At first glance, I loved Avengers(2012). The climax was ambitious and thrilling. Banner/Hulk was humanized beautifully. The tease at mid credits was very promising!
After a few days, I began to cool off on the movie a bit. After a few months, I began to realize something: all of the hyperbole and general talk surrounding the movie made me realize that I wasn’t as much of a fan of the film as I thought. I still count it among the best comic book and superhero adaptations, but it has its problems. The first two acts drag. Cap is mostly overlooked. Iron Man/Tony is a tad bit too present. I think I avoided the film for a very long time because I was afraid I might like it even less.
It seems that when it comes to Avengers movies, I don’t align with the majority opinions. Age of Ultron met and exceeded nearly every expectation I had, and that’s a tall order. The story opens with guns a’blazin’ – almost literally – and plays out almost like grand opera crammed into under 3 hours.
That cram factor is where I think I diverge from most of the fan population. Comics are generational. I grew up reading comics in an era when The Mighty Marvel was known for jamming characters into every panel. This was never problematic for me; in fact, I loved to see these overly complicated plots play out. I’ve been waiting for a film to feel like a Marvel comic felt to me as a kid, and here it finally is. The payoff of the enormity of the MCU is fully harvested here, and honestly, it made me smile from ear to ear. From Cap and Tony’s rising tensions to the eradication of HYDRA (supposedly) to Thor’s eagerness to recover the Tesseract – there’s a richness here from the intersections of so many characters, each trying to fulfill their glorious purpose.
Much has been said about the “I’m a monster” scene. I think that this scene is widely misread. It’s meant to be a reference to the taking away of her innocence at such a tender age. The monster line doesn’t refer to her barren uterus.
In all, this movie feels like a true epic to me. I was thrilled to see Cap stepping up and leading, Banner still questioning his value, and Iron Man questioning his entire mission. Ultron was rather compelling, and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) was brilliantly brought to screen. I prefer the OTHER Quicksilver, but this one was pretty entertaining. Hawkeye receiving serious backstory was a great touch. And of course, I love love LOVE a Hayley Atwell cameo, even if it is just a fantasy sequence.
I would be remiss in not talking about the amazing way that Vision is brought to life (sorta) here. The look is practical makeup and mostly real costume, with Paul Bettany delivering a fascinating character that I want to see again and again.
Without spoiling much, let me just say that I LOVE the new Avengers lineup as we prepare to roll credits. I can’t wait to see where this team goes.
If you didn’t catch it in theaters, seek out Avengers: Age of Ultron when it is released for home viewing next month.
Geek of All Trades 