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!