Avengers: Age of Ultron Review

All the hardcore fans have already gone to see the new Avengers movie (I saw it three times already), but in case you're still on the fence, here's a spoiler free review that should help convince you to go.

Shockingly, the fandom seems divided over Age of Ultron--those that loved the movie, and those who seem to think it was the worst movie Marvel's ever produced. I stand with the former (if you can't tell by how many times I've seen it in the first month). Age of Ultron wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, but it was still epic enough to fulfill my expectations. The cast is all astounding, the CGI is smooth and beautiful, and the soundtrack is breath-taking as ever. For this review I've decided to refute some misconceptions about the film and then present some positives that should entice you enough to see it.


BRUTASHA

One of the biggest complaints I've heard about the new movie is the romantic relationship the blossomed between Natasha Romanov and Bruce Banner. When the trailers first hinted at it, I wasn't quite sure how to feel, but when I saw the movie I wasn't bothered by it. The pair fit surprisingly well together, able to have deep personal connections with each other and a light, flirtatious scene, and despite what a the extreme Tumblr feminists believe, being involved in a romantic relationship does NOT weaken Black Widow's character. Natasha is still important to the team and uses her intelligence and super assassin skills to help take down Ultron. Besides, she demonstrates that she has total control over the Hulk, so if anything, Bruce is HER love interest.

Now on to some positives.

VISION

Vision is better than you could ever have dreamed. True, his origin story is slightly different than the comics, but that doesn't take away from his character. It's fabulous finally seeing Paul Bettany in action in a Marvel movie. I promised no spoilers, but I can assure you that the Vision will certainly surprise you. One of the best parts of the film.

ULTRON

James Spader does an incredible job with Ultron. This mechanical intelligence force is everything you could want in a villian. He's large, intimidating, and equipped with some crazy powerful lasers. The animation on him is glorious, the voice acting is superb, and he even has a few sarcastic one-liners. Overall, he made a pretty scary bad guy, the perfect villain for our reunited team of Avengers to face.

The rest of the Avengers cast is amazing as always; I don't think I need to remind you how hilarious Iron Man is or how heroic Captain America is. Avengers: Age of Ultron is definitely the must-see blockbuster movie of the summer.

New Age of Ultron Posters and Trailer

Avengers:  Age of Ultron is officially only two months away. To further fuel the fans' excitement, Marvel has released a brand new movie poster and new character posters via Twitter this week. Personally I feel the movie poster looks a little too photoshopped--what with Black Widow being half the size of Iron Man, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver hanging off the side of a building, and Nick Fury lurking in the dark background--but I still immediately set it as my iPod wallpaper.

The character posters are a little more dramatic, featuring a close-up of each character standing amid a desolate street. Overall, these posters have totally added to the hype. Which one is your favorite?

 

---BREAKING---

Today, Marvel revealed the third Age of Ultron trailer, in all of its magnificent glory. Originally planned to be released tomorrow, Marvel held a little Twitter contest with the fans and gave us the trailer as a reward, and this one is completely different from the first two We have all new scenes and dialogue, including some conversation between Bruce Banner and Tony Stark about Tony creating Ultron and some new action sequences. My favorite part is that we get to see a sample of the interaction in the team. It seems that among the action, everyone still gets to put in a sarcastic quip. I found this reassuring because the previous trailers made the movie seem much more serious than the first, but now we see that the team still has time to be funny while saving our world from utter destruction again. My hype levels are on overload right now. Check out the video below.

 

New Trailer for the Netflix Series "Daredevil"

Along with the growing anticipation of Age of Ultron, Marvel is also giving us another series to hold us over while we wait to see what perils await our heroes. Daredevil is a short series exclusively on Netflix that will be released April 10. A Daredevil full-length movie was made in 2003 starring Ben Affleck, but apparently it was a flop at the box office. I feel like this modern rendition of the superhero will certainly do him justice.

Besides that one failed film from twelve years ago, Daredevil hasn't gotten much attention from the media. Like all Marvel heroes, Daredevil has a lengthy comic series to his name, but fans who might have only joined the Marvel Universe with the recent Avengers film series might not know anything about who this masked hero is and why he is important enough to be excited over. For this purpose, I've done a bit of comic digging to find a brief summary of his origin story.

Matt Murdock was blinded due to a radioactive accident, but the encounter turned his other senses superhuman. He became a lawyer to bring criminals to justice through the legal system, but after his father was killed, he realized that sometimes the law couldn't catch all criminals. He then became the superhero Daredevil in order to protect his city, Hell's Kitchen in New York, in any way possible. He has fought many supervillains, including the Kingpin, and has worked alongside other superheroes such as Elektra and Spider-Man.

I'm hyped to delve more into Matt Murdock's storyline through the Netflix series, and eagerly await April 10.

