Like the title said.
Actually, I watched it twice. Once in digital 2D on the first day it came out (Apr 23) and another time in IMAX 3D two days ago.
Truth be told, it wasn’t exactly up to my expectations in terms of plot and action sequences. However the easy playful banters and GREAT script really made up for it and I still found it worthwhile to watch a second time in IMAX 3D no less. I think it’s suffice to say about my experience that I left the theater with a huge smile on my face.
In trying to stick to a non-spoilery reviewish post, I am not going to talk about any of the plot points NOT presented in the trailer. All of you will get the chance to watch the film when it’s finally released in the (almost) last place on earth, North America anyway (yeah it’s usually the other way round, so suck that). Well maybe not all, there’s China, Japan, Hungary and Poland. Especially Japan, I swear that place always has the latest release date. When I was there, I couldn’t even watch How To Train Your Dragon 2 on big screens for an entire 2 months. Devastating.
So as you know, the story kicks off when Tony Stark builds a peacekeeping AI program called Ultron, aimed at protecting the Earth when the Avengers can’t. And as most stories with AIs go, it went rogue. And now the Avengers have to stop him. Yep, way to go Tony.
No. Don’t you look at me with those big watery eyes. Not gonna work. Nope. *squirms*
Although I didn’t like the way Ultron came into being; that entire scene was a little confusing for me in terms of his motivation, but James Spader’s superb performance just stole my breath away. Before, when I watched the clip of Ultron, Wanda and Pietro battling Iron Man, Cap and Thor, I had been surprised because I thought Ultron didn’t sound as good as what I imagined from the trailers.
It can’t be further from the truth. His deep menacing voice with this slightly sarcastic drawl and sometimes emotional outbursts actually makes a truly terrifying combination. It manages to break the clichéd deep voice some villains have. And in a way, it kind of reminded me of Heath Ledger’s Joker, but with more coherence and rage.
Meanwhile, there’s the emergence of twins Wanda and Pietro Maximoff AKA Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver, who were experimented on by Baron von Strucker (as we saw in the end credits of CA2: TWS). There was a whole back story of why they were initially on the side of Ultron. Pretty powerful stuff but in my opinion badly presented which took away some of the shock factor. Later, they joined ranks with the Avengers and fought against Ultron instead.
Of course, the other thing that fans have been waiting for, in midst of squealing and flailing around, is the birth of Vision. I, for one, had been DYING to see Paul Bettany’s Vision. His JARVIS has already captured my soul, especially in IM3, so Vision was definitely one of the highlights for me in the film. The way he came to existence was just slightly weird, but the rest of the scene was pretty amazing. And of course, Paul Bettany is a gem and I absolutely fell in love with how he brought the character to life.
Another highlight for me was the ease in which the Avengers now interact with each other and the friendly banter among them. We got a glimpse of that in the trailer where they were trying to lift Thor’s hammer. There’s probably a funny remark every 5 minutes or so during the movie, and TONS of references to Marvel comic and movie universes. So needless to say, I had a blast trying to spot all those easter eggs. I feel bad for people who are not as familiar with the different universes though, they probably will not enjoy the movie as much as I did.
And of course, Steve/Tony banter as required of all Avengers films. And some Steve/Tony tension which we got a glimpse of in the log chopping scene. It will set the tone for the Captain America 3: Civil War movie (I CAN’T WAIT ANYMORE!! WHY IS IT STILL A YEAR AWAY?)
So the Avengers went along merrily fighting Ultron armies and trying to keep the team together. Since Ultron essentially a computer program, it can go online and be in multiple physical bodies at once, so we have this army of Ultrons attacking the Avengers. It made for some really cool action sequences toward the end.
There IS a tragic death of a major character, as Joss Whedon has confirmed. I’m not going to delve into this to prevent giving too much away, but I’ll talk about it in a more detailed review with spoilers later.
All in all, it was a fun movie. I guess my greatest disappointment was that there was not enough plot and character development. This was supposed to be a more intricate story than the first Avengers movie, but the run time was 1 minute shorter, so it was expected I guess. But I would rather he did a longer movie and laid more groundwork for the next few movies in Phase 3, which are going to be pretty big and complicated, especially for people without knowledge of the comics.
Maybe it was due to the short length, but Joss Whedon managed to keep the movie going at a good pace and there was not a dull moment at all. The whole experience was pretty exhilarating and nothing seemed draggy or anything. Joss Whedon’s witty quips really made the movie that much more fun. We got to see the snarky side of some of the Avengers. And of course, Tony Stark, as always the star of hilarious one-liners, shines yet again. Chris Evans his lover puts it best when explaining Marvel movies:
So I say again, I really did have a good time, so much so that I was willing to pay another 20 bucks to see the IMAX 3D version. But it didn’t satisfy me completely and only left me craving for more.
May 6, 2016 seems so far away. 😥
-tsukigao
The Happy Harbor 