Abary Reviews AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON; "Marvel's Formula Is Getting Stale"

Abary Reviews AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON; "Marvel's Formula Is Getting Stale"

Avengers: Age Of Ultron was finally released in North America today, and that means that there will inevitably be hundreds of reviews within hours. So, I think I'll just stick my little spoiler-free review into the mix.

Review Opinion
By Abary - May 01, 2015 01:05 PM EST
Finally! After such a long wait, this summer's most anticipated movie, and the sequel to the third highest grossing movie worldwide, Avengers: Age Of Ultron, has been released over here in North America. Was the wait worth it? Well, in the end, I guess the answer is yes.

The things Marvel got right with this movie are amazing as usual, but the things they got wrong are disappointing. The cast is great as always, and it's obvious that these people get along really well. The returning cast members are pretty much the same as they've always been, with Hawkeye definitely being more interesting this time around. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen are both great additions to the cast, with Olsen's Scarlet Witch being the one that stands out the most.

Everything else that you'd expect to naturally be good, are good. The special effects are great, all the costumes look really well on screen, the cinematography is okay, and the soundtrack is decent enough. Overall, it's a really fun movie. However, that's all the nice things I have to say, at least for now.

There's one thing about this movie that Marvel has completely gotten wrong, something that they've gotten wrong in the past and have yet to correct. It's the ridiculous, over-the-top comedic tone of the movie, something that's almost Iron Man 3 level of bad at times. I don't want to say that it completely ruined the movie for me, because that's not true, but it is something that takes away my enjoyment of the movie quite a bit.

Ultron could have been a great villain, but giving him all these jokes just made him seem less menacing, and it really ruined him. It's really frustrating when the same issue that made Iron Man 3 bad wasn't corrected for Age Of Ultron. Especially since Marvel seemed to have gotten this problem under control for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Even Guardians Of The Galaxy was able to keep the funny scenes and the serious scenes away from each other, for the most part. Age Of Ultron blended these two things, which just led to the serious scenes not being taken seriously.

In a perfect world, Joss Whedon would have had the comedy under control, but it's clear that he went full out to make this movie funny, and most of the comedy wasn't good, it was just distracting. Whedon isn't a bad director at all, and some scenes in this movie prove that, but his main problem is that he can't control himself when it comes to comedy. I've actually gotten used to the idea of the Russo Brothers taking care of things from here.

 
You know, when I write a review, I tend to focus on the stuff I didn't like and barely talk about the stuff I do like. I'm not sure why. I don't want it to sound like I hated the movie. Sure, I was left a little bit disappointed by the time the credits rolled, but it doesn't matter. The film was good, and Marvel is set to have yet another blockbuster under their belts.

Avengers: Age Of Ultron is a fun, action-packed, extravagant thrill-ride, although in terms of the movie's tone, this is just a rehash of Iron Man 3. In no way is it a bad movie, and in fact, I quite liked it! It just doesn't live up to the last installment, and nothing about this movie is special, essentially just being proof that Marvel's formula is getting stale. Hopefully, they can step their game up for Phase III of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
 


NOTE: This is just my opinion of Avengers: Age Of Ultron. Keep that in mind after reading this review, as it IS possible to have your own opinion!
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Null
Null - 5/1/2015, 4:29 PM
Stale? I disagree. They do need to start changing it up, but it's comicbook characters we are talking about here. I think setting up Civil War was intricate and we saw shades of this in this movie. It's headed in the right direction.
aquaman1982
aquaman1982 - 5/1/2015, 4:30 PM
I really agree with you about Ironman 3, but it's nothing alike Age of Ultron.I didn't see any funny moments ruining serious ones.
I dreamed a much more menacing and cold Ultron and the first time I saw the film,I was disappointed .But I get the reason why the did it.It fits to the greater look of the MCU,it fits to the origin he has in this film
I have already seen it more than once,and every time I was watching it,I loved it even more and more!!It's very very very good!!!!
AgentZero
AgentZero - 5/1/2015, 4:36 PM
Iron Man 3 comedy was over the top at some point. But I CAN'T forgive you for not mentioning Thor : The Dark World. I simply cannot. This movie takes the cake for me.
Spidey91
Spidey91 - 5/1/2015, 4:41 PM
I thought the movie had much less comedy than the first Avengers movie, let alone IM3. but opinions are opinions.
DrKinsolving
DrKinsolving - 5/1/2015, 4:47 PM
So, basically, this was a title to get people to click on the article

Because, as you said

"The film was good, and Marvel is set to have yet another blockbuster under their belts."

And, yes, the film [frick]ing Rocked.
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 5/1/2015, 4:49 PM
"It's the ridiculous, over-the-top comedic tone of the movie, something that's almost Iron Man 3 level of bad at times."

Oof, I couldn't disagree more. First, that particular criticism of Iron Man 3 (a criticism only ever found on Twitter, btw) is way off-base anyways, IMO. Second, the tone of Age of Ultron is practically a direct continuation of The Avengers. I found virtually no difference whatsoever.

People seem to think that if there are jokes or comedy in a movie, it suddenly makes things mean less. As if the stakes automatically drop and as if the movie is taking nothing seriously. It's the weirdest fanboy complaint that has only cropped up recently, and I have no idea how to explain it.

Movies have comedy. ESPECIALLY comic book/superhero movies. This is nothing new. But if a movie treats its dramatic, heavy scenes with the proper amount of care (both Iron Man 3 and Age of Ultron do so) while also including moments of brevity, then that's what leads to a balanced film.
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 5/1/2015, 4:50 PM
To be clear, I TOTALLY see how Age of Ultron was flawed and not as great as it could've/should've been...but complaints about the humor or tone just aren't really backed up by the film, IMO. And that seems to be the main criticism here, when there were several other, more legitimate points to make.
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 5/1/2015, 5:00 PM
@GliderMan Haha agreeing with people is overrated!

