‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’: what did you think? (spoilers)

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Avengers: Age of Ultron arrived as one of this weekend’s big events (other than the royal baby) with the most character-packed Marvel installment yet. Around 800 actors filled the movie, yet it still managed to overflow with CGI effects. The movie shall easily be Marvel’s biggest moneymaker yet. Before this weekend, the film earned $201 million overseas. In North America, the film pulled in around $84 million on Friday, and the comic nerds will probably make multiple visits throughout the weekend. I imagine it will hit well over $200,000 total for the weekend.

As a whole, I didn’t enjoy this film as much as The Avengers, but it was a strong entry and pushed several individual storylines into progression. I still dug this movie a lot, although the opening fight scene was so relentlessly action-packed that I feared Marvel would deliver a hollow cartoon. Luckily, Age of Ultron was peppered with moments of humor, humanity, and character development. Here are my thoughts on several of the storylines:

* Black Widow and Hulk’s romance didn’t feel shoehorned into the film at all. Their attraction, mutual respect, and respective vulnerabilities felt very organic. In the context of how the Marvel films portray the MCU, this relationship makes a lot of sense. And no, Black Widow wasn’t wh*ring around in any sense of the word.

* Tony Stark still drives me insane. He’s the douche Avenger. Ultron is an annoying, smug extension of Tony’s megalomaniacal personality. Stark couldn’t help himself from messing with artificial intelligence. Unlike the other characters, Stark’s insufferable persona overwhelms his Iron Man alter ego. I was glad to see him depart at the end, but we’ll see him again in Cap 3: Civil War.

* Captain America and his Boy Scout image mostly served as a punchline in this film, which is fine. Joss Whedon always writes worse dialogue for Cap than what he receives in his standalone movies. Cap will get his due again. Thor and his gregarious, Asgardian manner of speaking were also nice comic relief.

* Hawkeye got his backstory and the homelife that Cap has always wanted. The surprise of seeing Hawkeye’s civilian family lent a nice respite from the movie’s otherwise frenetic pace. The various characters’ interactions with the children and down-home country life were very reflective of their personalities.

* The Twins (“He’s fast, and she’s weird”) were a lovely addition, especially Scarlet Witch. They were orphans in search of a family, and in the end, only one made it out alive. Poor Quicksilver went out for a greater cause. Scarlet Witch held her own amongst the group, and Hawkeye’s recruitment speech was pretty awesome.

* Vision was … a vision to behold. Paul Bettany delivered a fantastic, enigmatic performance (worth of Thor’s hammer). I especially liked the part where he was mesmerized by his own reflection.

* The film contained a zillion cameos from various MCU characters. Jane and Pepper Potts received shoutouts, but we saw many other characters. Nick Fury, Agent Carter, Maria Hill, Falcon, Heimdall, Professor Selvig, and others enjoyed appearances. No Loki and no Bucky Barnes. I was okay with no Loki because his presence is so huge (sorry, Dragonflies!), and this movie was already jam-packed. Bucky (by nature) is supposed to be “in the wind,” so we’ll see him next in Cap 3.

* The New Avengers team assembled at the end. War Machine, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, and Vision joined up with Cap and Black Widow to keep on avenging. This changing of the guard will switch things up nicely, and some people see this new team as Marvel’s overdue nod to their ongoing diversity problem.

* The mid-credits scene carried vast implications in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thanos (the mad titan) grabs an Infinity Gauntlet and vows to collect the stones. This is a different gauntlet than the one that Thor’s father, Odin, possesses … so now we know that more than one gauntlet exists in the MCU. *Cue soap opera stare face*

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Photos courtesy of Marvel

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144 Responses to “‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’: what did you think? (spoilers)”

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  1. Val Cherry says:

    Boring as hell!

    • bettyrose says:

      You’ve summed it up perfectly. The bf loves the Avengers movies, and I’m happy to tag along for the hot nerdboys and witty banter, but even that was sort of lacking.

      For my money, X-Men never disappoints for character development, relatable plot lines, and interesting dialogue. Avengers just doesn’t live up to that for some reason (and I read the comics growing up, so I do want to like the franchise).

      The promo for new Fantastic Four was great, though.

      • sars says:

        Agree with every point you’ve made – this movie felt too bloated. The twins were silly with their Dracula accents. And I don’t give a crap about the damned Infinity Stones!

    • Don't kill me I'm French says:

      Totally forgettable .Less funny .Lonnngg. I spend the half of the movie to try understand what was Ultron and weirdly the characters are more background and interactions but they’re less interesting.
      Clearly the movie is for the fans

    • mimif says:

      Manny should have won. Oh wait, sorry wrong spot.

      • bettyrose says:

        Mimif, you’re killing me softly with your song.

      • mimif says:

        I’m laughing because I have absolutely no idea what y’all are discussing. None. Zero. Not even when I squint one eye. 😀

      • bettyrose says:

        Your confusion is an understandable result of my ignorance. Manny recorded “sometimes when we touch,” not “killing me softly.” I swear I just have a mental block on early 80s lite rock when it comes to remembering random, pointless covers of songs that were born to suck. ;-p

      • mimif says:

        Ha! Oh bettyrose, I love you. I was referring to Manny Pacquiao the boxer, who fought Floyd Mayweather last night.

      • bettyrose says:

        Pretty sure we’re talking about the same person (if you’re not sitting down for this, get a chair): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKuIHs1ELQU

      • mimif says:

        Omg I totally forgot he was a singer, too. I’m dying ova here, thanks for the link, betty!

        ETA: He’s such a cutie, totally looks like a young Filipino Tommy Lee Jones. 🙂

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Isn’t Manny running for president or something too?

