Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

[Joe]

I feel that Civil War may be a little stuffed. They've got to put in the catastrophic event that makes the government want to have tighter control over the capes, Tony's reaction, Steve's reaction, and the ensuing shitstorm that engulfs everyone.

And they have to set up Avengers 3/4.

[lion10]

He didn't set up the thrusters - that was the HYDRA lab.

Why would HYDRA put thrusters in the ground?

How much did watching Agents of SHIELD help with understanding Age of Ultron?

[nobodyyoucare]

Why would HYDRA put thrusters in the ground?

How much did watching Agents of SHIELD help with understanding Age of Ultron?

Hydra had dug out tunnels and had the robot making machinery. Ultron just used that. He was building an army of robots and having them use the hydra equipment including the Chitarui stuff. 

[Raja]

Why would HYDRA put thrusters in the ground?

How much did watching Agents of SHIELD help with understanding Age of Ultron?

it doesn't. The Avengers going around knocking out Hydra is in conflict with the secret war on Agents of Shield.On TV it plays as if Coulson got the intelligence and then they Avengers assembled for the opening battle. Saying Coulson got the helicarrier and crew seemed like a weak add on.

[Kel Varnsen]

I feel that Civil War may be a little stuffed. They've got to put in the catastrophic event that makes the government want to have tighter control over the capes, Tony's reaction, Steve's reaction, and the ensuing shitstorm that engulfs everyone.

I am wondering how that whole thing is going to work. They are going to have to spend time explaining what happened since the last movie, with Steve looking for Bucky. Then they have to introduce all the characters. And then on top of that explain exactly what was the driving factor behind the Civil War, then actually have the characters go to war. How long is this movie going to be?

 

Thor's anger in the comic was justified in that Ultron's plan in the Ultron Unlimited story was way more horrifiying. He basically killed everybody in some small country(also in Eastern Europe) and turned their corpses into zombie cyborgs.

Until I actually saw the movie that is totally what I thought they were planning on going with for the plot. Like you said we have the small, fake eastern European country. Plus from the trailers there were tons of lesser Ultrons. Doing something like that would have been interesting, and I think raised the stakes a bit more as far as how dangerous Ultron was.

[nobodyyoucare]

it doesn't. The Avengers going around knocking out Hydra is in conflict with the secret war on Agents of Shield.On TV it plays as if Coulson got the intelligence and then they Avengers assembled for the opening battle. Saying Coulson got the helicarrier and crew seemed like a weak add on.

Remember Captain America:Winter Soldier tied into that. By the time Winter soldier is over the Secret War waged by Coulson is over.

 

By the time Age Of Ultron occurs Coulson has already gotten rid of the Hydra in Shield. The assets that were not Hydra were being reassembled hence why agent Maria Hill was working for Stark since Stark was helping her and Coulson rebuild Shield. 

[nobodyyoucare]

I am wondering how that whole thing is going to work. They are going to have to spend time explaining what happened since the last movie, with Steve looking for Bucky. Then they have to introduce all the characters. And then on top of that explain exactly what was the driving factor behind the Civil War, then actually have the characters go to war. How long is this movie going to be?

 

Until I actually saw the movie that is totally what I thought they were planning on going with for the plot. Like you said we have the small, fake eastern European country. Plus from the trailers there were tons of lesser Ultrons. Doing something like that would have been interesting, and I think raised the stakes a bit more as far as how dangerous Ultron was.

Also remember this is basically Ultron 5 or 7 they stopped. Each time Ultron upgrades himself and becomes more dangerous. It was Ultron 15-17 who wiped out  Slorenia. You keep thinking Ultron was defeated but he comes back even more crazed and dangerous. 

Edited May 27, 2015 by nobodyyoucare

[KatWay]

Since barely anyone is watching the TV show, at least compared to the movies, they can't really have anything happen in them that would affect the MCU world in a major way. Movie viewers can easily just watch the movies, you don't really need that extra information that's there in the show.

 

I'm guessing that when they do an Inhumans movie, they'll also explain the mythology from scratch in that one.

[Kel Varnsen]

I'm guessing that when they do an Inhumans movie, they'll also explain the mythology from scratch in that one.

