Avengers: Age of Ultron

[Destiny_Gundam]

The first trailer has dropped.

Was supposed to air with next week's Agents of Shield, but hail Hydra for getting it to us early.

So looks pretty awesome. I do prefer Ultron as a cold, unfeeling killing machine rather than the more emotive version they're using here, but damn his "There are no strings on me" line is chilling.

[Dark Duel]

HOLY CRAP, HULKBUSTER!!!
This movie looks like it's going to be quite a bit darker than the previous Avengers film. More in the vein of, say, The Winter Soldier. If not darker even than that.
Which, as long as it's done right, I have no problem with.
What I do find interesting is the obvious parallel they are drawing with Ultron to Carlo Collodi's character Pinocchio.
Only you know, instead of a magically-animated puppet, it's a near-omniscient genocidal robot. And an awesome-looking genocidal robot at that.

DISCLAIMER: I know precisely zilch about the comics' version of the Age of Ultron storyline, and not much more than that about Ultron himself(itself?).

Nice to finally see Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, too. Can't wait for next May. It is gonna ROCK.

[ShadowCell]

of course, let's be honest, they could show Nick Fury brushing his teeth for two minutes and we'd still all go see it on opening day

[gunform1010]

HOLY CRAP, HULKBUSTER!!!
This movie looks like it's going to be quite a bit darker than the previous Avengers film. More in the vein of, say, The Winter Soldier. If not darker even than that.
Which, as long as it's done right, I have no problem with.
What I do find interesting is the obvious parallel they are drawing with Ultron to Carlo Collodi's character Pinocchio.
Only you know, instead of a magically-animated puppet, it's a near-omniscient genocidal robot. And an awesome-looking genocidal robot at that.

DISCLAIMER: I know precisely zilch about the comics' version of the Age of Ultron storyline, and not much more than that about Ultron himself(itself?).

Nice to finally see Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, too. Can't wait for next May. It is gonna ROCK.

Ultron was supposedly created by Ant-Man in the comics.

[Destiny_Gundam]

DISCLAIMER: I know precisely zilch about the comics' version of the Age of Ultron storyline, and not much more than that about Ultron himself(itself?).

The movie doesn't have anything to do with the Age of Ultron comic aside from the name. The comic is about Ultron taking over the world and killing most of Marvel's heroes in the process. So Wolverine goes back in time to kill Ant-man before he can build Ultron.

Here's a brief primer on Ultron's history.

I think Ultron was at his best in Next Avengers, whose plot is more similar to the AoU comic, plus it has Tony as Ultron's creator like the AoU film.

[phillosmaster]

Yeah this has nothing to do with Age Of Ultron in the comics. I think they just liked the name.

It feels like we need more setup before this movie somehow. I'm surprised it's the next movie. It definitely looks like Tony creates Ultron in the trailer as was rumored. I'm a bit disapointed that Ant Man doesn't create him in the past or something (and then tried to unsuccessfully scrap the project) as a precursor to the movie, which would help tie that franchise into the shared world. I fear him getting created and confronted in this film might make his character feel a bit rushed and not as well established. Especially considering we are also introducing Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and the Vision in this movie. That is a great amount of ground to cover while also giving our returning heroes some screen time.

They've proven all my fears wrong in the past so I'm sure the movie will be great.

[MrMarch]

The Pinnochio lyrics of the background singing are so creepy, especially at the end when Ultorn finishes the song with "There are no strings on me", destined to be another "Why so serious"

James Spader is perfectly cast as the voice of Ultron and his dialog in the trailer is killer. Really looking forward to this character. Plenty of really interesting shots have been revealed throughout the trailer, the hulk-buster armor being one of my favorites. I've very happy with the way the armor has been realized for live action, retaining the thick, turtle-shell style of the comic book designs. Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch look really good, though X-Men: DoFP pretty much established the definitive version of Quicksilver, so it'll remain to be seen if the Marvel Studios version can rise to the challenge. I wonder what's happening with Banner in this film; could his frequently troubled appearance be the reason why Hulk and Iron Man are fighting so prominently? Looks like the rumor that Tony Stark builds Ultorn in this film-universe are true, since there's no sign of Ant Man (understandable).


So yeah, amazing trailer. I'll be there opening day

[Destiny_Gundam]

It definitely looks like Tony creates Ultron in the trailer as was rumored.

Looks like the rumor that Tony Stark builds Ultorn in this film-universe are true

That had been confirmed fact for awhile now.

I fear him getting created and confronted in this film might make his character feel a bit rushed and not as well established. Especially considering we are also introducing Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and the Vision in this movie. That is a great amount of ground to cover while also giving our returning heroes some screen time.

Well for the first part of the movie they'll be dealing with Baron von Strucker, so I imagine while that's going on Ultron will be slowly developing in the background before taking center stage.

[phillosmaster]

That's not making me feel any better. In that scenario Ultron get's half the movie to develop. I still feel like this movie is doing way too much and it makes me nervous.