      • Fairweather says:

        Classic!!! Totally agree even if it is the wrong place to post😃

      • mimif says:

        @Lilac Floyd is the one who’s running. 😉

    • V4Real says:

      Far for boring but not as good as the first one

    • Flora says:

      Couldn’t agree more!! I found it to be an absolute snooze fest with some seriously bad acting. The 3D version was a joke. They can keep their DC and Marvel films, I’ll be skipping them from now on.

    • Mispronounced Name Dropper says:

      Can’t believe some of you people were surprised by how crap this was. Seriously what would you expect from a big budget mainstream Hollywood film? When you consider the masterpieces that have been made over the decades and some of the great independent films that are being made around the world today why would you choose to watch a POS like “Avengers: Age of Ultron” instead?

      • amilue says:

        The general consensus was that the first Avengers film was a great popcorn movie. It was fair to assume that the sequel might be the same. I like masterpieces as much as the next person, but there’s something to be said for a fun, mindless movie.

      • Mispronounced Name Dropper says:

        What’s to be said? That empty vessels make the most noise? I also don’t buy into the belief that mindless films are the best form of escapism. Films with complex characters, moral ambiguity and open endings are far more engaging and thus a more effective form of escapism IMO.

      • Lou says:

        Well, loads of people disagree with you. I really enjoyed Age of Ultron.

      • Imo says:

        Yeah. Sometimes you just wanna see shit blow up.

  2. Maddy says:

    I loved the twins. They were a fantastic addition. I have to disagree about Tony Stark – I enjoy his character. I think it’s good he’s a bit of a prick because it serves to remind viewers that this Good/Evil thing isn’t so clear cut. Queue the scene with the rocket with STARK in the side that killed the twins parents. Tony’s character would make a fantastic villain if he didn’t have the Red white and blue following him everywhere.

    • Izzy says:

      I enjoyed Tony Stark’s character immensely at first, but he is starting to annoy me because honestly, for a genius, he sure can’t learn from mistakes. Every time he does something rogue or completely on his own, he makes a bigger mess. Until this one, which he really could not clean up on his own. He forgets that he’s part of a team and ends up putting others in harm way. He does a lot of good too, and it’s not negated, but still.

      • Vera says:

        Yeah. Tony Stark is really getting annoying.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        I loved when Thor grabbed him by the throat.

      • Eve says:

        @ Lilacflowers:

        I loved when Vision grabbed Thor’s hammer like that was the easiest thing in the world.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        @Eve, and the reactions to that. Immediate acceptance. And then the continued debate later about why he could but they couldn’t.

      • Eve says:

        @ Lilacflowers:

        My favourite was the look on Thor’s face. LOL!

      • lindy79 says:

        That and when Cap managed to make it move slightly. The look of panic on Thors face followed by the relief when Cap gave up.

        Moments like that made the film. I also loved Ultron, don’t get the hate for him.

      • The Original Mia says:

        Yes!! Tony is starting to grate on my nerves. This is the 2nd movie in a row where his issues have caused massive problems. Dude…go see a shrink and work it out.

      • MtnRunner says:

        Yes, the scenes with everyone else trying to pick up the hammer were great. Why is it that the Vision can? The look on Thor’s face after the Cap attempt and Vison’s easy of handing it was priceless.

        Mia, Ironman’s issues are setting the scene for Cap’n America Civil War. I like his character less now than before, especially when RDJ himself comes off comes off like an arrogant prick in his interviews.

    • katie says:

      I agree that Tony needs to be a prick, especially with the lead into Civil War. I also have a feeling that the thing that will set it off and bring Stark back into the story will be the murder of Hawkeye’s family. Moving from disagreement to war will need something extreme and emotional and since they have all met the wife and kids I suspect that killing them off will do the job.

  3. Vera says:

    Saw it Thursday night. It needed a good edit. While it was nice to see the gang all together and the action was cool, the storyline was disjointed, and Ultron got kinda lost in it. The Scarlet Witch messed with the Avengers more than he did. I liked Bettany as The Vision, but wish he had more to do, and it sorely needed and actor with the presence of Tom Hiddleston. He’s sorely missed.

    • TotallyBiased says:

      Seems like they might have traded Hawkeye family time for Thor’s ‘visions’. A trade that, from the descriptions I’m reading, will probably have me waiting for the blu ray.
      A little Hiddles would have done a lot to draw me in!

    • Lou says:

      Hiddleston’s cool, but he’s not the only good thing about these movies. They can’t keep forcing his character into stuff.

  4. Vic says:

    The girl twin’s accent was horrible. Super distracting.

    • Mirn says:

      I found both their accents bad and inconsistent. This, to me, wasn’t as good as the first movie. This felt try-hard.

    • Mika says:

      Ugh those twins RUINED the movie imo..especially Quicksilver. Aaron Taylor Johnson’s acting is so stiff.

  5. GoodNamesAllTaken says:

    I don’t see movies like this. Just wanted to ask if Scar Jo had the red hair and bob before? Color is good, cut is so unflattering, at least in that picture.

    • Lilacflowers says:

      She’s had that color. The styling of it has changed through the various films.

    • Kaley says:

      That’s a bad picture but it actually looks fantastic on her in motion IMO.

    • Snazzy says:

      It actually suits her in the movie … I think it works well with the character as well
      Much better in action than in that still for sure

    • bettyrose says:

      ScarJo’s hair was a highlight of the film. Adorable bob.

    • MtnRunner says:

      ScarJo looked great and I though the romance with her and Banner was well done.