Considering that the Inhumans movie isn't coming out for a little over 4 years from now, I would be shocked if anything that comes up in Agents of Shield with regards to Inhumans is referenced in the movie. Because even people watching aren't going to remember plotlines from a TV show that happened 4 years in the past, not to mention all of the people who aren't watching. Then again I would be equally shocked if Agents of Shield is still on 4 years from now when Inhumans comes out (which would mean it would have just wrapped season 6 and going into season 7).

 

Also remember this is basically Ultron 5 or 7 they stopped. Each time Ultron upgrades himself and becomes more dangerous. It was Ultron 15-17 who wiped out  Slorenia. You keep thinking Ultron was defeated but he comes back even more crazed and dangerous.

 

You're totally right. And based on that I am kind of disappointed that there wasn't some hint at the end of the movie, that Ultron's brain isn't still out there on a computer or something.

Edited May 27, 2015 by Kel Varnsen

[ChelseaNH]

Hydra had dug out tunnels and had the robot making machinery.

 

Hydra had tunnels/secret labs underneath their facility, not the whole city.  But Ultron did have access to all the robots and the facilities left behind.  (Which -- why were they just abandoned, instead of collected or at least guarded?  They really do need a God of Cleaning Up After Themselves.)

[VCRTracking]

When Guardians of the Galaxy 2 comes out in 2017, people will be really excited to see Starlord, Groot, Rocket, etc, again because they haven't seen the characters in three years since the first movie. Age of Ultron always had less of a thrill on that part because we already saw Captain America, Thor and Iron Man in their solo movies since the last Avengers movie plus Black Widow in a sizable role in Cap's movie.

Edited May 27, 2015 by VCRTracking

[Raja]

Remember Captain America:Winter Soldier tied into that. By the time Winter soldier is over the Secret War waged by Coulson is over.

By the time Age Of Ultron occurs Coulson has already gotten rid of the Hydra in Shield. The assets that were not Hydra were being reassembled hence why agent Maria Hill was working for Stark since Stark was helping her and Coulson rebuild Shield.

Nope on Agents of SHIELD all that was over was the plan to use the Insight helicarriers and those Hydra agents inside of SHIELD and a US Senator exposing themselves. Then the secret war against Hydra begins with an AoS black operation taking out the North American leadership of a Hydra just before Ultron When we see the sole survivor Dr. List.

[nobodyyoucare]

Hydra had tunnels/secret labs underneath their facility, not the whole city.  But Ultron did have access to all the robots and the facilities left behind.  (Which -- why were they just abandoned, instead of collected or at least guarded?  They really do need a God of Cleaning Up After Themselves.)

Iraq War part 2 you didn't have coalition guards guarding the armories of Saddam after the fall of Iraq. So all those munitions were stolen weeks later and used against the occupation forces. Plus it was behind a hidden entrance so Tony was thinking it was sealed off and it would take weeks if not months to get the personal and gear to not only secure the location but get everything out. 

 

Nope on Agents of SHIELD all that was over was the plan to use the Insight helicarriers and those Hydra agents inside of SHIELD and a US Senator exposing themselves. Then the secret war against Hydra begins with an AoS black operation taking out the North American leadership of a Hydra just before Ultron When we see the sole survivor Dr. List.

Actually episode 41 "The Dirty Half Dozen" Coulson discovers the base in which Baron von Strucker is hidden in and gives the info to Maria Hill so she can have the Avengers take it out. 

[Raja]

If I could rank it I would say Agents of SHIELD having a we found "it" time to  call the Avengers moment before Age of Ultron was stronger than the Agent Sitwell is going off to a ship before the Winter Soldier. However coming out of The Winter Soldier having call backs to the day SHIELD fell as the secondary seaon arc (to the primary one of the introduction of Inhumans to the MCU) and having "our hero" agents treated by the official and general public as they might be Nazis was much stronger than the  post Ultron reveal that along with building SHIELD Director Coulson actually was also re-commissioning the helicarrier. However Agents of SHIELD had a entire season to deal with Winter Soldier fallout. And right now have not had the time to deal with Age of Ultron fallout as the Inhumans story was coming to a head.