I really dislike that Tony is creating Ultron here. I guess I still don't want to believe it. I may just be burnt out on Iron Man and that's coloring my opinion. It doesn't help that his comic had been boring for a long time now (at least IMO). On the plus side that simplifies things a bit in a movie that needs to showcase many elements.

[Destiny_Gundam]

I think it works that Tony built him. Tony is the robot guy, after all. Ant-man is just the shrinking/growing guy so why is he building robots?

Check out Next Avengers if you haven't.

[Dendrobium Stamen]

For the Cinematic Universe, Stark developing Ultron makes an enormous amount of sense - plus streamlines things a bit for the less comic-knowledgeable audience; it's not 100% faithful to the comics, but sometimes that's not a bad thing.

As a wild guess, I'd assume that seeing S.H.I.E.L.D. collapse so quickly and spectacularly during the events of The Winter Soldier, and the Hydra threat that unleashes, prompt Tony to finally go through with his promise of "privatizing world peace", since the organisation his father helped found has ceased to be (Phil & Co. notwithstanding). Also could explain how/why Vision is going to appear - I'm assuming Ultron is a "militarised JARVIS gone wrong" in terms of how Stark creates its AI, while Vision is more like "JARVIS gets a body at last". We saw JARVIS remote-controlling Iron Man armours in Iron Man 3, after all, so Ultron being a drone controlling legions of similar drones is already shown to be feasible in this universe.

Not sure if this is the right topic, but Marvel also had the #MarvelEvent today, and showcased their Five-Year Plan:

Spoiler

May 1, 2015: Avengers: Age of Ultron
July 17, 2015: Ant-Man
May 6, 2016: Captain America: Civil War
Nov. 4, 2016: Doctor Strange
May 5, 2017: Guardians of the Galaxy 2
July 28, 2017: Thor: Ragnarok
Nov. 3, 2017: Black Panther
May 4, 2018: Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1
July 6, 2018: Captain Marvel
Nov. 2, 2018: Inhumans
May 3, 2019: Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2

...if that doesn't excite you, I don't know what will

[phillosmaster]

I'd like to take a step back and point out that I said above they've proven me wrong everytime. So I'm fairly confident that it will be good. It just sounds too ambitious, and I feel Iron Man can use a rest as a property (we've already got alot of new stuff to look forward to including an Ant Man movie just after Avengers 2). I know why they keep bringing Iron Man out. I'm not an idiot. I wasn't trying to be a 616 Nazi. I'm just stating a preference.

While I'm excited about most of the movies on that list an Inhuman movie is not one of the ones I'm excited about. I'm a huge cosmic fan from way back and I never liked the Inhumans and from what I understand the Inhumans are a big part of Marvel's future strategy.

Is a Captain Marvel movie confirmed? They really can't make that movie fast enough. The public is already clamoring for a female superhero in a lead role. While Carol has had a rocky history as a character (I liked whenever Claremont wrote her) the current run has been great. Also she finally has a costume that doesn't look like she should be swinging from a stripper pole. That was really holding her back as a strong female role model.

[Destiny_Gundam]

Yes, Captain Marvel is confirmed, and it's also confirmed that it will be Carol Danvers.

[phillosmaster]

awesome

I just did have a thought that makes me a bit excited about the Inhuman movie. It is being released after the Captain Marvel movie, which means we have all the setup we need to have Kamala Khan appear in the MCU. That gives me goosebumps.

[Destiny_Gundam]

So it's finally here. It was good, but probably could have been better. Not as good as the first Avengers, and definitely not as good as Winter Solider.

Spoiler

I really wasn't feeling much chemistry between Bruce and Natasha. But I guess that could just be due to my preferences.

Ultron was okay, but the build up to him was kinda weak and relied too heavily on plot devices. He had his funny moments but he's just not as threatening as he would have been if he was an emotionless killing machine.

[SNT1]

Here's my review of this bonkers of a film:

Spoiler

-There's a significant lull in action in the middle part of this movie, while compared to the first one they were saving a damn helicarrier from Loki and a rampaging Hulk
-The final fight scene was better though
-Hawkeye/Renner had a significant amount of exposure (and deservedly so, since he's the only Avenger to have had a lack of exposure). Also delivered some of the best lines in the movie.
-Hulkbuster vs Hulk scene delivered, and the way it ended was a callback to the 1st Avengers
-Banner x Widow: FORCED. Probably put there just because---I don't know why Whedon pats himself on his back about this, but nothing good about this, and could have been removed and the show wouldn't lose much.
-Civil War prologue: We know Cap and Iron Man is going to have their differences highlight but they literally did go at it for a few seconds, until Thor stopped it.
-Long cut in the fight in the beginning: Following daredevil's hallway scene plus last week's Skye Wick, I feel Marvel is spoiling us with these epic 1-shot scenes
-The twins delivered, I appreciate the eastern European accent. I like the Quicksilver here slightly more than the DoFP version
-War Machine scenes - Rodey/Cheadle had more scenes here than I expected, including the final scene. It was awesome! Sure wish Falcon (who was also in the show) was there in the end, though.
-Vision reveal was great; I kinda knew that the Thor's hammer @party scene was like a Chekov's Gun; the laughter that the movie had when Vision casually handed Mjolnir back to Thor while Thor and everyone else just stood there stunned
-So is Fury Director of Shield again, with Hill as deputy? That big Helicarrier ain't flying under the radar, for sure; now what happens to Coulson's gang? Guess we'll find out Tuesday
-Ultron: competent villain, competent combatant but hard to care for the guy since we know he loses and really won't show up after the end of this movie; basically like a Monster-of-the-week villain like Stane, Whiplash, Malekith. Loki on the other hand will be trolling until the end

