Movie News

I caught the 7pm IMAX advance screening for The Avengers 2. Below you can check out my thoughts. Overall, it was a well-done and entertaining movie, and you definitely want to see it on the big screen.

Spoilers follow (no particular order).

Too much footage released online. Way too much! The movie was supposed to have a big “wow” opening, but we already seen it a million times in trailers, clips, images, spots and featurettes. Thinking back, I wish I wouldn’t have seen any footage. Actually, just about every big scene was shown online in some form of a promo!

Didn’t show Ultron upgrading.

Vision reminded me of Superman (loved it!).

When I saw Vision with the Mind Gem, I had to take a second look because Adam Warlock popped in my head with the Soul Gem.

Didn’t like the Black Widow/Banner romance. Anybody else waiting for Hulk to respond, “Betty?” (!).

They didn’t show Hulk’s Scarlet Witch hex dream! Obviously, it was Banner’s as the world got to see the Hulk, but Marvel missed a huge oppurtunity for Hulk Easter Eggs (grey hulk, rick jones, whatever).

Thor was used too much as comic relief.

Really thought Thor was going to die.

Thor/Cap combos were pretty wicked.

Ultron’s plan didn’t seem that scarey or much of a threat. He was going to drop a piece of land killing billions? “How?” It didn’t come off as being “all that.”

No battles on U.S. soil.

Anybody else waiting for Falcon to fly and fight side-by-side War Machine?

No Loki!

No T’Challa! Wakanada got a mention, though.

Renner and Cap stole the show for me.

Crowd didn’t clap at the end. Actually, they were ticked (as was I), that Cap didn’t say “Avengers Assemble!” It came off really lame, Marvel, lol.

It was cool seeing the Infinity Gauntlet formation in space when Thor was talking about the Infinity Gems.

So Thanos somehow got into Asgard to retrieve the Gauntlet? Loki let him in? Or just because he’s Thanos, he let himself in?!

Ultron and his drones didn’t seem as big of a threat as the Chitauri. But they were pretty similar, right? Both an army that the Avengers could take out without any human casualty.

I kept comparing The Flash to Quicksilver (whom my youngest called the Blue Flash, lol). I liked The Flash’s speed effects better than what they did with QS.

I was a little saddened by QS’s death. Made sense though as we already know every actor, except for Ruffalo, is going to appear in another movie (Olsen even confirmed Cap 3).

Olsen was great in this. Glad she’ll be back. Looked sexy as heck, too.

No outer space for the Hulk. No Planet Hulk. No World War Hulk. I liked what they did with the Hulk as it was an old school approach and took things back to when we first met Ruffalo with Widow, and there really didn’t end up being any romance with Natasha (she just kissed Banner to distract him to unleash Hulk). My only gripe will be if Banner doesn’t do anything during Civil War. He’s just going to let them duke it out and not get involved? Meh. Being jettisoned off into space is better.

There were hints of Civil War, but everybody was friends at the end of the movie; so now things will have to move fast at the start of Cap 3 (though, it could be argued it’s almost a direct continuation).

Speaking of fast, they really wasted no time introducing Ultron.

Was kinda hoping Coulson would have showed up on the Hellicarrier. (Coulson lives! No wait, Whedon says he’s dead. Okay, Whedon’s right.)

James Spader was a great Ultron. His witty remarks mirrored Robert Downey Jr.’s, as they should because Ultron is essentially born from Stark (his personality, etc). Ultron came off as a prodigal son, spoiled child, bitter and resentful offspring of Stark. He essentially wanted to become human by putting himself in the Vision body, instead of just desiring to eradicate humanity. I guess it depends how you like your Ultron served up, whether you dug the crybaby Ultron or prefer the tyrannical Ultron.

It was cool to see Hawkeye name his son after both Natasha and Quicksilver (Pietro).

During the battle with Fury and the Hellicarrier, I was honestly hoping for Richard Rider Nova and Quasar. Nova could have taken out some of the drones with Quasar helping to support the floating city (hey, a kid can dream).

New Avengers! Cap, Widow, Falcon, Vision, Scarlet Witch, War Machine!

Tony’s Avengers? Hawkeye? More new Avengers?

Vision based his cape on Thor’s cape; I think Vision had some Iron Man in there and Cap as well.

Ultron ain’t dead – he’s in the Mind Gem!

It was the mind gem all along  – just encased in blue!

No Spider-Man!

Hawkeye’s a dad?! That was cool, because it worked: Hawkeye said they kept his family out of the SHIELD files, so it was a “safe house” and one Ultron wouldn’t know about (from the internet or reading the SHIELD files, etc).

Don’t bother with 3D; too much going on.

Too much footage released online. Way too much!

Go see it!

Did anyone else think of the Big Hero 6 fist bump sound effect?