[Lantern7]

I went to Special Edition NYC this past weekend. I came prepared with AoU references for sketches, and I managed to get it all used.  Here's Quicksilver (with a distant cousin), Vision (with a bit of spoiler), Ultron (with Attack on Titan thrown in . . . it makes sense in the description), and Scarlet Witch (banged out in about twenty minutes).

[nobodyyoucare]

http://www.blastr.com/2014-11-19/read-entire-8-page-attack-titanavengers-crossover-comic-right-now

[nicepebbles]

The hubby and I got to see this over the weekend.

 

I know nothing about the comics so I didn't know that Hawkeye had a famliy.  Not knowing that made it feel out of place in the place.  I didn't totally buy it.  I also didn't totally buy the romance between Natasha and Bruce.  The acting was fine, the writing was fine, something just felt off to me.  Those two SLs aren't helped by me being a Clint/Natasha shipper. 

 

I absolutely hated the Iron Man v. Hulk scenes in Africa.  I don't remember where they were located.  I hated it because the movie isn't supposed to be them fighting (though maybe this is set up for Civil War?) and it went on for way too long.  That's time that could've been spent on something else.  I know the point was to show how bad Wanda f'ed Bruce up.  It was, again, way too damn long.

 

S.H.I.E.L.D. hires the fastest huilders known to man!  How much time passed?

 

I like Don Cheadle yet I don't like him as Rhodey.  I don't believe for one second his Rhodey and Tony are friends. (Other relationships I don't get? Jane and Thor.  Can they please recast the part?  Chris and Natalie don't make sense as a couple on a couple of different levels.)

 

You'd think I know James Spader's voice by now.  I kept wondering who he was?  Can someone explain to me how Jarvis wasn't really dead and he was defeating Ultron or whatever Tony said?

 

Over I liked it.  I was expecting not to and to being utterly confused based on what I heard about it.  It was entertaining and it made sense to me even if I have fanwank a couple of things.

 

 

[nobodyyoucare]

Jarvis fled into  the net while also making it look like Jarvis was dead. He was in the net constantly changing nuclear launch codes so Ultron couldn't launch nukes. 

[Kel Varnsen]

Jarvis fled into  the net while also making it look like Jarvis was dead. He was in the net constantly changing nuclear launch codes so Ultron couldn't launch nukes.

Which makes the whole Ultron kind of weird, because if Tony invented a computer program (at least 7 years) ago that could do that on its own, then I'm pretty sure he already invented artificial intelligence.

[nobodyyoucare]

Which makes the whole Ultron kind of weird, because if Tony invented a computer program (at least 7 years) ago that could do that on its own, then I'm pretty sure he already invented artificial intelligence.

Jarvis would be an  artificially intelligent computer program. We already have Jarvis like intelligent computer programs in an infant state. He would not however qualify as an artificial intelligence. Meaning a computer program who can think and reason like a human and have creativity, emotions etc.

 

Jarvis prior to being part of the vision didn't have creativity etc. Jarvis would be sentient but not sapient. 

[Bruinsfan]

I don't know... while Jarvis being able to anticipate Stark's every decision was probably a matter of long observation and calculating probabilities, he seemed to make accurate spot judgement calls regarding Ultron's motives within seconds of interaction. To me that smacks of emotional intelligence and insight, not just processing power.

[nobodyyoucare]

If you are talking about when Ultron became self aware Jarvis programmed routines would have seen that Ultron refusing to let Jarvis notify Stark would be something that would engage the security protocols. 

[millennium]

I absolutely hated the Iron Man v. Hulk scenes in Africa.  I don't remember where they were located.  I hated it because the movie isn't supposed to be them fighting (though maybe this is set up for Civil War?) and it went on for way too long.  That's time that could've been spent on something else.  I know the point was to show how bad Wanda f'ed Bruce up.  It was, again, way too damn long.

 

 

I used this as an opportunity to go to the lobby for my free popcorn refill.   

[VCRTracking]

I feel that this is what an Avengers movie is about(big spectacle action scenes) and that's why I was okay with it. It's why I didn't like the Helicarriers and the destruction and the end of Winter Soldier because up to that point it was a more grounded, less FX heavy movie.

[frenchtoast]

I also think it was sort of Ultron's point. How can they say they are heroes and help people when they destroy buildings and people die. I don't necessarily agree with Ultron, because I think intent matters, but to the person (like Wanda and Pietro) who lost a loved one it makes sense. Even so, it went on for a too long.

