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Yeah, I spend WAY too much time here!
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Shockingly...page one!
Posts: 18,641
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So, I've seen the film twice now once with the girlfriend in 3d, once on my own in 2d, and have let the film digest a bit. I agree with most that it needs multiple viewings; there is too much going on to appreciate all the little nuances in one sitting.
Overall I think the film is very, very good. It's third in my all time Marvel list, behind Winter Soldier and Avengers 1, possibly tied with Guardians, there are pluses and minuses, but overall I thought the film was a worthy sequel, not quite as exciting as the first, but a nice bridge to the next set of marvel films.
THE GOOD
The Team Dynamic
The bit that impressed me the most was the ways in which the team actually felt like a team. the little jokes and banter, the shared history and anecdotes. That was something that really hit home that the MCU is an established Universe now. I loved the way in which numerous characters from other franchises were brought in and had screen time, Falcon mentioning their missing persons case, War Machine helping SHIELD. That stuff hints at the wider universe, and that is so geeky and cool at the same time that my inner five year old was running up and down at it.
The party scene epitomises that, with lots of jokes, relationship building, and one liner abuse. The Scene with everyone trying to lift Mjolnir was great, and Thor's reaction to Cap was priceless as he nearly managed it. It was like the denouement to a comic, and it worked so well. I’ve waited to see these disparate heroes come together and feel like a team, and it was really worth the wait.
The Sokovia strike
What an opening sequence. That one shot assault was just so technically amazing and full of fun. The whole Sokovia scene was filled with genuine giddy excitement. Shame Struker got punked, but it was pure comicbook.
Veronica
Wow, this fight was great. RDJ was gold throughout, but this scene was amazing for him with all the humour and dialogue. The fight was brutal, and just perfectly choreographed, and I loved the spitting out of the tooth, that was very funny.
Hulk’s facial expressions
I LOVED the way they managed to capture all the pain, fury, love, glee on Hulk’s face. It was one of the real highlights of the movie for me.
Hulk and Widow
Straight out of left field, but this was very touching. Every scen with them gave the real emotional centre to the movie. It grounded gods and monsters, and provided the nice counterpoint to Ultron’s message of ‘Humans are scum’. I genuinely cared about their relationship, two damaged people with their fair share of demons.
Hawkeye
I’m glad Clint got his time in this movie. He has always been a moral compass for the Avengers, a man of real integrity who even Cap goes to for guidance, that’s why the scenes with Barton in it were perfect. Concern for teammates, the best one liners, actual self doubt and the fear of not being there for one’s family. Well done Whedon, you gave this film a very real dimension that worked really well.
Seeing heroes be heroic
Take note Man of Steel, pay attention Batman V Superman. If you have a film about heroes, show them being just that. Avenger’s has issues with constantly showing infighting, but they’re still at the core, real heroes who save lives first, fight and puff out chests later. The Hawkeye saving the kid scene was great, and made me want to see more, far more so than the fighting, which was still very entertaining.
Costume design
Apart from the Twin’s, YAWN, everyone’s costumes just looked SO good! Cap’s especially (ears out thank God), but every one walked the line between comic accuracy and real world practicality with real ease.
The final fight
So much to write about that I simply won't. Apart from the absence of Hulk for most of it...why?...the fight against Ultron was just amazing, eclipsing the fight against the Chitauri in Avengers 1. The scene in the church defending the switch was so great - apart from weird use of a dutch angle at one point which took me right out of the fight - but so good.
THE BAD
Maximoff Exposition
So, you’re introducing two new characters with exciting powers. You know how not to endear them to an audience. Telling them how they came to be, their back story, their motivations. They were such passive characters, always manipulated, always talking rather than doing. The Emo teens who cried and sniped were not the representations of the twins I wanted or needed. Pietro’s incessant arrogance and Wanda’s quiet grace were completely lost in the commotion, and barely evident. To the point that when the death came along I really didn’t care one bit.
The Rush to Vision
The Third act is way too late to introduce a Deus Ex Machina character, because low and behold, he didn’t really add anything. That’s not to take away from the writing, he was the perfect Vision, but sadly, nowhere near emotionally invested enough to want to find out more. The end scene with Ultron was very cool though, loved that ‘born yesterday’ line. If there are time restraints, then don’t rush such an important character and expect people to care about them.
Infighting
Sigh. Again? I realise with such big personalities there is going to be disagreement, but really? It’s too much now. One of the reasons I don’t read much avengers anymore is the constant in fighting and heroes being the real villains. From Civil War to A vs X to House of M, the Marvel Universe’s heroes weren’t really that heroic anymore. Now in the MCU the heroes are almost becoming as bad as the villains, which leads me on to...
Accountability
So Tony creates an AI which no doubt kills hundreds. The Hulk causes billions of dollars of property damage, and the Scarlet Witch essentially mind rapes everyone in sight, and NO ONE is held accountable? I know Civil War is coming and that the film will probably contain and address most of the fallout from that, but to not address that much chaos caused by a super team is just ludicrous. Arrest them!
THE MEH
The New Avengers
So, that’s the new team...I can’t muster excitement if I’m honest. I felt a very close connection to Hulk and Hawkeye in this movie, and now they’re gone temporarily. I’m SURE they’ll be back for Infinity War, but that team is the definition of hum drum.
Thor’s bath time
So, this fell flat as a pancake. It’s always nice seeing Idris Elba, but the hallucination and reflecting pool nonsense just to keep the Thanos whisper alive and well was just such a non starter.
Spader as Ultron
Listed here because while I loved the purring, daddy issued Ultron, malevolent whilst oddly childlike, when it was finished Rachael looked over to me and said “was he supposed to be terrifying? He never seemed like a bad guy, I actually felt sorry for him?”. This prompted me to speak to other people who’ve seen it, and they didn’t get it either, one thought pure evil, one ridiculous caricatured, one just hollow and pointless. That’s a glaring issue with a big bad, if you can’t tell where they’re pitching themselves, then you may have failed the non comic reading audience.
All in All though, an amazing film which I really enjoyed.
8/10 from me.
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