Age of Ultron

[rich_jacko]

I made it to the cinema last night, in spite of the Nazis' best efforts.

I left work slightly early to catch the 5pm IMAX showing of Avengers: Age of Ultron, only to find no trams were running. Two unexploded WW2 bombs had been found. I was determined to still go as I'd already booked and paid for my ticket online, so I ended up getting a taxi. So much for saving money by going to the cinema on the last day of my Megarider.

There was a bumper trailer reel before the film - Spectre, Mad Max: Fury Road, Ant Man, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World, Superman V Batman. I was amused by the reverential mutterings around the audience as the Star Wars trailer started. I'd deliberately saved watching it for the big screen impact, although I'd already been told about the crashed Star Destroyer shot, Luke's voice-over, and Han and Chewie at the end, so there weren't any great surprises. Definitely a teaser - It really doesn't say much about what to expect this Christmas.

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So, how was Avengers? A whole lot of fun, basically. They don't waste any time assembling this time around, and it's straight into the action. The set-pieces are imaginative, spectacular, and everything you could wish for. I definitely approve of Joss's tendency to include really long tracking shots. Special mention for the Hulkbuster fight - As well as being a joy to watch, the friendship and respect Stark has for Banner gives it more depth than just eye candy.

The plot is paper-thin and doesn't make a huge deal of sense, but that's pretty inevitable when fitting in so many characters. Each Avenger gets a good share of screen time. Most of the characters from previous Marvel films put in at least a cameo, though it's mainly a boys show. Sure, there's Black Widow, Scarlet Witch and Agent Hill, but there's still no Jane Foster and, worse than that, no Pepper Potts this time either. Mind you, there is Veronica. ;o)

There's not much time for character development, except (surprisingly) for Hawkeye, and a budding romance between Banner and Romanoff (which seems to have come out of nowhere). Group-wise, there's rather too much angst and team building therapy. This was great in driving the first Avengers film, when they were all meeting for the first time, but it wears a bit thin now. It steps up a level when the team work together. The banter is everything you'd expect from the keyboard of Mr Whedon. With a film this cheesy, it's good that nothing's taken too seriously. There are some great running gags.

Ultron is a decent baddie who manages to be simultaneously funny and terrifying. Much is made of him being every bit as much of a wise-ass as Stark, but he's no Loki. Likewise, while the setting for the final battle is interestingly different (and bonkers), it's not as gobsmacking as aliens pouring through a wormhole over New York. Law of diminishing sequels? Unfortunately, yes. It's a(nother) brilliant piece of popcorn entertainment, but the franchise seems to be on the verge of becoming too bloated for its own good.

There's no final credit cookie, only one part-way through the credits. Boo!

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There were still no trams running when I came out the cinema. Having had enough of public transport this week and not feeling like paying for a First ticket to take me all the way back into town, where I didn't want to be, I walked home. It was a nice enough evening and I figure it didn't really take much longer than the buses would've done.

Comments

[grok-mctanys.livejournal.com]

People spoiled the Star Wars trailer like that for you? I was worrying I went too far when I mentioned it opened on a sandy vista and Luke's theme started playing. The bastards...