 

I think that's the problem when you have fans make movies--they tend to really like to play with their toys, at it were. On the flip side, I appreciate when fans make the movies because they usually show an understanding of the world and why it works. Dave Filoni for Star Wars fits that for me too.

[nicepebbles]

I also think it was sort of Ultron's point. How can they say they are heroes and help people when they destroy buildings and people die.

 

In this case though, Hulk destroyed that part of the city because Wanda messed with his head. So Ultron's team caused that destruction. So it's disingenious to be up in arms about hearoes destroying the city in this case. So he was wrong in this instance and, like you said, intent does matter.

 

 

[Kel Varnsen]

I don't know... while Jarvis being able to anticipate Stark's every decision was probably a matter of long observation and calculating probabilities, he seemed to make accurate spot judgement calls regarding Ultron's motives within seconds of interaction. To me that smacks of emotional intelligence and insight, not just processing power.

Yea if Ultron was AI and Jarvis wasn't I am not sure I understand how the line is drawing. Because it seemed to me that Jarvis made decisions on his own to go out and scramble the nuclear launch codes so that Ultron couldn't use them, sure seemed like thinking on its own. I am not sure I can see Tony or anyone anticipating what would happen and program plans for it in advance.

 

Plus is it even possible to program a computer to use snark and sarcasm as effectively as Jarvis has shown in the past, without the computer being able to think for itself? 

[nobodyyoucare]

Yea if Ultron was AI and Jarvis wasn't I am not sure I understand how the line is drawing. Because it seemed to me that Jarvis made decisions on his own to go out and scramble the nuclear launch codes so that Ultron couldn't use them, sure seemed like thinking on its own. I am not sure I can see Tony or anyone anticipating what would happen and program plans for it in advance.

 

Plus is it even possible to program a computer to use snark and sarcasm as effectively as Jarvis has shown in the past, without the computer being able to think for itself? 

Turing tests show it is possible to program a computer to use snark and sarcasm based on some programmed subroutines.

 

If Jarvis was programmed for security then scrambling codes to thrawt a foe of Stark would be will within his programmed subroutines. If the Jarvis program saw Ultron try to get nuke codes then Jarvis subroutines would have gone active.

 

The thing about AI programming today is a number of non sapient AI programs can make people think the program is human if they were told to determine if it was a human or a machine they were going against.

 

You know Watson on Jeopardy? That was a non sapient AI computer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watson_(computer) 

 

Tony and Bruce were talking about self aware AI. That was able to think and come up with things on its own. Jarvis wasn't that. Sure Jarvis was advanced but he was an advanced Watson that relied on programmed subroutines. 

[blueray]

Considering that the Inhumans movie isn't coming out for a little over 4 years from now, I would be shocked if anything that comes up in Agents of Shield with regards to Inhumans is referenced in the movie. Because even people watching aren't going to remember plotlines from a TV show that happened 4 years in the past, not to mention all of the people who aren't watching. Then again I would be equally shocked if Agents of Shield is still on 4 years from now when Inhumans comes out (which would mean it would have just wrapped season 6 and going into season 7).

 

I will remember, than again I'm the kind of tv viewer that would. When I like a show I tend to watch every episode more than once. I hope that they don't just ignore what happened in the tv show. I hope that they acknowledge it in a way that explains it to the "normal" or movie viewer.

 

I hope it is still on but yeah 4 years is a long time. And while 6 seasons isn't weird the way tv is now it's amazing when a show gets a third season.

Edited June 18, 2015 by blueray

[Danny Franks]

I absolutely hated the Iron Man v. Hulk scenes in Africa.  I don't remember where they were located.  I hated it because the movie isn't supposed to be them fighting (though maybe this is set up for Civil War?) and it went on for way too long.  That's time that could've been spent on something else.  I know the point was to show how bad Wanda f'ed Bruce up.  It was, again, way too damn long.

 

I just couldn't get Team America trashing Paris out of my head. While Tony and Bruce were slightly more self aware afterwards, I just don't think the idea that they'd been manipulated into tarnishing their image was uppermost in the head of Whedon when he wrote it. It was all about the big Iron Man vs Hulk action scene, and I felt it was gratuitous.

