I did and what can I say, I love this movie. I'm just not feeling the criticisms (not that they are overwhelming or anything) against it. I even liked the pace and the parts that Disney wanted out. The dream sequences were great, if Whedon cut them out as Disney requested then you would have gone from the whole battle inside the ship right to Hulk and Veronica. I think that would have been big time battle fatigue. But instead you had a nice little breather between the two fights that was done in a way that not only shows off Scarlet Witch's powers but also delves a bit into the core of each character. Point Joss.
I didn't even mind the farm house scene. This movie has FIVE action sequences, six if you break up the two Africa battles (ship and rampaging Hulk), hell seven if you count the tussle in the tower before Vision rises. It's practically two and a half hours of action. The safe house and dreams are pretty important to leave in there, IMO.
As jye mentioned a little while back, not too much more to say about the film at this point but a few things that I did notice the third time around:
1. Awesome symmetry (and we know how much Ultron likes symmetry) between his Mark I self and his final drone form that speaks to the Vision at the end. Both have mangled faces and a missing left hand. I never really picked up on that until now.
2. Just how big of a deal it was to have Quicksilver save Hawkeye. It was QS that got Barton off his game against HYDRA which led to his injury, reconstructive surgery, etc. Then they're at odds in the tower, then the "keep up old man" in the city, until repeating his "bet you didn't see that coming" line as he died, the same one of course that he opened with in his first encounter with HE. Nice little touches of Hawkeye refusing treatment and just lying next to Quicksilver. Naming his boy "Nathaniel Pietro Barton." Obviously all that was on the surface, it was just neat to digest a little more.
3. I lol'd when the Helicarrier appeared because I never noticed that as the carrier rose into frame Cap is in a Captain Morgan pose! Lol! He's standing there next to Widow with his one foot up on a rock. It's like Joss told him to pose for a PF.
4. Thor just kicks ass in this movie. Yeah he's just got the 14 minutes of screen time but again as has been said before he's just a badass for pretty much every one of those minutes. And I like that he comes and goes. It'd be kind of demeaning to his character if he just hung around as one of Cap's soldiers. No, he'll help when the situation warrants it but he's always considering the bigger picture and if anything ever needs his attention elsewhere he just leaves. Thor will you help us with this? Thor will you stay and party with us? Very cool. It makes it seem like they're lucky to have an Asgardian in their midst when he condescends to hang out with them or help them.
5. I really think Ultron is a sympathetic character. It's crazy but I actually felt bad for him when the Twins left him and when he later confided in the imprisoned Widow because "you're the only one I have to talk to."
6. Even though Marvel has no plans of slowing down and all these movies tease upcoming films and whatnot this movie still felt like a real "end" of sorts. Like when an iconic sports team wins one or more championships and then the free agents all leave. Four of the original six Avengers took off. You can't shake it up much more than that. Stark is gone, Thor is gone, Hawkeye is gone, Banner is gone and "that guy who went into the ice" is gone, so to speak. Yeah there's Thanos and a million other threats down the line but still "nothing does last forever" and it really does feel a bit like the end of an era.
7. That was one tense battle the team had with one another about Vision. And you really see both sides too. What would be more infuriating to Cap than seeing Stark and Banner trying to activate ANOTHER super AI being? And then on the flip side Stark, Banner and Hawkeye are watching Cap strutting right into their base flanked by two VILLAINS. Of course they're gonna come to blows, lol.
8. I'll watch whatever cut comes out on blu-ray but yeah, they nailed it with this theatrical edition. While this was not a perfect movie or anything I am reminded of the battles that I read about between George Lucas and Fox on Star Wars or between him and Kershner on ESB and how having that creative conflict created real magic on screen. Joss is not a director you just want to hand the keys to and give full control of your property (like Lucas, and I know some would even argue like Peter Jackson.) He doesn't need yes men he needs the battle. And what he wanted in the movie was damn good for the most part. What Disney was pushing for was also good and I am glad neither side got exactly what they wanted.