      • Eve says:

        @ MtnRunner:

        I thought that, too. They’re both “monsters” on their own. It seemed natural they could relate to each other (though Banner is more afraid of that given the fact he can seriously hurt her).

      • MtnRunner says:

        Eve, referring to your prior comment on Ultron — I didn’t want to make out with him but I did want him to read sexy nighttime stories to me. The one I wanted to snog was The Vision. He was a beautiful bot with and that smooth-as-silk voice was doing things to me.

  6. kyzmet says:

    I saw it tonight, it was ok, had a hard time understanding exactly who Ultron was, I know he is a robot…but his motives were pretty unbelievable. To like Thor is my favourite and I wish we had seen Asgard properly again. Scarlet Witch character was good, Transylvanian accent excepted. Hulk was awesome, just love how feral he is in this one, fight between Iron man and Hulk was very funny.

    • Mirn says:

      Ultron is actually a consciousness which takes form as a robot. The concept was good; just not well articulated (imo).

  7. Lilacflowers says:

    Okay, since this is a thread where anyone venturing into expects Spoilers, I had an issue with continuity between other films. Thor has been on earth; he hasn’t gone home since the end of TDW, at which time, he renounced his throne to what he thought was Odin. At the end, he talks about how four of the Infinity Stones have appeared in just a short time. Of course, he knows about the aether, the Tesseract, and the stone in Loki’s scepter but how does he know about the Orb from Guardians of the Galaxy? Is he getting interrealm text messages from fake daddy Odin telling him what his happening in the far corners of the galaxy?

    • A. Key says:

      “Is he getting interrealm text messages from fake daddy Odin telling him what his happening in the far corners of the galaxy?”

      Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha

      I so want to see that scene now!!

      • Lilacflowers says:

        How else would he know? Sif has been here a few times but she hasn’t seen him. She’s been too busy tracking down baddies with SHIELD at the order of fake Odin, who probably is looking for reasons to send her away so she doesn’t figure out that he is fake Odin.

    • Miss M says:

      They barely mentioned what happened in the winter soldier too. Which, in my opinion, is the best movie marvel has made about one of the avengers. He was super tifht with Natasha in that movie… To me, her relationship with Hulk feels forced.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        True, we barely get any information on what has happened since the end of Winter Soldier. We know Falcon has been looking for Bucky and Maria Hill went to work for Stark and apparently some university hired Selvig, despite his very public breakdowns, and Fury is still in hiding but no background on what they have all been doing over the past months.

    • Anne tommy says:

      Thor’s apparent lack of interest in Jane also jarred, I’ve always found her boring but he was meant to be madly in love, but merely gives an offhand reference to her being a world famous scientist ( yeh, right…) and not knowing what country she was currently in. Ditto Tony Stark’s seeming lack of interest in the equally irritating Pepper. Fickle. The film was entertaining enough, I still love iron man, and the hulk / widow interaction was sweet. But I don’t think Ultron really worked- I don’t share the Spader love- and there were just too many characters. The Hawkeye backstory was tedious and somewhat ironic given the actor’s recent marital shenanigans. Quite good fun but roll on Thor 3.

      • TotallyBiased says:

        Everything y’all just said. +1,000,000 et cetera. (Needs moar Hiddles! EVERYTHING needs more Hiddles. 🙂 Perhaps the intergalactic text message came in the CUT vision?)

    • M.A.F. says:

      Or maybe certain things fall under the category “it is a given, why explain the small stuff?”

      • Lilacflowers says:

        But it isn’t a given. It was an error in continuity. Thor has no way of knowing about the battle for the Orb yet he referenced it.

  8. Prairiegirl says:

    The movie felt pretty tedious at times but let’s face it, it had a lot of heavy lifting to do. It had to be entertaining on its own while being mindful of loose ends from previous films and still drop in foreshadowing for future releases (Civil War and Black Panther being the most obvious ones).

    Loki wasn’t in it and thank god for that. It was bonkers how many characters made cameos. Makes me worried for The Infinity Wars, actually, since that director will have to keep a tight grip on all these storylines and histories – especially when they drag in Quake, Mockingbird, and others from Agents of Shield who are clearly setting up The Inhumans movie. Add Dr. Strange, Captain Marvel, and all the movies they have yet to shoot….WHEW! I’m exhausted thinking about it.

    • Lilacflowers says:

      That must be why they have split Infinity Wars into two films. Also, because of contract issues, some of the actors won’t be obligated to do both films unless they renegotiate.

      • MtnRunner says:

        You mean it’s not because they can make 2B on each film rather than just one?? I can’ help but think that MtnSenior will be 12 when I see the last Avengers.

    • grabbyhands says:

      Totally-I had the same thought-yes, a lot of characters but it is setting up the next phase of the MCU.

  9. Nessa says:

    I saw the movie last night. I’m still trying to absorb everything. It was… Too much. my hubby loved it. For me the pacing was weird. It moved too fast, and when it slowed down a bit, I was still trying to catch up on the story.

  10. Jules says:

    Actually liked it better than the first, Though it also felt overly long…

    Scarlet Witch was decent but the accent was laughable, distracting and found it hilarious that her hair and makeup ALWAYS remained intact…I mean I know it’s an action adventure fantasy film but still… (LOL!). Quick Silver didn’t have that much to do really…but still enjoyed his character.

    I have decided that Thor is now a favorite!!.

    The best part of the whole afternoon was seeing the film with my husband and daughters (both my daughter’s are huge fans so it was fun for my husband and I to watch the film with them).

    • Lilacflowers says:

      I love Thor’s sense of humor. Always have. And Hemsworth’s chemistry with Paul Bettany’s Vision was fantastic.