 

And then it means even less anyway, when they happily destroy an entire city to defeat Ultron. But it's okay, because SHIELD show up to ferry the survivors to safety.

 

One of the many jarring moments that lessened this movie, in my eyes. 

[Raja]

I will remember, than again I'm the kind of tv viewer that would. When I like a show I tend to watch every episode more than once. I hope that they don't just ignore what happened in the tv show. I hope that they acknowledge it in a way that explains it to the "normal" or movie viewer.

 

I hope it is still on but yeah 4 years is a long time. And while 6 seasons isn't weird the way tv is now it's amazing when a show gets a third season.

Weedon had a bad transition in my opinion where as his siblings came out of The Winter Soldier shinning. This time they had the time to set up we found Loki's specter assemble the Avengers but it was wasted in the movie's prejudice that the Avengers had been running anti Hydra raids for awhile. But for that to work you have to assume that people missed the entire movie or sat through the post credit sequence of Iron Man 3, is that an extra or part of the movie?

 

I think the Inhumans introduction for the movies is just knowledge like aliens Thor and Loki are know we, the audience and characters now know there are aliens amongst us, the Inhumans and the movie will be about a special group of them like The Guardians of the Galaxy were about a special group of peapole living among many alien races on other planets.

[nobodyyoucare]

I just couldn't get Team America trashing Paris out of my head. While Tony and Bruce were slightly more self aware afterwards, I just don't think the idea that they'd been manipulated into tarnishing their image was uppermost in the head of Whedon when he wrote it. It was all about the big Iron Man vs Hulk action scene, and I felt it was gratuitous.

 

And then it means even less anyway, when they happily destroy an entire city to defeat Ultron. But it's okay, because SHIELD show up to ferry the survivors to safety.

 

One of the many jarring moments that lessened this movie, in my eyes. 

They were trying to save the city from the Ultron robots then realized they couldn't save it since the city was going to wipe out humanity if it crashed into the Earth. 

[Bruinsfan]

Yeah, the people of Sokovia's capital city were going to lose their homes whether or not the Avengers did anything. Most of them (and the other 7 billion people) are alive to look for new homes because the Avengers evacuated the city beforehand and once it was airborne disintegrated and sprayed it over a wide enough area that it didn't hit like an asteroid impact.

 

The movie called out that it was just a matter of time before the authorities sought to charge Banner for all the destruction (and presumable loss of life) he caused in Africa. That's why he took off on his own at the end rather than hanging around with the team.

[VCRTracking]

Yep. James Spader in a mo-cap suit is as hilarious as I imagined while kind of being awesome at the same time!

 

Edited August 26, 2015 by VCRTracking

[nobodyyoucare]

Note she often looked at Spader's eyes rather then the red balls representing Ulton's CGI eyes. Hence Aaron Taylor-Johnson would yell, "Red balls! Look at his balls, Lizzie!" 

[VCRTracking]

I knew it. Clint you bastard!

 

[beetnemesis]

Movie is good. But i was accepting a lot from this movie.  The avengers was better movie than this movie. 

[VCRTracking]

Just saw the deleted scenes online. I like the one with Wanda and Pietro.

[Amethyst]

I saw the Norns scene and now I'm really mad that they didn't include it in the theatrical cut.  It's a lot more foreboding than I figured it would be.  And it certainly would have made more sense than Thor just disappearing out of the film for a while.  

[VCRTracking]

I like seeing more of the twins' interacting but I get why it was cut. It pretty much foreshadows Pietro being killed by gunfire!

[paramitch]

So I finally saw this, because I am totally lame and waited for video. I had really mixed reactions here. But I do think I liked it, and even in retrospect, oddly, I kind of loved it. The quiet moments outweighed the loud ones for me.

 

It had a lot that was praiseworthy for me. The cast was game and as usual beautiful and talented. Spader in particular was fantastic, and the other MVP for me was Olsen, who was really charismatic and gorgeous to watch.

