OopsWhat89
Civilian
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I figured this would be a fun thing to do. I'm going to review comic book/superhero films that I feel don't get the love they deserve. So instead of it being another generic "what is underrated/overrated" thread it will have a personal spin on it and each will only focus on one film instead of listing what we feel in underrated.
If the mods feel like this idea is too similar to other threads feel free to close the thread and apologies in advance.
So anyway, Age of Ultron!
While this film hasn't split the fandom down the middle as much as say, Man of Steel has, it was still met with a large contingent of fans who found it either very disappointing or outright bad. And here I am, thinking it's better than the first and one of the finest examples of the genre to date.
While I still greatly enjoy the first Avengers film, it's sheen has worn somewhat since it's release. The excitement and unprecedented nature of a massive team-up film finally happening and it actually being good has worn off, and I now find that The Avengers only really starts to take off and become something special after the first 30 minutes or so. In a way this a flaw the film can't escape. I mean, Whedon had to set-up all the cards properly without betraying the solo films while at the same time making it palatable for people who may not have seen all of the solo films. I feel bad holding this set-up against it because the film NEEDS it, but the point still stands...the beginning of the film is kind of dull to me now.
Age of Ultron has the luxury of being able to hit the ground running, and Whedon takes advantage of this from the very first scene with Avengers is full-on team mode, taking out a Hydra base. Seeing them all working as a team, seeing their dynamics on display, seeing them mingle and simply interact gives the film energy from the very beginning. It's hard for ANY film to juggle such an ensemble and for a massive budget comic book film to do it, and do it effortlessly, is something of filmmaking miracle. These characters feel lived in and the great chemistry and snappy writing from Whedon makes them feel as alive as they have ever felt.
One of the biggest complaints about the film is that it feels jumbled, that too much is going on. I honestly do not understand this complaint. The narrative is very straight-forward. And to put it even more bluntly, I find the films script is overall (barring a few little hiccups) a great exercise in narrative momentum. The plot keeps moving along at a wonderfully speedy clip, never sacrificing character. Yeah, Thor's little side quest is a bit tacked on...but it feeds directly into the story later on...so it's not just wasted screentime setting up another solo film.
All of the new characters were handled well. Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver had clear motivation and character arcs with enough personality to make them at the very least stand out as new and different characters. Ultron is another big point of contention among the detractors. Going by the trailers, people were expecting a dark, imposing, world conquering robot. What we got was a oddball, petulant newborn with daddy issues and a bad case of Stark Syndrome. While I can't say anybody is wrong for not liking the way Ultron was depicted, I can say don't blame the film-blame the marketing. I for one, loved Ultron. I don't think Marvels villain problem is as bad as people make it out to be, but a fair share of them are rather lackluster. With Ultron, I think Whedon knocked it out of the park. I found him to be funny as hell, charismatic, and imposing when he needed to be. Whedon did a good enough job of making him feel like a genuine threat. And while I would have liked more one-on-one fights between him and the Avengers, I'd rank him right up there with the MCU's best villain after Loki.
Even though the film is bigger in scope than the first, it feels much more intimate. Whedon said this was the Avengers film he wanted to make from the start, and it shows. He gets the heart of the characters here more so than he did in the first film and they feel so real. Seeing all of their inner demons and fears laid bare did wonders for grounding them as multi-dimensional characters. Those visions Scarlett Witch gives the group a more revealing and detailed then I think people realize. Cap's in particular, is very heart-breaking if you recall his planned date with Peggy...to go dancing.
But what about the stuff that goes BOOM!? For my money, Age of Ultron is the crowning jewel of the genre when it comes to pure, unadulterated comic book action on film. Civil War may be the perfect marriage of gritty action with comic book action...but from a purely comic book level, Age of Ultron, scene to scene, wins out overall.The humor is still on point 95% of the time. There are a few clunky jokes and gags here and there, but overall they amount to nothing more than nitpicks.
And the last big complaint I usually here is that Age of Ultron doesn't really amount to much in the overall scheme of the MCU. Well, now that Civil War has come out, this issue doesn't hold as much weight...but it's still valid. All in all, the film is very self-contained. It doesn't provide any shattering revelations or sets-up anything massive for the next films. By and large, it's a complete, one-off superhero story. I can see why this would make some feel disappointed, but I actually really welcomed how self-contained the film was because in a way I feel that's what it needed to be: a stand alone story that explored the Avengers as a team before crap really goes down with Thanos. The first film is the intro, the second film is the team film, and the finale is the game-changer (hopefully).
