color/gender quotas for no reason other than to appease idiots like this.

5. Unfortunately, the villain is lame.
The complaint is he didn't start a war between countries or cause a financial collapse...apparently those events are much more difficult to people than global extinction.

Forbes is great for many things but getting their opinion on comic-related information is just ridiculous.

 

[ronri]

^

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

Personally I would attribute that to the writers not coming up with decent scenarios for him, especially how every time he held the upper hand against someone (Cap and Thor particularly), he was instantly supplanted by someone else i.e. the twins or Vision.

Yeah, I agree. Even Hulk punched him at some point and the audience laughed...and I won't lie, I did too But he should have been given some moments where he could truly shine in battle. And I don't mean on top of a moving truck, you know? Come on, he's better than that.

Again, I don't think Ultron relied on his physical capabilities to achieve his goals for the majority of the film (save for in the final battle and even then it was his Sentries that did most of the work) and it doesn't help that his plans heavily relied on him getting that final body that ended up being Vision. This isn't trivial at all, as getting a humanoid god-like body is actually something he did in the comics as a big deal.

He didn't...usually. Even when he got the Vibranium, he didn't do it by force. What he did to the guy was out of anger, but not related to his goal or plan. That's why when I say that he could have been more of a physical threat, not just a puppeteer/smart villain. So for him not to be a dominant physical threat along with being a mastermind with a plan, kind of felt like a missed opportunity, for such a big powerful villain

As an Ultron fan, I felt that his character was written more in a bittersweet and borderline sympathetic way instead of someone who was meant to be outright menacing. It might not be people's cup of tea, but I thought it made for a more interesting nuanced portrayal of the character than say, Loki in Avengers who felt more 2D than his depiction in the first Thor film.

I still liked the character and I liked his personality, and considering his origin story in the film and his connection to Stark, it made sense for him to kind of act the way that he did. I didn't have a problem with Loki in Avengers, because I just saw it as a continuation, not just as an individual story, so at least I was already familiar with the character because of the Thor film, the same way I was familiar with the heroes because of their individual films.

Personally by the end, I found Ultron's plot of crashing the city to be big enough in that it spoke more about him (it was a literal nod to his fasnication of godhood) than Loki who just let the Chitauri loose to go on a rampage. Unlike Loki and the Chitauri though, I took Ultron's army of Sentries as the collective form of Ultron himself, especially in terms of how he interacted with the Avengers through them a lot and how his last remaining body was a damaged Ultron Sentry.

Oh yeah, that was great and the fact that he wasn't limited to just one body gave him a different sense of invulnerability, because he was more than just a physical body, which is different from the traditional strong main villain. And his final scene was really great, better than what you usually get from most villains in movies.

Not so much arguing against you, but Ultron actually treated the twins with respect and sympathy. He had planned for them to survive and join him as the next step to human evolution hence why he was genuinely disappointed that they joined the Avengers. It's why he showed care for Wanda's well-being with the city ready to crash during the final battle, even though Wanda was out to kill him.

Oh, I thought he was just using and manipulating them, since he didn't tell them what his true plan was.

 

[Ash Housewares]

I found myself agreeing with most of the forbes review. Movie was pretty dissapointing IMO. I think an extended version will be better. However I don't really see any sense of making a 3.5 hour film, knowing it will have to be cut down for cinemas and losing so much story and generating possible negative word of mouth.

 

[ronri]

@The Clown Prince of Crime: That's fair enough. Nothing else for me to argue against really, especially since I can see where you're coming from with that reasoning.

Oh, I thought he was just using and manipulating them, since he didn't tell them what his true plan was.

I think he didn't tell them so that they wouldn't be alarmed nor would they question his methods. Beyond that, he seemed to genuinely view them with respect and sympathy actually.

I found myself agreeing with most of the forbes review. Movie was pretty dissapointing IMO. I think an extended version will be better. However I don't really see any sense of making a 3.5 hour film, knowing it will have to be cut down for cinemas and losing so much story and generating possible negative word of mouth.

Personally I view it as a creator not ultimately realizing their vision. Sure it's possible to make a film that's shorter than 3+ hours, but in the same way, there's nothing utterly wrong in making a 3.5 hour-long film that allows the creator to fully indulge in what they want for the story.

 

[Irvy]

Ultron needed more cloak. He nekkid.

 

[Darth Snoopy]

Great movie right? Glad you enjoyed it didnt you say you were going for free or something? Nothing better than that

Thanks and yup, our library sponsored a trip to the movies for our comic book club and we all had a lot of fun!

 

[CallMeTheDoctor]

My library is too busy charging me fines for books I've already returned.