 

And it's interesting because I liked but didn't adore Avengers. I liked plenty. But my God, the final 25% goes on for EVER. All I remember are giant worms destroying billions in NYC real estate over and over again to a boring degree, barely saved by the final showdown. So boring. So what gets me is that these moviemakers seem to think that what we want are giant things smashing stuff, but what I adore, for me, are the quiet scenes, the exploratory scenes, and getting to know these wonderful amazing characters. I still need a whole other movie about the woefully underexplored Natasha, or about who Steve is now, about Bruce (the MR version -- loved the much-maligned Ang Lee version, disliked Norton's take)... arghgh.
 

Here, I did love the party scene -- it's a perfect example. A small, quiet, lovely well-written scene that tells you everything you need to know about the characters, just based on that few minutes of screentime. Just on a basic performance level. And watching Thor squirm for the tiniest moment as Cap grips the hammer (and we hear that slight discordance of 'maybe') was just wonderful.

But while I liked/loved it (I'm still processing) -- I also did feel kind of let down. The whole thing felt like a vague retcon. New relationships forged while old felt abandoned (Tony and the Vision don't have a single meaningful scene? Really?).

 

Speaking of which, I did love getting to see Paul Bettany's beautiful face (finally) in a Marvel film. I especially love his quiet and grace as a performer. His final scene with Spader/Ultron was just wonderful.

 

The thing I'm most upset about is that Tony wasn't more upset over Jarvis having to "die" in order to create the Vision. Dammit, in creating a functional, moral AI he basically did most of the work of a parent, and seeing what's effectively his child sacrifice itself and be reborn as this strange new creature with a very different personality should have had a more visible emotional impact on him.

This was a really lovely point. I love JARVIS, and have real affection for him. I also think it was established that Tony had already evolved to real AI in Jarvis's creation (along with the cute little mechs in his lab), imbuing them with at least basic emotional responses. So I wanted a bit more on the loss of Jarvis (and I'm wild to know how much of him survives in Vision!).

 

Its a gender politics issue. It is not that she has a love interest, but rather since she is not the star with a Black Widow or other female name plated movie the political thought that she is only good as the lover of a man, or considering her Red Room training a current standards a woman.

I've read the entire thread, I've read the articles, and really thought about this. I think for me I agree with both sides... I love Natasha and appreciated the attention to her here, but I also did find myself wishing it had been less about who she loved or whether she could have kids, and more about her simply not wanting to make the choices Clint made.

 

 Black Widow finally gets a solo movie! Unfortunately it's a romcom from the writer of 27 Dresses. From last night's SNL, Black Widow: Age of Me:

Also I never realized how much Scarlet looks like Keira Knightley when she smiles.

90% of SNL tanks for me, but god bless the 5-10% of brilliance that makes it through, and this is a perfect sample. Just brilliantly done. Poor Natasha. (and thank goodness the superb Scarlett Johansson was good sport enough to do it). One of the best things I've seen about the expectations for Black Widow, and funny as hell to boot.

 

I feel that a lot of the complaints are from disgruntled ClinTasha fans although I will concede that some out there probably just didn't like how Natasha was written.

 

Personally, I don't feel like this movie weakened her, made her lesser than, changed her or any such thing. I think she is more fully realized than many might believe... fully realized in that she has the agency to feel any emotion she wants. Natasha is a strong and powerful woman. But she's also a human being and they are, by their nature, contradictory. She is damaged... anyone coming up through the Red Room would be and it has little do with whether or not she can bear a child. It has to do with everything else she went through there. She's been through a thousand hells... in my mind, she has more than earned the right to find someone she admires and loves and want to run away with them. I wouldn't blame her for it.

 

Ultimately, though, she's still there. Bruce is the one who ran away. Natasha stayed.

 

I get this and agree with a lot of it. I love Natasha and we got a lot of good moments here. I don't regret them, I just wish a pivotal relationship moment hadn't focused on whether Nat and Bruce could have kids or not. But the acting in that scene is just gorgeous, so I forgive it.

 

I wish more stories/movies/books embraced people who legitimately choose not to have kids. I did it, and I am by the way a truly spectacular aunt. But the world doesn't need more people in it. It has too many to feed as it is.

 

If he really is dead then one of the things it's a shame to lose are more Clint/Pietro interactions which were some of my fave moments in AOU. Jeremy Renner can be a jerk but then he posts stuff like this on his Facebook page:

Aw, see, here's my thing: I like Jeremy Renner. Always will. I still remember his season on "The It Factor" on Bravo, which captured that very moment he edged on stardom), and I know people who have worked with him. Yes, I think his mouth tends to run away from his brain, but I just think he's one of those people who doesn't analyze their comments as indicative of some worldview or larger agenda. For better or worse, he just says things and moves on.