      • Miss M says:

        I think Thor was pivotal to the storyline. Yet, he was given a bunch of one liners. As if, all his back story to find a solution was cut short. What the Heck?!

      • MtnRunner says:

        I enjoyed Thor most of all in this film in the way he counterbalances the others. His comic relief was memorable in this film.

        I agree that Scarlet Witch’s accent wasn’t that good, but I really enjoyed her character and she’ll likely become my favorite female Avenger as her character is fleshed out.

        I want more of THE VISION. What a beautiful being and his accent was lovely to listen to. I want to see more of him.

        I would have enjoyed a bit more character development and little less action, but the presence of SPADER redeemed it all. God, I love his voice and the way he voiced Ultron.

        While I’ve come to not enjoy Ironman as much as I used to, Hawkeye was a pleasure to watch and I was able to forget all the douchbaggery of the past week and enjoy his storyline.

  11. Snazzy says:

    I really enjoyed it – but went in expecting lots of adventure and cool effects, and it delivered. And all of them making fun of the Cap was fun too, as well as the boy fight over who’s girlfriend was better. I agree with some of the comments above though – Stark has gone from funny to annoying, so they need to work on that, as his one liners and sarcasm were really enjoyable in past films

  12. katie says:

    I think it needed an extra 20 minutes because some of the scenes felt rushed, they needed a bit more time to breath or they should have cut bits out to give other scenes more time. For me the big successes were Vision, Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch. Ultron, Stark, Cap and Quick Silver were fine. The big disappointments were Banner and Romanoff, mainly because so much of their screentime was spent on their romance which I found totally unconvincing. Please don’t think that I am against them as a couple, but having established how difficult it is for Romanoff to open up and form attachments it didn’t seem right watching her chase after the somewhat whiny Banner for two hours. I would have been much happier if she had talked through her issues with her two friends and gradually developed a romance with Banner, what happened was too forced. I still enjoyed it though, just not as much as I had anticipated.

    • The Original Mia says:

      Good review. I agree with everything, especially BruceNat, which seemed more Marty Sueish than a natural progression from movie to movie.

      • Hmmm says:

        Their romance seemed so forced and Ruffalo and Scarjo didn’t have much chemistry. Whedon blew 5 minute scenes on them that were really boring and unconvincing. He is not a good director when it comes to character scenes. The Tony/Pepper scene in the first Avenger was boring too, which is weird because those two are incapable of having no chemistry on film (and off).
        The only scene that was good about their relationship was Banner’s scene when he leaves in the twin jet.

  13. Ankhel says:

    I liked the movie – not as well as the first one, the villain was not as good and they are beginning to flood the franchise with less interesting characters. The Vision? Red, polite, super strong, super smart, goody-goody. Meh. And I found the scene where Falcon tries to impress the others with a heroic story, and it falls flat, pretty ironic… And soon, Ant Man. Lord.

  14. Miss M says:

    I liked it, but i didnt love it. So, i dont plan on watching it again. I think Olsen and Paul B were great. I prefer the x-men version of quicksilver. That’s about it.

    Ps: i have a question for those of uou watching agents of shield: did falcon die or not? I was sooo confused when i saw him in age of ultron.

    • Lilacflowers says:

      Falcon hasn’t been on Agents of SHIELD. He was only in Captain America: Winter Soldier and, at the end of that, he agreed to help Cap find Bucky. He referred to his search during the party scene.

      • Miss M says:

        Thanks! I thimk i confused him with agent trip, scratch my question! 🙂

  15. grabbyhands says:

    I actually really loved it.

    Was it perfect? Nah. It was over indulgent in many spots, but I’ve resigned myself that in these types of movies-as the budgets get bigger, studios flood effects teams with money at the expense of story. But even in this aspect, it didn’t make me hate it. I will admit that it did take away from the Ultron/Vision development and I wish that had been better though out. James Spader made for a delicious sounding villain and the main baddie was relegated to the background a bit.

    While I didn’t hate the Nat/Hulk story line, I did think it was weird and overall the biggest thing that really didn’t work. Unless I missed something, there has been literally no development between them in the movies before-any of them. I’m not sure what the impetus was to suddenly stick this in the movie.

    I actually didn’t have a problem with the number of cameos-I feel like this was a very transitional movie for the franchise and they used it to start easing in the next phase (New Avengers etc) of the MCU. Not to say that there wasn’t also a nod to say “See?? We’re totally diverse now!!!”

  16. Krishan says:

    Eh, I thought it was really, really fun.

    It is not the best Avengers movie, but it is good enough for an Avengers movie. It is the perfect movie to introduce a slew of new characters and integrate them into the Avengers movie universe.

    I like Tony Stark. Yes, he is a jerk. But that is his character. Stark is egotistical and arrogant and has everything at his fingertips. It’s why he is what he is: he thinks saving the world means doing everything he can to push the limits of human capabilities, no matter the cost. It’s why he and Thor and Captain America clash all the time, because they operate on very different sets of principles and morals. They all want the same thing, they just have a different way of achieving it.

    Iron Man is also the one that requires the most work. He takes the most hits and damages. He’s the first and last line of defense. He probably does think it is his right to be arrogant because he earned it. It’s amazing just how reliant everyone is of Stark technology, and you’ll see that in this movie.

    I also liked the fact that they showed the characters with their fears, motivations and bravery, and even having the choice whether to fight for others or save themselves, and there being no judgment whether the person chooses to run away and hide.

    I love that they included the all-too human aspect of just wanting to be safe, just wanting peace in its simplest form and that it’s not horrible to behave as such. I like that a superhero movie shows that being a hero is not a burden that everyone must bear, but they can choose how and when to be a hero.