Seriously though, it's funny you mention that about having the bad guy win, because I actually thought this would be the movie where that'd happen. I figured Whedon wouldn't pull a "Phantom Menace" again and have the movie end in a neat little bow, so maybe Ultron would "win" (maybe not literally, but maybe sort of like how the Joker 'won' at the end of The Dark Knight?) and live to fight another day.

So I was obviously a bit disappointed when that didn't happen haha. I do think these movies would benefit from a major shake-up, and I think Civil War will do that in a big way.
01928401
01928401 - 5/1/2015, 6:43 PM
@GliderMan
I think they technically executed one of your examples: beginning with one tone and ending in another. I'd like to think that's how Iron Man 3 was. Regardless of my feelings for the film, it was pretty different.
Batnut92
Batnut92 - 5/1/2015, 6:54 PM
@SauronsBANE

Yeah, I figured that moment would've happened when [Spoiler Alert, Seriously stop reading after this if you do not want to be spoiled, Looook away!]

When Iron Man was telling Steve that they had to choose to either blow up the city with the people on board or let billions die, I didn't think it would go THAT far per se, but I was fully expecting someone to knock Steve out to get him off the city because he would've rejected the plan. Than Fury showed up from out of nowhere with everything they needed, that kind of bugged me. Also, I gotta ask Sauron, when will your next editorial be up? I'm dying to read another one of your awesome articles.
gamecreatorjj
gamecreatorjj - 5/1/2015, 9:18 PM
I was honestly really bored through the movie, it was fine, it just felt empty
BlackPhillip
BlackPhillip - 5/1/2015, 10:31 PM
I really enjoyed the humor in this movie. Whedon knows how to do humor properly.
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 5/1/2015, 10:51 PM
@Batnut92 Totally! I actually sort of liked that reveal with Fury and the helicarrier, because that kind of last second save-the-day stuff (while definitely cheesy and cliche') is JUST the sort of thing that feels right at home in a comic book movie like The Avengers...but yeah, I can definitely see how that's just a bit too convenient.

And that's very kind of you to ask! I actually intended to post an MCU rankings editorial before Age of Ultron came out...but my laziness got the better of me and that didn't end up happening haha. I'm still going to finish that up, but instead of adding Age of Ultron to that list, I might just write up a separate review for the movie. I'm not sure yet, but we'll see! I've been itching to write something up too, it's been forever!
BruceParker
BruceParker - 5/2/2015, 6:00 AM
I don't get any of the hate. Loved this from start to finish. You guys make me feel old because I have a really strong urge to end this statement with, "You ungrateful shits!"


I mean seriously, I never thought I'd get to see anything like this on the big screen, and we're swimming in all this wonderful content being thrown at us.

Friggin Babies,never happy.

Batnut92
Batnut92 - 5/2/2015, 9:31 AM
@SauronsBANE I can see that, if there is one thing I can say about AOU, it's probably the most comic-booky movie I have ever seen, which is not a bad thing and I get that, I just think that would've ultimately been the thing that drives the rift between Stark and Tony for Civil War, I was fine with how it turned out, just felt like a bit of a missed opportunity.

Dangit Sauron, don't procrastinate! I NEED you to keep working!...lol jk, take your time, it's usually worth the wait, and if you did pursue a review of AOU, I'd def be keen to hear your thoughts on Natasha/Bruce, something everyone else seemed to have taken issue with but me.
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 5/2/2015, 12:19 PM
@Batnut92 Yeah I'd agree. It did a lot right (and comic booky-ness is at the top of the list!)...but there were a few missed opportunities there, no doubt!

And again, much appreciated! Spoiler alert though - I LOVED the relationship between Bruce and Natasha. Absolutely loved it. But yeah, we're definitely in the minority with that (at least around these parts).
xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx - 5/2/2015, 1:40 PM
I'm going to see it in at 3:30 in IMAX. Pretty pumped.
LEVITIKUZ
LEVITIKUZ - 5/2/2015, 1:48 PM
So what you're saying Abary is it sucks?
Pasto
Pasto - 5/3/2015, 6:22 AM
Thumbed
BruceParker
BruceParker - 5/3/2015, 7:26 AM
@sauronsBANE

I loved the BruTasha(or is it BrOmanoff? Nulk! Natashulk? I'm pretty sure nobody's named the couple yet)relationship.

I thought it was an interesting dynamic. I felt like Bruce never trusted Widow's mmotivations. After all, she's a professional manipulator and everybody's always trying to exploit the Hulk. Sad thing is, I feel like she proved all his suspicions at the end.

(NatAnner, Black Banner, I don't know. The best I have is BruTasha)
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 5/3/2015, 8:16 AM
@GammaSmasher71 It worked REALLY well, IMO. The first Avengers movie didn't really set that romance up all that well (to be fair, it never really tried to), but Age of Ultron actually somehow managed to make it seem like it did, if that makes sense. Whedon took what he did in the first one (having Natasha recruit Bruce in India, then having her be the 1st victim to Bruce Hulking out on the helicarrier) and made it pay off in a big way by pairing them up here. It made so much sense.

I'm not sure I'd agree that she manipulated him or exploited him at all though, that's a pretty curious take on it!

And I was using Hulk-tasha up to this point...but Bromanoff is EASILY my favorite haha.
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