Saw it Friday - it was fun and entertaining, but I agree with those saying that it’s a notch (or two) below the first Avengers, or GOTG (which is not a fair comparison; GOTG had a much different tone).
Is it just me or did ScarJo seem much more - um, enhanced than last time? I might recall that she was pregnant during filming? That would explain the need for a bodysuit with a bit more room in the chest.
I believe one of her costars described her as “very pregnant” during filming, and that her body had to be heavily CGId.
Was wondering, the bus has a designation of shield 616, and one of those facebook trending articles also mentioned it.
Declan
Although I agree with most of the rest of this post, I was amused at this comment. While we were waiting for the midcredits scene, the people behind me were commenting on how 9/11y that scene was. And then someone pointed out that Man of Steel knocked down even more buildings, with people still in them, and didn’t bother to show any of the ground-level aftereffects. This was a building they specifically called out as completely empty, yet they still showed that the people around it were kind of traumatized. I think Whedon was using more than Sokovia to refute the dark grim high-collateral-damage superhero movie thing.
Otherwise, I was also amused that they basically turned the Scarlet Witch into Jean Gray - Maria Hill rattled off “[something] telepathy, [something] telekinesis, [other thing] - basically she’s just weird”. Jean Gray’s random powers seem to be a bit more explainable than hex bolts + chaos magic, I guess. Same reason that the Vision didn’t have his density control powers.
My only real complaints with the movie were two: Falcon was specifically in pararescue; if Fury was showing up for a rescue operation (as he seemed to know would be needed), why not bring the rescue guy along? (for that matter, did they really have a helicarrier mothballed within a day’s travel to Sokovia?)
The other problem was that I think they made Banner’s characterization inconsistent. He first allows himself to be argued by Tony into making Ultron. Given what we know of his concerns about the dangers of power, he should not have then allowed himself to be argued into creating the Vision, too. That would have been better served, I think, by having him originally argue that they should put the Jarvis AI into the Iron Legion, so when Tony’s idea turns out to be pants he could then conceed that Bruce had been right. (also: Thor shows up and jumpstarts the Vision without telling his teammates for increased dramatic tension… but that’s the same thing they’d been on Tony’s case about.)
However, this was an astonishing film even with quibbles, just because of how ambitious it was: It was a summer blockbuster, that included quite a bit of character development. It introduced a bunch of new characters, to deal with upcoming contract expirations. And still managed to have all the many main characters meaningfully contribute. It set up the Infinity War storyline. It set up Captain America: Civil War. It set up Thor: Ragnarok.
The Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice trailer was one of the (many, many) previews we saw. I have no confidence that movie will be even a fraction as successful as this one, at accomplishing even half the tasks that the producers obviously set for Age of Ultron.
I was thinking they weren’t going to do the density thing, but didn’t Vision phase at least his fists through a couple of Ultronites? It looked like he did, which makes me happy if I’m not wrong.
I also thought Scarlet Witch seemed Jean Greyish.
No mention at all about what Wanda & Pietro are. Specials, enhanced, powered, but no hint at all about a class of mutant or Inhuman-like people with genetic potential. Ultron said "I see why you two were the only survivors of von Strucker’s experiments, but that told us absolutely nothing.
So, In the X-Men movies Quicksilver is a random suburban teenager without a twin sister, and in Avengers he gets offed so there is only a Scarlet Witch. Is that how the contract negotiations between the two studios worked out? Each franchise gets one? Kinda sucks.
Speaking of trailers before the movie, the three that stuck out were Ant Man, Fantastic Four and Star Wars. Ant Man looks like it might not be so hot. I’d love to know what the original director was going to do with it, but it looks like it’s suffered from too many cooks. Possibly a dud. FF looks like a bomb. No way I’m wasting the price of a theater ticket. Why do they keep bothering? Star Wars got me stoked.
Well, Vision definitely phases in/solid outs a few mooks, but isn’t density change how he flies?
I suppose I’m pronouncing it wrong, but every time I see Cobie Smulders I think ‘yes she does.’
I’d heard that, so I watched for it, and yes, you can tell in a few shots. The party scene where she’s talking with Banner shows a baby bump…
My understanding was that it was the vibranium cone at the bottom that was going to do all the damage, because magic metal. And I’m not spoilering anything because this is page 2 of the seen-it thread.
For me, it wasn’t about triggers so much as it being a tired aesthetic. Ooh, building fall down? Guess it’s time for the cloud of dust rushing down the street and all the dust-covered people wandering like low-rent zombies, two beats later, then!
You misunderstand. I’m not glad that they save everyone (which, I doubt they did), I’m glad that they even speak about it, and try.
Rather than just focusing on fighting the villain. Because yes, I want superheroes, not just superfighters.
I want all sorts. That’s why this team is good - everyone from the guy without the faults (Cap) to the guy who’s nothing but a raging ball of faults. Because all-grimdark,all-the-time is as boring as that Major All-American caricature you cut out of whole straw, since neither Alessan nor I said anything like that.
Yes. If you’re going to bother giving him a male form, give him some budgie smugglers for heaven’s sake. He’s not a Ken doll or a Transformer.
Or more specifically Dark Phoenix Jean from the third film - I think it’s the maroon leather jacket coupled with the hair colour that does it, not just the powers.
But he does have a younger rehead sister. The one in the pink princess outfit.
Given how he shapechanged - adding the cape, etc - I think he’ll be able to perform quite adequately should the need arise.
Oh yeah, I forgot that. He does have a sister.
What?!? Did you see it in 3D? I was wondering if they’d get to see the Star Wars trailer; we didn’t, although you’d think since both are Disney with a huge fanbase overlap it would’ve been a no-brainer… Even though I’ve seen the trailer, I wanted to see it on the big screen.
Instead, we got Ant-Man (looked iffy), Fantastic Four (looked terrible), some ridiculous disaster thing with the Rock (looked even worse), the next Mission Impossible (Tom Cruise looks really, really old; don’t break a hip, Tom), Tommorowland (eh), Jurassic World (Chris Prat yay, otherwise eh).
I figured that was all part of the cover story to keep the wife & kids secret.
How were being led down that path? Because the two characters cared about each other very much, you assumed they were romantically involved? As far as I could see, nothing in their relationship in the first film was any different from that of two very close heterosexual male or female friends.
Did you catch how Hawkeye’s kids called the Black Widow “Auntie Nat”?
You realize that in the comics The Hulk is capable of jumping to the moon, right?
Physics? You’re looking in the wrong place.
This only bit of misdirection I might call out would be the necklace that Romanov wore in Winter Soldier. The first Avengers movie didn’t make me think I was expected to believe they were romantically involved- just respected colleagues who had seen some serious shit together.
It was the arrow necklace in Winter Soldier that got me wondering- though not assuming- if we’d later find out they were romantically involved. And it’s entirely possible that’s what the Russos meant by it when they had the costuming department whip up the necklace. It definitely seemed it was meant to be a gift from Barton. Not as definitively romantic a gift as a ring or even a bracelet, but still it’s jewelry- and jewelry that specifically is themed to the person who made it a gift (presumably).
But it’s entirely possible that the nature of the Romanov/Barton relationship was still open for interpretation when the Russos made Winter Soldier but later on Feige and/or Whedon decided to take it in a different direction.
I don’t feel like I was misdirected, but I do feel like the necklace made for valid assumptions.
Heck, in the first Avengers movie, the Hulk stopped one of those giant flying Chitauri creatures in its tracks by punching it really hard. Momentum shmomentum.