    It’s a very good “counter-culture” concept compared to other superhero movies where people think it is on their shoulders to protect everyone all the time, that being a hero is their existence. I didn’t like that concept of a hero at all.

    • Izzy says:

      You know, you just gave the perfect counterpoint to my own comment above! You make some very good points, Iron Man DOES do a lot of heavy lifting, and in both big battles has been the one to offer himself up for sacrifice at the very end to ensure everyone’s survival. It’s also easy to forget, because his ego is SO HUGE, that his ego is very much driven by his fear of losing everyone in his life that he holds dear. He actually said this to Pepper in Iron Man 3: he tinkers because he has to protect the one he loves. Now he wants Ultron so The Avengers don’t have to be in harm’s way all the time. This from a guy who lost his parents when he was still quite young. That does put his rather annoying behavior in a different perspective.

      Regardless, I loved the movie anyway.

  17. Kate says:

    Vision….oh my heart. Bettany was so good.

    • grabbyhands says:

      Agreed. Not even red/purple body paint can hide the Bettany hotness.

    • Prairiegirl says:

      I actually squealed in the theatre when he finally appeared…and got major side-eye from my non-comic-geek but ever-patient husband..!

      • Eve says:

        @ Prairiegirl:

        I LOVED the way his costume kept expanding, getting more detailed WHILE he’s on screen. That was beautiful. It did feel like he was being born right before our eyes.

  18. Emma - the JP Lover says:

    @Bedhead …

    I completely agree with everything you’ve said above about “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Great commentary! 🙂

    I loved this film! I was a bit bored with the Hawkeye storyline because I’ve always felt the character was miscast. I like the ironman character, but I can’t watch any of the “Iron Man” films because–for me–a little bit of Tony Stark is too much. One of the elements I like about the “Avenger” films is how the other characters, especially Captain America, call Stark out for his ‘aren’t I the most special little snowflake in the room’ megalomaniacal bullsh$t (speaking of which … have you read the current “Cap 3” storyline???).

    I was really hoping for a Black Widow-Captain America romance (sorry for the SPOILERS!), but a Black Widow-Hulk relationship makes more sense … and they have great chemistry. At least Cap was the one to point it out to Banner. But I’m a hopeless romantic. I’m now hoping for a Captain America-Hill hookup. 🙂

  19. Mika says:

    I really liked the series but this movie made me fell asleep a few times…which says A LOT since I was really looking forward to it. The only shocking part for me was the creation of Vision. And that’s about it.

  20. Mia4S says:

    It was fun, but not nearly as fun as the first. Too little Vision, Ultron was mostly lame. The twins were just OK, didn’t care nearly enough for Quicksilver to make his fate worthwhile (congrats X-men you win the Quicksilver war!).

    Black Widow and Hulk?…ughhh. A couple of cute moments but they “damsalled” their main female hero? Just…ugh. Kidnapped so the male hero can save her (since the bad guy kept her alive because…reasons.) I say again…ughhhh. That’s a Pepper Potts plot, not Black Widow.

    • Emma - the JP Lover says:

      @Mia45, who wrote: “Black Widow and Hulk?…ughhh. A couple of cute moments but they “damsalled” their main female hero? Just…ugh. Kidnapped so the male hero can save her (since the bad guy kept her alive because…reasons.) I say again…ughhhh. That’s a Pepper Potts plot, not Black Widow.”

      Hey, Black Widow wasn’t recused because she’s a chic who can’t hang with the boys. She has ‘proven’ her mettle in 4 Marvel films. She wasn’t kidnapped because she’s a chick, she was kidnapped because Ultron was a bada$$. Each of the Avengers have had vulnerable moments … this was hers, and it also played well with the romance angle they developed in this film. If it had been Cap or Thor who rescued Black Widow, would you have felt the same?

  21. Loud, fun, forgettable. The twins were a great addition. To paraphrase the end of “Chinatown” – “It’s Marvel . . .” Suffered from Lack of Loki. Was quite disappointed on that score.

  22. t fanty fan says:

    Sorry to the rest of you-i loved it! Except for Quicksilver dying because I thought it was very funny and great,

    • Emma - the JP Lover says:

      @T-Fantay Fan, who wrote: “Sorry to the rest of you-i loved it! Except for Quicksilver dying because I thought it was very funny and great,”

      Me, too! There seems to be an element who ‘wanted’ this film to fail. Why is anyone’s guess.

    • V4Real says:

      T. fanty. I’m with you. Though I enjoyed the first one more, this was a great film. Maybe I’m bias because I grew up reading the comics, cartoons and the whole nine. Also it’s hard to live up to the sequel with most movies. Everything meld together for me and this film was what it was supposed to be. Whedon nailed it again.

      People on C/B are complaining about Stark becoming annoying. Well then RDJ is doing a great job because that’s who Stark is.

      As for Quicksilver I believe we will see him again. Remember what the female doctor was working on that helped Vision sprang to life and healed Hawkeye’s wound. I could be wrong but I believe that will play a part in bringing Silver back to life.

      And I might piss off a few fan girls but enough with Loki, he’s not an Avenger and the movie was fine without him.

      • Lou says:

        Word. so bored with people complaining about Loki. They’re best not overusing him.

    • The Original Mia says:

      Quicksilver had to die because he’s in the X-Men movies. Can’t have 2 of them running around unfortunately. I did enjoy him, though, and wouldn’t mind having him back.

  23. InvaderTak says:

    I haven’t seen it yet, but I actually like knowing what happens in the comic movies before I go. So I know what to look for.

