Avengers 2 Age of Ultron [Movie Review]

I've been talking about it in my past few reviews, and here it is at last. It is (was) the First of May, and I'm not talking about The Song, but the day that Avengers 2 Age of Ultron was released in theaters.

I think I'll leave Scarlett Johansson's picture here... at the top of the page.

Some of the extensive cast. Some.

Which is not technically true because it looks like my local theaters have started doing 'midnight release showings' starting at 7pm the day before. Yeah. So release date does not mean the day a thing is released on anymore... I guess.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Despite my anger at words loosing even more meaning ('literal' meaning 'figurative,' 'release day' meaning 'any time we want once we have it in hand,' and 'bribe' no longer meaning 'large cash donation (or sex act) for political favors'), this movie was a blast. I'll be seeing it a second time in theaters, most likely. It was that good.  

This is a great scene, and a really good foreshadowing.

Hulk Buster Armor, also known as Veronica?
Stark you are a strange one.

I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it, I do not read nor have I read any of your average American Super Hero Comic books. Not a one. I've read a few like Barry Ween, Blue Monday, and all the new Star Wars stuff... However for me, all these installments of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are new. I'll even admit that briefly, before re-watching Guardians of the Galaxy (many times), I was actually confusing Thanatos and Ultron. It was real short, and after the fact, somewhat embarrassing.

Now that I've hammered home my comic book ignorance, lets talk about the movie.

First a bad thing.
The theater I was in had the volume rather low. I know how weird that sounds. Usually they jam the volume all the way to 11, and attempt to murder your eardrums. Not today.

Ah, the children of Magneto. I know this because others
have informed me. Quicksilver is also the only cross-over
character we've seen so far between the Sony X-men
universe and the Disney Marvel universe... different actor.

Second bad thing, this one actually is about the film. I hate 3D movies in general. I see it as a gimmick, and one that I'm ready to see fade away again. The opening battle was so pandering to 3D, that it bugged me. Certain shots and motions were done only for 3D, they served no other purpose, and in fact at times made the action 'jumpy' instead of fluid and chaotic.

That being said, there was far more awesome than not-awesome.  

The movie is packed with humor, and I mean a lot. Not the scene where Thor is wearing a hoody, that's just a scene. The girls having a crisis behind me thought otherwise. They certainly enjoy seeing Chris Hemsworth on the screen, and the constant rocking of my chair during scenes with him in it implied they might have liked him too much. Anyways, lots of humor... lots of good humor. My personal favorite (one of em anyways):
Ironman: "Good conversation."
Wounded Baddy: "No it wasn't."
It plays better if you see the scene.

There were loads of minor Marvel characters back in the mix too. Rhodes/Warmachine, Maria Hill, Eric Selvig, Wilson/The Falcon, Agent Carter... maybe more. There were some notable absences, or characters mentioned in name only. Pepper Potts, Jane Foster are the two big ones...oh, and Loki... but at least he has a cut scene that may return in a special bit on the BD.

There was also a surprising amount of character development for such an established franchise. That admittedly sounds weird to type considering that this is only the second Avengers Movie, however considering all the other Marvel films and shows it makes sense. It was actually unexpected, an honest and real surprise, and a good one.

It was certainly a lot of fun, and for two and half hours I was not bored at all. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and now I wonder if Ant-Man has any chance of coming anywhere near to the quality of this movie. I worry that that film is going to be the worst of the Marvel Cinematic Universe... somehow worse than The Incredible Hulk. That was an aside, we'll leave it there. I highly suggest seeing Age of Ultron, it is worth the time and money.