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" Movie Review

The Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise has been rapidly growing throughout the past couple of years. More and more people have been watching the movies and falling in love with the superheroes that make up the series. The second-to-newest installment, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” certainly lives up to the fandom’s high expectations. Although it's been available on DVD since September, I feel like it still deserves plenty of hype, given that the events that occur are sure to have some part to play in the upcoming "Avengers:  Age of Ultron."

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“The Winter Soldier,” sequel to the first film starring everyone’s favorite star-spangled man, “Captain America:  The First Avenger,” is filled with action and excitement centering around a twisting plot line that will keep audiences on the edges of their seats. It takes place after the Avengers split up in “The Avengers,” leaving Captain America, played by Chris Evans, serving under the intelligence organization S.H.I.E.L.D. There he carries out missions against terrorism and other threats with the help of fellow Avengers member Black Widow, played by Scarlet Johansson. Captain America is still having trouble adjusting to the modern world, and what little stability he finds is turned upside down when director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, is killed by an assassin known only as the Winter Soldier. More confused than ever about who he can trust, Captain America decides to hunt down the Winter Soldier and take his revenge. Matters take a turn for the worse when he is accused of withholding information about Fury’s death and is hunted by S.H.I.E.L.D. He teams up with Black Widow, and together they set out to discover who Fury’s murderer really is.

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While “The Winter Soldier” certainly has an exhilarating plot line, it is really the characters that make the film. Captain America, Black Widow, and Nick Fury are already fan favorites in the Marvel Universe, and the actors are all amazing at bringing a new level of depth to these well-loved characters. The film also introduces a few new superheroes, such as Sam Wilson/Falcon, played by Anthony Mackie. Fans who have read the comics were excited to learn of Falcon’s involvement, and they are not disappointed. Mackie is everything that they were hoping for. Falcon is strong and courageous, reflecting all of Captain America’s positives and making a good partner in heroics for the star. The person that steals the spotlight though is Sebastian Stan returning from “The First Avenger” as Captain America’s best friend, Bucky Barnes and also the Winter Soldier. Stan is perfect in the role, able to act as the murderous weapon of HYDRA while showing the vulnerable side of the man from Captain America’s past.

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“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” is an essential piece to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is electrifying and remarkable, containing plot twists that will be crucial to future Marvel movies and character development that expands upon the characters that fans everywhere already hold dear to their hearts. “The Winter Soldier” is definitely as astounding, if not more, than the box office record-breaker “The Avengers.” Anyone who loved “The Avengers” and is hyped to see the second Avengers movie, “Age of Ultron” releasing May 1, needs to see “The Winter Soldier” first.

Age of Ultron Hype

It's here. The Age of Ultron is upon us.

If you haven't seen either of the epic trailers yet, I'm not sure what internet-less hole you've been hiding in. The first trailer, released in October, currently has over 67 millions views on YouTube with the second trailer, released in January with currently 32 million views, quickly catching up. The second trailer, embedded above, is mostly the same as the first, but features a few different snippets from the movie. All over social media, people are analyzing the quick clips and hints of scenes, comparing events to the comics, and sharing their overall excitement for the movie, officially releasing in the U.S. on May 1.

After the first Avenges movie wowed the world in 2012, thousands of Marvel fans are eagerly awaiting the next installment in the Marvel Comic Universe, or MCU - Age of Ultron. Marvel has released four other movies since the first Avengers, including Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Guardians of the Galaxy. I saw all of these films in the past two years, and I can personally testify that they more than lived up to the expectations that Marvel has established for its superhero franchise.

While each of these four movies were certainly satisfying in their fulfillment of my thirst for superhero action, they did not quell my excitement for seeing the team get back together in Age of Ultron. The Avengers was the first movie that snagged my interest in the MCU and I am thrilled to see the cast back up on the big screen in what I'm sure will be the most epic movie of the year. In three out of the four Phase 2 films, we got to see what some of the team has been up to, but what about the rest of the members, namely the Hulk and Hawkeye? If the destructive Hulkbuster battle shown in the trailer is any indication, it seems that Bruce Banner is having some issues controlling his anger, but where has Clint Barton been this whole time? Interviews with director and screenwriter Joss Whedon and the rest of the cast have revealed nothing about the archer's activities in the time between the first Avengers and Age of Ultron. They seem determined to keep any plot development on this character a complete secret. We are also left wondering about how the two new additions, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, end up fitting in with the rest of the established team.

What we do know, is that somehow all of these heroes must bond together once more to stop Ultron, arguably the most dangerous villain in all of the MCU, with possible exception to Thanos, the antagonist of the upcoming Infinity Wars. Since Whedon did such a fantastic job on the first Avengers film, I am confident that Age of Ultron will not disappoint.

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In case you haven't seen them yet, here are the new set images that were just officially released last week. I am so hyped for May 1, where I'm hoping to be among the lucky ones at the premiere, shifting excitedly in my seat as the title music booms throughout the theater.