    So question: thoughts on the Hawkeye conclusion?

    • katie says:

      The suggestion is that hawkeye retires, but Renner will start filming Civil War anytime now, so I don’t think that lasts. It could be a cameo, but as I said above, I think someone will go after him and his family will either be killed or be put in serious danger. I think that will be the catalyst that starts real fighting between the Avengers or at least results in Stark taking steps against super powered people. I also think Hawkeye will become Ronin.

      • V4Real says:

        I’m thinking they might stick to the comic books on this one and kill his family. The only difference is I think his family was killed before he joined SHIELD.

  24. Kiddo says:

    Anyone else watch SNL last night? I tried, but got really bored after a couple of skits at the beginning. I’m not sure if ScarJo was flat, if the writing sucked, if it was just me, or combination.

    • katie says:

      I watched the Black Widow piece on line and I thought it was really funny. It was a lovely way to have a go at Marvel about the lack of a solo film. You should also have a look at the Hawkeye parody on Fallon, again really funny and beautifully performed.

    • Lilacflowers says:

      The writing this year has been atrocious. Even hosts who have been game to try anything (Chris Hemsworth came off as a really good sport) have been let down by the terrible writing. ScarJo seemed comfortable but the skits were lame.

    • Incognito says:

      I watched SNL last night because I wanted to see Scarlett. It wasn’t just you, it sucked. I blame the writing more than her delivery though. Although she didn’t seem into it or like she was enjoying herself either. It felt like “I have to host because my mega blockbuster movie came out and we need to do ALL the promotion.” That said, the writing really was lackluster. The random girls skit at the museum got me thisclose to turning it off.

  25. Genny says:

    It’s okay if you don’t think about it afterwards. But, like another commenter said, it needed a good edit. It tried to do too much and didn’t do anything particularly well. I’m sure it’ll still make a ton of money, but it wasn’t all that good.

    Also Tony can bite me. Easily the most annoying part of this movie. He never grows as a character.

  26. Eve says:

    Agree with most of Bedhead’s take on the film (disagree about Tony Stark/Iron Man though).

    Two things:

    A) According to some people (including Joss Whedon), a lot was left out from the final cut (which could explain Thor’s “errands” and Loki’s promised cameo);

    B) Apparently, Marvel/Disney will release an extended version around September (not sure if that will be on DVD/Blueray or if it’ll open in theaters — if it’s in the theaters, I’ll be there).

    • Lilacflowers says:

      I hadn’t heard about the extended version being released in any way. Whedon said the original version was over 3 hours long and the Loki scenes would be on the DVD but not in the form of an extended film. Has there been a change of plans? (I do hope so!)

      • Eve says:

        I can’t tell you for sure. I read it on Pajiba (a commenter said that it was already announced that there would be an extended version).

        I’m really hoping that’s true.

        P.S.: According to the same poster, this is going to be the first time Disney does something like that.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        I’ll definitely be there if they show it in cinemas

      • MtnRunner says:

        I figured it was just for DVD/Blueray. I’d love to see the extended version in the cinema. From a sales standpoint, it would be smart for them to milk as much from the fans as they can.

      • katie says:

        I think that has been debunked, it was an error by Amazon.

    • The Original Mia says:

      Not sure if it’ll be in theaters, but a friend said there is a 3 hour blu-ray coming. I’ll be buying.

  27. Prairiegirl says:

    Further to my comment upthread, watch this excellent summary of how all the movies and characters are connected. What Marvel’s doing is brilliant (if confusing and exhausting!)!

    http://www.avclub.com/article/explore-marvel-cinematic-universe-helpful-video-pr-218825?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=Default:1:Default

    • MtnRunner says:

      This really does help us non-comic book readers better understand the complex storylines of the Marvel Universe.

  28. aquarius64 says:

    I saw it last night. It was good, but it was not the first Avengers movie.

    Thor and Jane did not break up. They’re doing the long distance thing. A guy doesn’t brag about his lady’s accomplishments if they’re done.

    Tony Stark and Bruce Banner created a Frankenstein monster in the form of Ultron. An AI that has caused a lot of death and destruction. Stark was not held criminally and civilly liable for Ultron’s actions, a pet peeve of mine, although Banner may be charged for the South Africa rampage. Poor guy catches a charge, rich guy skates. Life imitating art? I think Stark takes the pro-registration side for Civil War to stay out of jail.

  29. M. says:

    Man I was entertained by Ultron. A very organic performance by Spader. Though I kept thinking “Saren Arterius” throughout the film.
    Don’t know if I love Vision, or just Paul B.
    Always happy to see Cap’s and Thor’s bromance.

    Didn’t care for the romance plot. I’d started to immensely like Black Widow in Cap America 2, and now the magic is gone again.
    Hawkeye plotline? Yawn.
    Stark needs someone to smack that smirk off his face.
    The twins’ accents were distracting, and though I see a lot of love for them, especially Scarlet Witch, I found them to be badly underwhelming, just appendages.

  30. guesto says:

    Watched it. Nothing special. I liked the Avengers more. Want to know why? More funny lines. Not so much action shit like in this sequel. Cap looks way to bulked up. Iron Man was annoying me. Thor was non existent. And this love story between Hulk and Natasha? Meh. Seriously, everytime when I saw those two I asked myself what the hell is a romance doing in an Avengers movie? And during the kissing scene I seriously asked: OMG, why Marvel, why???!! So loudly that people started to laugh. It was annoying. I loved the twins though. Not the end. For obvious reasons. But I was even more annoyed by Hawkeye. Seriously, what is so important about this dude? He was getting onto my nerves like hell. I was looking forward to this movie but I really have the feeling that Whedon tried too much. Too many special effects to the point where I asked myself if the money wasn’t enough as some scenes look incredibly cheap. I was disappointed of the movie. Btw, when I saw all those scenes I summarized the movie like this: Terminator and Superman are meeting the Avengers with a bit of Spiderman in it. Oh geez.