So all in all, I find Age of Ultron to be sadly judged much too harshly. It's a fast-paced, well honed piece of superhero entertainment with strong ensemble acting, ridiculously fun action, great humor and enough character moments and heart to make it all worthwhile.
If the mods feel like this idea is too similar to other threads feel free to close the thread and apologies in advance.
So anyway, Age of Ultron!
While this film hasn't split the fandom down the middle as much as say, Man of Steel has, it was still met with a large contingent of fans who found it either very disappointing or outright bad. And here I am, thinking it's better than the first and one of the finest examples of the genre to date.
While I still greatly enjoy the first Avengers film, it's sheen has worn somewhat since it's release. The excitement and unprecedented nature of a massive team-up film finally happening and it actually being good has worn off, and I now find that The Avengers only really starts to take off and become something special after the first 30 minutes or so. In a way this a flaw the film can't escape. I mean, Whedon had to set-up all the cards properly without betraying the solo films while at the same time making it palatable for people who may not have seen all of the solo films. I feel bad holding this set-up against it because the film NEEDS it, but the point still stands...the beginning of the film is kind of dull to me now.
Age of Ultron has the luxury of being able to hit the ground running, and Whedon takes advantage of this from the very first scene with Avengers is full-on team mode, taking out a Hydra base. Seeing them all working as a team, seeing their dynamics on display, seeing them mingle and simply interact gives the film energy from the very beginning. It's hard for ANY film to juggle such an ensemble and for a massive budget comic book film to do it, and do it effortlessly, is something of filmmaking miracle. These characters feel lived in and the great chemistry and snappy writing from Whedon makes them feel as alive as they have ever felt.
One of the biggest complaints about the film is that it feels jumbled, that too much is going on. I honestly do not understand this complaint. The narrative is very straight-forward. And to put it even more bluntly, I find the films script is overall (barring a few little hiccups) a great exercise in narrative momentum. The plot keeps moving along at a wonderfully speedy clip, never sacrificing character. Yeah, Thor's little side quest is a bit tacked on...but it feeds directly into the story later on...so it's not just wasted screentime setting up another solo film.
All of the new characters were handled well. Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver had clear motivation and character arcs with enough personality to make them at the very least stand out as new and different characters. Ultron is another big point of contention among the detractors. Going by the trailers, people were expecting a dark, imposing, world conquering robot. What we got was a oddball, petulant newborn with daddy issues and a bad case of Stark Syndrome. While I can't say anybody is wrong for not liking the way Ultron was depicted, I can say don't blame the film-blame the marketing. I for one, loved Ultron. I don't think Marvels villain problem is as bad as people make it out to be, but a fair share of them are rather lackluster. With Ultron, I think Whedon knocked it out of the park. I found him to be funny as hell, charismatic, and imposing when he needed to be. Whedon did a good enough job of making him feel like a genuine threat. And while I would have liked more one-on-one fights between him and the Avengers, I'd rank him right up there with the MCU's best villain after Loki.
Even though the film is bigger in scope than the first, it feels much more intimate. Whedon said this was the Avengers film he wanted to make from the start, and it shows. He gets the heart of the characters here more so than he did in the first film and they feel so real. Seeing all of their inner demons and fears laid bare did wonders for grounding them as multi-dimensional characters. Those visions Scarlett Witch gives the group a more revealing and detailed then I think people realize. Cap's in particular, is very heart-breaking if you recall his planned date with Peggy...to go dancing.
But what about the stuff that goes BOOM!? For my money, Age of Ultron is the crowning jewel of the genre when it comes to pure, unadulterated comic book action on film. Civil War may be the perfect marriage of gritty action with comic book action...but from a purely comic book level, Age of Ultron, scene to scene, wins out overall.The humor is still on point 95% of the time. There are a few clunky jokes and gags here and there, but overall they amount to nothing more than nitpicks.
And the last big complaint I usually here is that Age of Ultron doesn't really amount to much in the overall scheme of the MCU. Well, now that Civil War has come out, this issue doesn't hold as much weight...but it's still valid. All in all, the film is very self-contained. It doesn't provide any shattering revelations or sets-up anything massive for the next films. By and large, it's a complete, one-off superhero story. I can see why this would make some feel disappointed, but I actually really welcomed how self-contained the film was because in a way I feel that's what it needed to be: a stand alone story that explored the Avengers as a team before crap really goes down with Thanos. The first film is the intro, the second film is the team film, and the finale is the game-changer (hopefully).
So all in all, I find Age of Ultron to be sadly judged much too harshly. It's a fast-paced, well honed piece of superhero entertainment with strong ensemble acting, ridiculously fun action, great humor and enough character moments and heart to make it all worthwhile.
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