 

[Darth Snoopy]

 

[The Ween]

perfect review, all points valid, he really nailed where the movie fails.

this review really brings it home

'Avengers' Review: 5 Things 'Age Of Ultron' Gets Dead Wrong - Forbes

highlights:

1. ‘Age of Ultron’ is too sappy for no reason, and without a payoff.
By the end of the film, Banner is gone and Natasha is all bummed out, and the audience is pretty much unmoved. It’s a weird little side plot that doesn’t add anything but confusion to the story.

2. ’Age of Ultron’ has a serious pacing problem.
Hiding out at Hawkeye’s farm? Yeah, these guys don’t even look beat up. Why not just turn around and beat up Ultron. He’s not at all scary (like he’s supposed to be.) More on that later.

3. Unfortunately, the action scenes don’t improve matters.
The stakes are rarely, if ever, high in these action sequences, or in the entire film for that matter (we are all fairly sure that Ultron will fail and that none of our heroes will die, nothing horrible will happen, etc.)

4. We’re introduced to too many new (and old) characters, but not all the best characters.
Seriously, the X-Men look positively diverse compared to the Avengers. Regardless, we still have an overly-crowded cast, with Nick Fury and various SHIELD agents also making an appearance. Meanwhile some of our favorite characters—or at least, Loki—don’t appear at all

5. Unfortunately, the villain is lame.
In fact, Ultron is a really terrible super-villain. He’s a “villain of the week” at best, and not even a very good one. He’s supposed to be this enormously powerful AI that can use the internet however he pleases, yet he barely does anything other than find ways to blow things up. That doesn’t sound like a hyper-intelligent and adaptable being, it sounds like a cartoon villain.

So instead of using his tech to shut down global banking systems, hack military servers, start a nuclear war*, or do really anything intelligent at all, Ultron builds a great big bomb that requires him to lift an entire city out of the ground in order to detonate.

This entire bad guy was devised in order to pull off a special effects gimmick. That’s the extent of thought that went into Ultron. Never once (or at least not for more than a split second if we watched a preview) do we think Ultron will be good. We aren’t given any time for him and Stark to form a relationship that could later turn to hatred.

There is none of the passion that makes a Frankenstein’s Monster actually work as a dramatic element. Stark is no Frankenstein, and Ultron is no Monster. They barely have any interaction at all. There is never that process that allows us to accept Ultron first as Stark’s “child” and then as his antagonist. It feels so rushed, so pointless.

The villain poses very little threat, very rarely puts any of the heroes into any sort of bind (save once, with the help of Scarlet Witch) and fails to impress at every turn.

Almost every popular movie these days has some guy writing articles or doing videos like this like they could do it better.

 

[The Ween]

I enjoyed the movie but it had it's flaws.

I loved Scarlet Witch. I didn't like what they did with Pietro. Vision was a neat addition and had some good scenes.

Spoiler

I didn't like how Black Widow was reduced to a love interest and than captured. I find it hard to believe she couldn't escape on her own. She didn't need Bruce to save her.

I am ready for the new blood moving forward. Honestly, I'm already tired of almost all of the main characters.

I hope Hawkeye stays home on his farm. Hulk can go to outerspace and Thor can stay busy with finding the stones. Hopefully Tony will finally retire and his role be heavily reduced after Cap 3.

I honestly am not looking forward to the likes of Falcon, War Machine, etc, if none of the other main characters are involved.

 

[jye4ever]

And he'll see it a dozen times.

My poor wife.

Literally, I make her poor.

jye.......does your theater have a refillable popcorn bucket and drink cup that will give you discounts for a year? I have those. Saves a ton.

I'm starting to go more to the Alamo cinema where there are free refills on popcorn/soda.

Alamo actually brings the popcorn in a big aluminum bowl and the soda in a real cup, pretty cool.

What I really need to do is leave NY.

 

[MaulFan]

I honestly am not looking forward to the likes of Falcon, War Machine, etc, if none of the other main characters are involved.

The "new" Avengers should probably only last for Cap 3 and maybe some of the other solo films leading up to Infinity Wars, but I'm sure once Infinity Wars hit, it's going to be EVERYONE, which should be interesting, people are complaining AOU has too many characters, what about the end game when everyone that's been established today unites for an all out epic battle.

 

[The Ween]

The "new" Avengers should probably only last for Cap 3 and maybe some of the other solo films leading up to Infinity Wars, but I'm sure once Infinity Wars hit, it's going to be EVERYONE, which should be interesting, people are complaining AOU has too many characters, what about the end game when everyone that's been established today unites for an all out epic battle.

I don't understand this "too many characters" nonsense. That's the type of movies these are.

 

[Darkseed]

I honestly am not looking forward to the likes of Falcon, War Machine, etc, if none of the other main characters are involved.

I have reservations around this as well. Witch is the only one with potential IMO whereas the others should remain filler characters.