  31. Louminary says:

    I just loved the look of worry on Thors face when Cap tried to lift the hammer. Like Cap just miiiight be noble enough to lift it. Adorable scene, then again Cap and Thor are my favorited so I might be biased!

  32. Louminary says:

    Ooh and Spader. That voice, the delivery. Aaaand off to watch Secretary again lol

  33. Ashling says:

    It is a fun spectacle movie. You go to see the spectacle. The stand alone films are where you get better plot and character development. Joss doesn’t write Captain America well. I don’t care about Hawkeye or his family.

    I was not a fan of the Hulk and Black Widow romance. I didn’t buy it, it seemed more wishful thinking on BW’s part. Bruce loves Betty Ross. He didn’t see her for 5 years but was still deeply in love with her when they reunited. He left Betty so he wouldn’t hurt her. He had a lot in common with her because she was a scientist, too. A romance with Dr. Cho would have been more believable to me than Black Widow. Why did Joss go so off Canon? BW has had many romances ( in cannon) with main characters that he could have used.

    Scarlett Witch was a great addition. Really enjoyed James Spader. I can’t wait for Tony Stark to get a reckoning for his poor decisions.

  34. Wow-i used to think Scarlett was so pretty- then I saw the picture above. Don’t know if its the angle or the hair-but nah!

  35. Wallflower says:

    I went to go see the movie on it’s opening day with my boyfriend, and sorry to say it but the comedy fell flat. There were a few moments where I chuckled, but that’s it. The part that irked me the most was that Joss Whedon passed Black Widow around to just about all the guys on the Avengers team except RDJ; it was sort of sluttish- like and makes her seem very weak. I hate it when Hollywood passes the girl around in a sitcom or movie that is dominated by guys as if she is some party favor. My boyfriend didn’t agree with me on this, but I know I’m right. Hollywood has a habit of doing that. And I sat there and waited for Loki to show his face until I was an hour into the movie and realized he wasn’t going to show. I have to admit, I was very disappointed. The movie didn’t live up to the high action comedy that Avengers assemble was.

    • V4Real says:

      What MCU have you been watching? How was Scarlett passed around? Who has she been romantically involved with besides Banner. Rogers sort of implied that something could have happened between them but he waited too long. So what are you talking about. She has worked with several of the guys but so has Maria Hill. Let’s not confuse working with as sleeping with. Are you getting the films confused with fanfiction?

      • katie says:

        I on’t think Steve’s comment was about him and BW, it was about him and Peggy.

    • The Original Mia says:

      I literally don’t know what to say. Slut shaming. Seriously? In the MCU, BW hasn’t been with a single Avenger. In the comics, she’s involved with Bucky and a few others. So what? All of them are consenting adults.

    • DivineMsM says:

      She hasn’t explicitly been passed around, but I get what Wallflower is saying; in the first Iron Man (or was it the first), there was this “thing” (flirtation?) with Tony; then there it was again in Cap/Winter Soldier. Now, it’s Hulk. Even Cap had to explain in this one that she’s just a “flirt.” I kind of dislike it, too. Either add more women to the cast or let Black Widow be great as she is (without all the romantic pining),.

  36. AG-UK says:

    Spader great but the story not so and even my son was bored. Also RDJ annoys me now.

  37. Camil says:

    I’m still a little confused with Ultron’s reasons to destroy humanity…

  38. H says:

    Underwhelmed.

    GRADE: C+

    The whole Hawkeye has a family went against comic book canon for that character and I handwaved it. Stupid Joss Whedon, leave Hawkeye’s back story alone. Bruce/Natasha, I just wasn’t buying it. And while I loved James Spader as Ultron, even his voice couldn’t pick up the pace of the movie. I nearly fell asleep in the middle. Boring.

    Best thing? Vision. Hands down he was worth the $16 I paid. Sad they cut out the Loki scenes, it made the Thor stuff seem incomplete.

    • Sara says:

      I wouldn’t even give it a plus.

    • katie says:

      I am not a comic reader but I thought Whedon was doing Ultimates Hawkeye, who does have a wife called Laura and 3 kids who are slaughtered when Black Widow betrays them. I can’t see BW doing that, but I can certainly see the family being the significant death some people seem to be clamoring for.

      • H says:

        I didn’t read the Ultimates, only wife I ever saw in comics for Hawkeye was Mockingbird, aka Bobbi. Too many universes to keep up with! 🙂

      • Abby_J says:

        This is very similar to Ultimates Hawkeye, and if it is, sadly, it might not end well for his little family. 🙁 I sure hope that isn’t going to be his role in Civil War.

        They’ve never really given us any info on whether we have Circus Hawkeye, or Olympic Archer Hawkeye. I kind of think we just have SHIELD Hawkeye. I didn’t mind the revel at all. It put to rest the whole Clint/Natasha thing, which made no sense to me in the first Avengers, because while I saw them as very close partners, I never got a romance thing from them, and it gave him something interesting. I prefer Circus Hawkeye though, so in my mind, I have to make some sort of mix up of the two, until the MCU tells me differently.

        The Hawkeye comics are some of my favorite to read when I get bored and raid my husband’s comic collection, and I happen to think that Jeremy Renner does a great job playing him. I do have a lot of questions about the family. Does she homeschool? Are they completely cut off from technology? They have cell phones to talk to each other at least. Most importantly, is there a panic room? I don’t see his wife defending herself and the three kids against a threat, so there has to be a back up plan, right? My husband tells me I am over analyzing it. 🙂 He’s right.