 

Do I think he's actually sexist? No. Do I think he's a bad person? No. I just think he made a bad joke and refused to apologize for it because he kind of doesn't get how big social media can be. I still like him, and think he's a fantastic actor. He even almost sold me on Clint's utterly WTF story here. Almost.

 

This article kind of shocked me:

Moments after a producer told Paul Bettany his career was dead, he was asked to play a superhero in the ‘Avengers’ sequel

 

I was stunned because Bettany's been such a good actor and  I've always liked him in movies. That producer is nuts. It must have been really hard for Bettany hear because he turned down The King's Speech due to overwork and it got Colin Firth the Oscar.

 

I was so saddened and surprised by this. The one thing the article didn't address was, WHY was Bettany's career supposedly and suddenly over? He isn't media fodder, he's handsome, well-liked, and a multiple award-nominee. The idea that he would "never work again" here just seems weird to me. I don't get it.  But I do freely agree with others who wondered why he hasn't become a bigger star. He's a gorgeous actor, nuanced and meticulous, and he's just as much fun in light comedy as he is in drama. I'm so glad he proved them wrong (and that Vision finally enabled us to see his face in the Avengers movies).

 

Meanwhile, a few potential Unpopular Opinions:

 

• I liked their previous interactions, but Black Widow and Bruce? And Hawkeye now married/attached? I just... really? This felt so out of left field to me.
  Not that I'm complaining (I adore both actors) but WTF? It's semi-canon that Hawkeye and Natasha are or were involved (she even wears an arrow necklace in freaking CA:WS). The revelations here about Hawkeye's life just felt like a hasty retcon to give Scarlett something to do.
   
• I didn't mind (and grew to like) Natasha and Bruce's sweet and understated romance, but it is uncomfortable-making for me as a woman that Natasha's entire storyline is a romance in which it's also revealed that (sigh) she can never be a mother. Which of course means she'll never be really fulfilled in life. (It didn't derail her story for me, I just find the choices regrettable.)
   
• I'll say it: I freaking hate Stan Lee cameos. They're stupid, egotistical, badly acted, ham-handed, and always always pull me out of the damn movie. Just, enough.
   
• I hate long extended battle/action sequences. Whedon could have cut 2-4 minutes from all major setpieces here (even more) and I'd have been thrilled. Stupid action for action's sake means nothing. It's just eye candy and a waste of our time.
   
• I disliked that the film felt like it was pandering to viewers by mentioning Pepper and Jane. Like, well, sorry your kickass females couldn't show up, but they're doing great! Meh.
   
• Nobody ever TALKS (well, except LIs or potential LIs). I wish the movie had paused a few more times to let Cap talk about what he's going through for instance and how much he would accept a time warp back to where things make sense. I mean, how cruel was his flashback? The love of his life is old and dying and terribly fragile mentally, and here he's offered a chance to step back 60+ years to have that perfect dance. it broke my heart. Surely the film could have paused a few more times to give us what Cap is truly thinking.
  
  I also wish it had let Wanda and Quicksilver confront Tony about why they were ever opposed to begin with (I was speechless that they never got one word with him over their motives, which were so relevant and moving).

[Bruinsfan]

I kind of wonder if Wanda joining the Avengers wasn't a major part of Tony jumping ship at the end of the movie. Yeah, she's a hero now, and Cap seemed to understand and somewhat sympathize with her viewpoint from the very beginning, but I doubt she's cast aside a lifetime's animosity over a Stark bomb blowing up her parents before her eyes just because she's with the good guys for the big picture. And having someone who's reminding you of that kind of guilt with glares every time you're in the same room might make the playboy superhero hobby a lot less fun.

Edited September 15, 2015 by Bruinsfan

[missbonnie]

Sooooo, that happened. That's the second time this summer that I left a movie liking it but preferring a few movies before it, (Fast and Furious 7, good but 5&6 were better) the first Avengers movie, Guardians of the Galaxy and The Winter Soldier. There was just waaaaaay too much stuff going on I thought. I read that Wheldon cut out an hour of footage from the movie. I'm thinking that he should have left it in there. Vision was cool, Spader was great as always. Everyone was, but it was just too much. I kinda have sensory overload going on. I did love the scene where Vision picked up Thor's hammer and the team's reaction to it as well as the running gag about Cap and cursing.

