Subject: Ultron did pass the "test."
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Posted on: 2015-05-11 12:18:00 UTC
When (SPOILERS) Natasha and Lura had a reasonable talk about Laura's baby at Hawkeye's house. Talking about names, joking, laughing together. So, there you go.
I did on opening night. While I liked the party scene at Stark Tower, the rest of the movie frightened me; Ultron in particular. Even though it is not a movie that I really like, it is very well-crafted and the dialogue is superb.
(I also suspect that there will be huge number of Hulk/Black Widow badfics.)
...I just wish that there would be a movie someday where the artificial intelligence they create doesn't go insane and try to kill everyone?
And actually passing the Bechdel Test one of these decades would be nice too, now that I think of it.
But yes. That was a good show. Slightly technologically cringe-worthy (especially the line about all internet traffic travelling through one facility in Oslo), but fun. Things exploded satisfyingly. Dramatic and hilarious one-liners were delivered. The finale was impressive - I really liked the visual design of the flying [spoiler].
Well, the Tachikoma tanks from Stand Alone Complex are a pretty good example of that.
When (SPOILERS) Natasha and Lura had a reasonable talk about Laura's baby at Hawkeye's house. Talking about names, joking, laughing together. So, there you go.
But I am willing to forgive that. And also Vision didn't go insane and try to kill everyone. At least not in this film. Maybe in the future, but who knows?
He seemed rather, erm, Stuish in comparison to his comic counterpart, especially since he now has an Infinity Stone in his head.
I expect that Vision will probably be destroyed in Infinity Wars Part 1. They would not need two films if Thanos did not complete the Infinity Gauntlet. So I expect Vision will not survive.
There was stuff I liked about and stuff I didn't. In some places it was as good as the first Avengers, but I can't think of a single moment where it was actually better. And the ending felt to me, like the whole movie was just a set-up for the next Avengers movie. I don't mind a bit of sequel bating, but it felt rather obvious.
Age of Ultron has to set up Civil War, at least hint at Ragnarok, and do at least some of the ground work for Infinity Wars. I know where in the MCU it was going to fit, so I was expecting it to be really geared at setting things up for Phase 3. And part of that is strategy. Look at it this way, Phase 1 ended with Avengers, so everything was leading up to that. Phase 2 ends with Ant-Man, and almost immediately after Phase 2 ends you get Phase 3 starting with Civil War and Ragnarok. And those two films are going to be massive in scope, so to actually get them to fit in a reasonable time, you need to do set up prior. We might get some in Season 3 of Agents of SHIELD, but most of the heavy lifting had to be done in the films, because not everyone follows Agents of SHIELD.
Phase 3 to really be the darkest hour that will culminate with the Avengers getting thrashed in Infinity Wars Part 1. Then again if you are familiar with the comics, the film titles alone make it clear that Phase 3 is not going to be pleasant.
The plot was really rushed, and it would have at least been nice to see Tony and Bruce discussing the Ultron project in one of the previous movies, so it didn't come so completely out of left field. But, it was still an enjoyable story.
I liked that Natasha and Bruce became the official couple. Much better than pairing her with one of the more stereotypical male leads. I also like that they're diversifying the Avengers team immensely for future movies. Vision I'm rather meh about—he worked as an adversary to Ultron, but I can't really see him doing much from this point. He's so inhuman, it feels rather dull. I like all the other new Avengers, though.
BUT
(rant inbound)
They are missing an obvious one, and it legitimately makes me angry that they passed up the opportunity! Iron Man 3 gave them the perfect chance to leave Pepper Potts with permanent super-powers from her Extremis exposure. We already saw from Boring White Bad Guy Whose Name I Can't Be Bothered to Look Up that it was possible to safely control the Extremis heat powers, and didn't they flat-out say Tony had come up with an equation to stabilize the formula? It would have been a fantastic opportunity to elevate one of the designated love interests into a more active role.
I think, in my head canon, Pepper still has her powers, and is just too cool to hang out with the Avengers. *pout*
That Pepper may become Rescue at some point in the future. I also do not remember if they explicitly said she lost the Extremis abilities. I thought he was stabilizing it for her.
Gwyneth Paltrow does not, at least to me, seem like she has the presence to really be an action hero, not like Scarlett Johansson does. I think it would really be forcing it to put the MCU's Pepper into anything really more than her previous roles. Marvel has better female characters that they could add instead of Pepper. Like Scarlet Witch, and that was one of my favorite things about Age of Ultron.
