Something I could've done in 1045 minutes, if I'd followed my simultaneous, consecutive permutation, actually spanned over 15000 minutes i.e. eleven days.
Now this rewatch, initially, seemed a bit of a chore. I was doing it partly to hype myself up and partly because I don't really do anything childish anymore. I eat sensibly, drink rarely and sleep regularly. I am but a few steps away from arriving at full blown adulthood. Something I do not want, at all, so whenever an opportunity to do something that a an adult would definitely not do, I do it.
By viewing this lot again I gained an appreciation for them. I had made up my mind that the "weaker" films were terrible. When in fact they are fun enough and have a collection of good moments.
In my mind the weaker films were : Hulk, Thor, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3 and Thor 2.
Hulk - It's good just lose Betty Ross
Iron Man 2 - Also good just not anything new.
Iron Man 3 - He's too stupid in this one. But if you can get past that it's fun enough even with the awful mandarin twist.
Thor 2 - Fun but inconsequential
I think I was watching these as films, why? Because that's what they are doi! But this time round I watched them like I watch anything else, in bits throughout the day. Some of these are way too long Iron Man 3 and Thor 2, so breaking it up works well.
With the build up out of the way I can feel the suspense building for the climax, ewwww climax! I was flying solo to the cinema. Because sitting in a darkened room, in silence, is not my idea of being social. I did however experience unexpected awkwardness. I'd booked my ticket online and purposely picked a seat that was central and halfway forward. I'd also placed myself well away from any groups of people, I hate people. In cinemas, and come to think of it, in general. They chew, breathe, speak, move and leave after the film has frequent the toilets. If you can't regulate your fluid intake so you don't have to pee for a few hours then...
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| STAY THE HELL OUT OF MY CINEMA! |
I get there, sit down and make a few notes about what I think will unfold. People arrive in pairs and groups taking their seats, nowhere near me. I am content sitting and waiting for the film to begin.
And then it all came crashing down! A pretty girl decides to sit next to me. When I say girl she is comparable in age to myself so mid to late twenties. There are numerous empty seats but apparently, this is the seat for her. Next to broad shouldered South Asian man, dressed all in black. I take a deep breath and chill the fuck out. This is a prime viewing location, so it's understandable that she'd want to sit here. I can still enjoy the film. I've still got an empty seat to my left. Five minutes later, I don't have an empty seat to my left. Another girl, even more attractive than the one on my right settles in to my left. I quell my rage, relax and gear up to initiate conversation with them. The lights go down and the screen lights up. The timing of the lighting/film starting c*ckblock was so perfect I end up stifling laughter.
So AOU - I thought it was ok. It's not as good as Avengers 1, Guardians or Captain America 2. But being fourth to that lot is nothing to be sniffed at. The action is good but it feels bloated by heart to hearts. And I'm not an idiot but I didn't really get Ultron's end game. If you want a reasonable review then you can get one here. That's an aussie fellow who goes by Mr. Sunday Movies. He knows comic books and movies, he's also an editor for comicbookmovie.com .
SPOILERS BELOW!
Let's start with the good stuff, the real stand out I would love to see that again stuff.
- Veronica aka Hulkbuster - the variations, spares etc plus shooting down from space.
- Post sceptre retrieval party aka revels - good to see them kicking it, language!
- Ulysses Claw - fun scumbag for sure. He'll be back with a crazy metal arm perhaps in Civil War or Black Panther?
- Ultron quote - "Keep your friends and enemies rich. Keep them both around to see which is which"
- Ultron in his throne and then the reveal, he's enormous and Scarlet witch can't read him.
- Quicksilver trying to grab Mjolnir
- Hawkeye using his hawk eyes to spot the Ultron truck and the kid at the end.
- The Vision emerging
- The Vision picking up Mjolnir
- The Visions changing costume when he sees something he likes e.g. Thor's cape
- The Vision thumping Ultron with the hammer
- Anything with the Vision
- The amazing slowmo sequence when they're fighting in a circle
- The Cap + Thor combo attacks - Hammer shield shock wave and hammer batting shield
- The whole what/who is worthy. Is a lift worthy? Is a coat rack worthy?
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| Is the coat rack worthy? Is the coat rack trying to wield the power of Thor!? |
Hulk is supposed to be hulking, Iron Man flying about and Thor also hulking. There were some obviously CGI moments in the opening scene which threw me out of the film.
Getting the staff was fast enough but I do not enjoy the fuzzy nature of Scarlet Witch's powers. They are what we need them to be is what I'm thinking. Urgh. You need her to mess with your mind, done. You need her to generate a force field done. Shoot some kind of reddish blast, done. Vaporise the enemy when Quicksilver dies, done. I did however enjoy the nod to her possible probability manipulation power, the shell not going off for 2 days.
Why did Ultron sync with the armour after Tony absconded for the evening? Initially I thought it was a convenient way to progress the plot. But now I reckon it's part of a larger plan. Thanos in the mid credit sequence with the glove. Now that was all a ploy to get Loki into Asgard so he could get the gauntlet. So it would stand to reason that the whole thing was playing out according to his plan.
There was some dumb defence. In the first Avengers film Captain America assigned them things to do according to their skill set. This time they stood in a circle and flailed. I realise that this was just so they could line up that epic shot of them fighting. But it was so dumb.
Ultron did appear limited. He was big but he wasn't Hulkishly strong or Quicksilver fast. Being mechanical he could've upgraded himself to the nth degree. But he didn't. There were a lot of hints at him being Stark's boy, he wanted to fail? Or he was just a device, plot or otherwise, to get them to where they are now.
This is the bit that kind of made me think he wanted/planned to fail. Remember when Thor his Tony with his lightning in Avengers 1? If not click here to rewatch on youtube, skip to about 1 minute. After the lightning Tony's suit is at 400% and he blasts Thor with extra strong hand blasts. Are those repulsors? He calls them flight stabilisers but... I don't know. The Ultron bots, based on the Iron Legion, who in turn are based on the Iron Man suits, should have the same capability!
The flying city at the end. The plan was to fly a mass of earth high enough and then drop it down thus causing an extinction level event. Now that's just sounds stupid. All the energy required to fly a a city high enough to make that happen. Setting up for failure.
Lose the pointless love story between Black Widow and Banner. I do not care. It came to nothing. She's getting on with it and he's back in hiding. Maybe what Scarlet Witch did leaves him in perma hulk mode. He did threaten her and get her in a choke hold. Seems to be deteriorating. He's still on earth and Civil War is coming up. He's a game breaker, whichever side secures the Hulk wins.
I think that's the end of my list of gripes with Avengers 2. Ultimately it was good but I'd yesterday I watched End of Watch, a documentary style, crime, drama, thriller. It's amazing and only 109 minutes long! Very up close with a claustrophobic feel. For most of it it's just two guys shooting the breeze going about their daily cop lives. Very well made, soooo much tension.
Going from something like that to the enormous scope of Avengers 2 was a shock to the system. Having had time to collect my thoughts I reckon I will enjoy this in the future. When I plan my next MCUM in May 2018, 3 more years!
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| I know Spiderman is wedged in here somewhere after Guardians 2 I reckon |