I saw this one more time in a theater this summer and felt the same, sensory overload x 10. However, I purchased the digital version from Amazon last week (mainly for the extras because I have no intention of buying this movie) and I have to be honest and say that I actually enjoyed watching it on my TV. I don't know if it's because I wasn't sitting in front of a monster screen or what, but it was much easier to follow and I could keep track of everything better. I will watch it again I'm sure.

[beetnemesis]

This movie was a fun romp with a few quiet sidelines in between. As someone old enough to remember the original comic books (and still own a few) I wouldn't say that it sticks to the comics, but its not a bad movie for that and there is plenty of action and a few humorous one liners to keep you smiling. Cheesy? Yes, for sure, but fun nonetheless.

[morakot]

So what gets me is that these moviemakers seem to think that what we want are giant things smashing stuff, but what I adore, for me, are the quiet scenes, the exploratory scenes, and getting to know these wonderful amazing characters. I still need a whole other movie about the woefully underexplored Natasha, or about who Steve is now, about Bruce (the MR version -- loved the much-maligned Ang Lee version, disliked Norton's take)... arghgh.

 

This x1000. It was a shame that the deleted scenes for Avengers 1 included scenes of Steve trying to adjust to life in a new time and some character development - deleted in order to have more flashy battle scenes.

 

At least the earlier named character movies had some opportunity to explore the individual characters -- WS gave us time for Cap to meet with Peggy, for example, and an exploration of what it means to be a veteran in a protected nations. With the massive and growing cast of Cap 3, I fear that it will all be like Avengers 2 -- flash and sizzle and minimal substance.

[lion10]

This x1000. It was a shame that the deleted scenes for Avengers 1 included scenes of Steve trying to adjust to life in a new time and some character development - deleted in order to have more flashy battle scenes.

 

At least the earlier named character movies had some opportunity to explore the individual characters -- WS gave us time for Cap to meet with Peggy, for example, and an exploration of what it means to be a veteran in a protected nations. With the massive and growing cast of Cap 3, I fear that it will all be like Avengers 2 -- flash and sizzle and minimal substance.

 

Seriously.  A lot of those scenes added a lot to the character development.  Steve's vision in the theatrical cut of Age of Ultron came out of nowhere.  Peggy says the war's over and they can go home and....that's it.  With the scene of Maria Hill and Steve, that vision makes a lot more sense.  She questions whether he would stop fighting if there was world peace and he's taken aback.

[greenbean]

Awful, just awful. The rise of CGI is the worst thing to ever happen to the film industry. It looked terrible and the story was a chore to get through. The whole bit at Hawkeye's house was just a bizarre choice. Why suddenly introduce his wife and kids to the story? It was also far too long.

[VCRTracking]

Tom Hiddleston Reveals Why He Was Cut From Avengers: Age Of Ultron

 

Originally, he was meant to appear in Thor’s dream sequence but producers were worried that test audiences were coming to all sorts of wild conclusions.

In short, they read too much into Loki’s short amount of screen time and interpreted his minor involvement as something much bigger than was intended.

 

“In test screenings, audiences had overemphasised Loki’s role, so they thought that because I was in it, I was controlling Ultron, and it was actually imbalancing people’s expectations,” said Hiddleston.

 

[VCRTracking]

[Kel Varnsen]

Watched it again last night because netflix canada has it. First time i had seen it since the theatre. I think it holds up better on 2nd watch. Mostly because the crazy high expectations weren't there and i just accepted it as an insane over the top action movie. The bit in Korea was still my favourite part. The only thing that still really annoyed me was far too little Hulk in the final battle. After he and Black Widow land on the floating city it seems like a long time before you see him again. Considering in the first one Hulk smashing in the final battle was a highlight, not using him was surprising.

Also speaking of bad CG the whole fight at the beginning up until Tony said shit looked like a video game cut scene. I was watching it and trying to figure out if any of the elements on screen were actually real.