What happens in the Epilogue:
-Avengers A---: New Avengers lineup: Cap, Widow, War Machine, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Vision.
-Iron Man quit (because of guilt maybe?)
-Thor left for Asgard; his vision had him searching for more answers about his dream (that Wanda showed), he hinted at the infinity stones and a feeling that somehow there's someone who's pulling all the strings
-Hulk quit / ran far away because that's what Bruce Banner always does
-Hawkeye returns to his family
-Quicksilved dies saving Hawkeye
-Thanos tired of failing minions and vows to do it himself, has Inifinity Gauntlet (0/6 gems)

TL:DR; Movie was very good, but not as good as the Avengers, and not as good as CA:WS like Destiny Gundam says, but maybe as fun as GotG. Dragged in some places. Lots of setup for Civil War, Thor hints at setup for Infinity War, a scene also sets up Black Panther. 8.5/10.

[phillosmaster]

I liked it. It has issues, but I liked it over all.

Spoiler

I felt the Ultron story was exactly what I thought it would be above. It felt like it came on too fast and it wrapped up too neatly at the end. That said the depiction of Ultron was fun and I actually enjoyed that he was a twisted version of Tony's personality.

Also Strucker was killed off screen... Marvel needs to stop killing these villains. If your villains are always one movie throwaways (In Strucker's case a no movie throwaway) it gets hard to care about them much.

The Widow/Banner relationship didn't feel bad to me, but it did feel like there wasn't enough setup for it before this movie. Also I like Widow best where she is flirty, but not really interested in anyone. As if the flirting is just another weapon in her tool belt.

Loved that we got more Cheadle. I love that it looks like we are setting up to get more Cheadle in the future because the lack of new Iron Man movies made me worry. Too bad we didn't get more Falcon, but this movie was already packed with characters.

Vision was done well. Him and Scarlet Witch even had a moment, which was appreciated. I think his birth was a turning point in the movie toward better pacing.

I liked the depictions of both Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. I like that they started as villains to keep that theme of distrust up between them and the other Avengers. Scarlet Witch's powers were poorly defined, but that it consistent with the comic in my experience. I couldn't tell you what her powers are in the comic and now she does magic on top of it.

Chris Evans was great as always as Cap. I thought it was great that he invited a bunch of WWII vets to the victory party. We even got to see Hayley Atwell again.

Thor's vision quest subplot felt like it was heavily edited down. I'm not sure I understood everything that was happening with him.

Also an internet nexus in Oslo. Say what?!

[Destiny_Gundam]

Upon thinking about it some more, Black Widow is a bit more problematic than I initially thought. The directors of Winter Soldier said that nothing happened between Steve and Natasha because they didn't want to make it seem like she was only in the movie to be the love interest. Whedon, for supposedly being a champion of feminism,

Spoiler

kinda did turn her into just a love interest. Her whole subplot is just "I want Hulk-senpai to notice me" to the point she's willing to abandon everything just to run off with him. Kinda goes against her whole "want to wipe the red from my ledger" thing from the previous movies.

And when it comes to Bruce,

Spoiler

it also kinda tosses out previous developments. At the end of his solo film and in the first Avengers he could control his Hulk outs. Even after his rampage on the helicarrier he just apologised for it and moved on. But in this film now he's back to being all "I'm a danger to everyone!" and stuff.

I'd understand if it these inconsistencies were because of different creative staff, but it's all Whedon here.

[phillosmaster]

Spoiler

I agree on both counts.

It's okay for a character to regress, but in Banner's case it feels like a pretty dramatic change in tone. Maybe it's because Natasha's advances are making him lose his calm center, but I don't think that was given enough time to work well. As presented it does feel abrupt coming from the last movie to this one.

As for Widow I really don't like what they did here. She had some interesting stuff when Wanda forced her to look back at her past, but when most of the movie is devoted to her chasing Banner's affections it really feels like they are doing that character a disservice.

[Destiny_Gundam]

Now I'm kinda glad Whedon is moving out. I look forward to how the Russos will handle Infinity War.