I also heard a rumor that after Thor: Ragnarok we might see the recent Female Thor. Which could be interesting. Then again the other rumor is that we might see Beta Ray Bill, which that is a bridge too far right now. Personally I'm waiting to see X-23 in the X-Men films.
end of Iron Man 3? I was going nuts when Pepper popped out of nowhere and just started fragging Boring Not Mandarin Bad Guy. I don't really follow actory people (didn't realize that was Gwyneth Paltrow; I recognize the name, but that's all), but I'm sure she can act whatever.
As for Marvel having "better" female characters, I'm sure they do, but that doesn't mean they can't improve on an older character to make them better. I mean, let's face it: the comics industry has a lot of bland female love interest-type characters. Making Pepper an Avenger with her Extremis powers would have helped update her character to have more of an active role in the setting.
I just would personally rather them focus on Scarlet Witch. I just think she gives them a whole lot more potential to work with. Elizabeth Olsen just seems like she can carry the action hero role better. Scarlet Witch is also one of the most intriguing characters Marvel has. I also think she is hard to do right. I have seen some good stories with her and some good adaptations, but I have also seen less than fantastic ones as well. Scarlet Witch just has so much more potential. Pepper Potts/Rescue is basically just a female Iron Man.
I kinda want them to have the Wasp and Ant-Man in their main team... I do prefer the animated movies, though.
I've seen Age of Ultron only for the drunk Stan Lee cameo, to be frank :D
What I'm waiting for the most, however, is 2016's Doctor Strange because - in case you didn't realize - I'm all about magic in any way, shape or form. C'mon it's the Sorcerer Supreme, bitches! How can you get his movie wrong? And I guess it will do good, since Ben Cumberbatch plays the lead role...
I don't know, I see it as very similar to Guardians of the Galaxy. It can go really well, but it can also get messed up very badly. In fact much of Phase 3 is really high risk-high reward. Black Panther facially seems like it could go well, but need I remind people of the Daredevil film? Doctor Strange could work, but it could just as easily fall into Ghost Rider territory (mediocre at best). Captain Marvel could also go either way. Not to mention Spiderman, seeing as they have now had five films and none have quite gotten it right.
Then you have Civil War which might be trying to do too much. Same goes for Ragnarok, and Infinity Wars. Frankly I see a lot of risk and a lot of payoff, but Phase 2 really only has two questions, Guardians (which was far better than I thought it could be) and Ant-Man (the premise is hard to sell to me, but it looks good so far). The only guarantee about Phase 3 is that the films will do well. Whether they are good, I do not know.
... Apparently, my brothers found it awesome while my mother thought it was bad. My mother is a French literature teacher, so, she probably knows some stuff about constructive criticism... But I'm suspecting the lack of Tom Hiddleston might be the main reason here. :P
I will give it my resounding recommendation. Since I don't really feel like making a bunch of spoiler tags, I will leave it at that. If you haven't seen it, go see it. NOW!
It is for me kind of my third or fourth favorite. They did some things really well, and others not so much.
James Spader as Ultron was so perfect, words cannot describe.
I enjoyed the action, and how Hawkeye got a bit more of an acknowledgement, since in the last movie, he was mostly off-screen doing Bad Guy Stuff (TM). And hoooly cow, Captain America's language! XD
But ugh, don't get me started on how Black Widow's been shipped with Hawkeye (first Avengers), Cap (Winter Soldier), and now Hulk.
Comics the answer to that is basically everyone. In the MCU...Cap, Hawkeye, Hulk, and Stark are the only ones that come to mind.
That's, uh, everyone except Thor... and now, I suppose, the male members of the new team (because let's face it, they're not gonna hit at femslash).
Not least because SW is played by the tolerable Olsen sibling and her wonderful, ridiculous accent.
(for real tho cross aaron taylor-johnson's Quicksilver with Henning Wehn and you've basically got Doktor Trollenfisch)
Normally that would be the Captain, but I loved what they did with Hawkeye in Ultron, giving him a definite role and purpose within the team.
But for me my favorite I think has to be Scarlet Witch. She is one of those characters that if the story is well written she is one of if not my favorite mutant enhanced characters. If not well written, well she is far less intriguing.
Tony. Plain and simple. And maybe Vision just a little bit.