      • katie says:

        In the hammer scene Hawkeye says ‘you know I have seen this before’. It might have been cut, but he also says ‘it is a circus trick’. I think the circus link will come up at some point and that Laura is the stabilizing influence in his life, when she goes he will fall apart. That could put him in the perfect position to become Hawkguy in New York or become a revenge monster that needs to be dealt with. If he loses his kids or has to distance himself from them, I think he will be in a perfect position to become a mentor for Spiderman; based on his interactions with the twins I think he would be delightfully grumpy in that role.

  39. TotallyBiased says:

    Thanks for this intensely spoiler post (NO SARCASM!) Now I honestly don’t need to see it in the theatre. The trailers hadn’t been doing it for me (if I want sexy Spader, as someone said up thread, I’ll rewatch Secretary) and there are too many elements that are annoying enough just to read about that seeing them onscreen might cause me to throw something.
    Loki or no Loki (Hiddles-biased as I am) I REALLY wanted to like this movie. But from the first trailer release, it felt somehow lacking.
    And I really don’t care about Hawkeye, or his family. I had a completely different, though nicely complex, chemistry interpretation after Avengers of the BW/Hulk interaction, and I rather liked the idea of BW getting romantically involved w/Cap (as I thought was hinted in Winter Soldier) because of the immense dichotomy vis a vis their personal ethics. Lots of potential there.
    Not sure the Vision creation alone would be worth seeing this in a theatre.
    Doesn’t seem like I’m the only one, or that perhaps people aren’t going for multiple viewings on opening weekend. Because AoU did NOT exceed Avengers opening weekend, in fact it is evidently going to finish nearly 20 million below (and that is with having multiple Thursday showtimes instead of just one.) The Friday-Saturday drop off for AoU is over 32%, where it was about 14% for Avengers. That’s HUGE! AoU’s Saturday business is what Avengers did on opening Sunday.
    The key will be what kind of sustainment it has over the next few weeks as schools let out for summer, of course. But I kind of get the feeling this one might be less family-friendly. Those of you who’ve seen it should correct me if I’m wrong on this.
    Anyway, it isn’t that we ‘hoped it would fail’ (at least in my case, and I think there are others out there like me) –it’s that Avengers, Guardians, and the like have given us high standards for these multi-character comic book movies.

    • TotallyBiased says:

      Reports that huge Saturday drop off was due to “outside distractions” such as NBA playoffs, the Kentucky Derby, and the Floyd/Manny fight. Unless boxing alone is even bigger with the demographic than I realized, this argument is rather disingenuous–NBA playoffs and Kentucky Derby were ongoing during Avenger’s original opening weekend in 2012, as well! And if that was the case, than why didn’t those who didn’t go on Saturday, go on Sunday?
      Glad to hear Cinderella got a boost, however 🙂

  40. Hmmm says:

    I loved the first Avengers movie, but this one wasn’t great. The editing is pretty bad and the writing is lazy and uninspired. There is very little character development and Whedon’s pedestrian direction killed the spark.

  41. Abby_J says:

    I’m ashamed to admit that we’ve seen it three times. My husband and I went Friday, I went again on Saturday with some girlfriends (while our husbands saw Ex Machina) and we took our wee girl today. I thought there was a LOT going on, but I enjoyed it. I caught something new all three times, which was fun. The first time we saw it, I dropped something on the ground and bent down to pick it up right during the scene where The Vision lifted the hammer the first time. I totally missed it.

    I thought the Banner/Natasha thing was fine. Her flirting and his struggling in how to respond was funny to me. The kiss, and then her pushing him off the side of the city was great. I dug the Hawkeye backstory, but not necessarily where it could lead, and I was so dang happy to see Iron Patriot actually involved. Wish they’d gotten Falcon into that fight scene too, though. Can’t wait to see them have bigger roles in future movies. The twins were fine, but I was sad to see Quicksliver die. Don’t get me wrong, I am glad he died and not my beloved Hawkeye, but still. My daughter is VERY concerned about her beloved Hulkie, so I hope he shows back up somewhere sooner, rather than later, or she may cry.

    I didn’t mind Thor not having a more meaty role, and can we please lose Jane now? I didn’t miss Loki either. Hiddles is my favorite actor and I adore him with all the room my heart has for complete strangers that I will never meet, but I can’t believe that Loki would have added anything to the movie, and I’d hate to see him become the “Oh him AGAIN?!” guy,

    Lastly, there was one very important piece of information that I can’t let go of, because it broke my heart. How can Steve Rogers NOT be able to afford to live in Brooklyn? Aren’t these guys getting hazard pay or something? He’s Captain America! He should live where ever he wants. 🙂

    • katie says:

      My 10 year old nephew thinks it is much better than the first one and has lined up 2 more viewings this week. My partners nephew (17) and his friends are already up to 4 and thinking about going again.

  42. Altariel says:

    I thought Hawkeye was the heart of the movie, or close to it. Loved his increased role as he dealt with his issues, which included his relevance to the team…Hawkeye has had to deal with that on and off the screen.

    Whedon had implied the audiences would love Ultron. Better than Loki, I thought he’d said. Well, that didn’t happen, for me anyway. He was perfectly bad, but that’s it.

    Thor needed a little more time on his subplot. And lastly, I enjoyed Aaron Taylor-Thomas as quicksilver. I never know how to react to him, but seemed he enjoyed doing this role. I hope he returns somehow.