Jeff - my 8 year old loved it and there was nothing beyond the little bit of language that was previously mentioned. They actually turned the "bad language" into a bit of a joke in the movie.
*WARNING - SPOILERS GALORE*
I saw it yesterday and thought it was even better than the first. The story was solid from front to back, visuals were amazing, they managed to keep the fun/joking despite a darker story, and I thought they had a great balance across all the characters despite how easy it would be to push a few of these guys to the background. Spader's Ultron was entertaining and came across perfectly from the comics as a creature who outwardly despises humanity, but can't help taking on human forms. Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver were all done really well - maybe even better than their comic counterparts. I thought it would be tough to explain her power in so little time, and they changed the nature of it to a great extent, but her "weirdness" was really well done. I thought the Quicksilver speed would be tough to portray as well, but he had a ton of really well filmed scenes. Bringing in Falcon and War Machine for small roles was great to see as well and really helps tie these movies together. I got chills watching Iron Man and War Machine pair up again towards the end and seeing the new cast take shape. While the stories may differ, this is such a great nod to what the Avengers mean to me in the comics.
Has Marvel finally turned the magic corner where the fans root for them to fail?
Apparently so. I'm really surprised at the reactions from some of the critics' reviews and comments here. I heard complaints on the radio this morning about how Ultron didn't seem robotic enough, RDJ seems too old to be Stark, there were too many jokes given the gravity of what was happening, that Avengers was trying to capitalize on the WTC attack by demolishing a building, etc. Seriously? I totally understand that people are going to have their own opinions and we all like different things. And as an Avengers fan since 2nd grade, I'm equally aware that I might have a greater appreciation for the characters and stories verus genpop. But I would love to better understand some of the feedback. Maybe people are just burnt out or looking for something not to like? This film was near perfect for me and easily cracks my top 10 of all time.
Good, certainly not great. Far behind some of the other Marvel movies but I still enjoyed it.
Far behind which other Marvel movies? GOTG, IM, and Winter Soldier are probably my top 3, but this and the first Avengers round out my top 5. Curious to know which ones you'd put so far ahead of this one?
Just got back. It was alright... nothing special though, which keeps it consistent with the rest of the Phase 2 films IMO. It almost felt like there were too many characters, and unlike the first, they couldn't find enough screen time for them all.
I thought they did an amazing job finding relevant storylines for everyone in the cast AND was delighted to see supporting characters show up from the other films, like Heimdall, Erik Selvig, Falcon, War Machine, etc. Likewise, I was happy that we didn't get Coulson, Potts, Jane Foster, or more Loki as I think having
everyone show would be over the top. I was a little disappointed that Widow's primary role was a love interest for Banner - that felt forced - but it didn't really detract from the movie for me and made Hulk's disappearing act at the end a little more meaningful.
Maybe I was too hyped up for it, or maybe I was expecting someone to be offed. I dunno.
You mean someone like Quicksilver?
Were you hoping for multiple deaths? All signs were pointing to Hawkeye (who's one of my favorite characters), so I thought they did a great job switching that up, while still taking someone out. I was never a fan of Pietro in the comics, but thought he was great here. I kept hoping he'd pull a Coulson or the witch would resurrect him.
Hawkeyes house was a drag...I also felt the Klaw inclusion was a bit much as well but there was some cool fights. I could quite possibly be reaching Super Hero overload...
I think you may be reaching Super Hero overload. They needed to slow things up and get the Avengers off the grid for a while, so while Hawkeye's hideout slowed down the story, I felt like they needed that break. This is a team that always wins, so to get so decimated they really needed a break. Clint having a family was the only part of the movie I really didn't care for - not because it was slow, but because that's not who he is in the comics. I thought he seemed to have something going with the Widow in the first film (and dated her in the comics) and they introduced his comic wife, Bobbi Morse, in AOS, so to make him the family man felt weird to me.
As for cameos like Klaw, I love those little nods to the fanbase. Out of curiosity, would you have liked the movie more if it was "Random Arms Dealer" guy instead of Klaw? Its not a deal breaker for me either way. The vast majority of people don't know anything about Klaw, so at worst these character additions are just nice Easter Eggs showing comic characters we'll never see elsewhere. At best, they have the opportunity to go back to that character later on to tell more story. I love it when comics set up seemingly small subplots that have the potential to grow into something big later down the road.
I also didn't like how they couldn't figure out the stone was doing the same don thing it was doing to them in the first movie (infighting)...could be the sameness of a lot of these Marvel plots (hey let's try and recover this stolen gem)
I'm confused...the mind gem in the Chitauri Scepter is what Loki was using to manipulate people in the first film. In this movie, the Witch was using her own power to prey on the fears of various team members. Was there something more to the mind gem in Avengers 2 that I missed? When the team is in-fighting over Vision, I think that was more about standing up for their beliefs versus any kind of mind control. As for the gems, Guardians, Cap 1, Thor 2, and Avengers were the only ones really focused on recovering them. Iron Man 1-3, Thor 1, & Cap 2 don't touch on them and I thought the mind gem in Avengers 2 was a really small part. They have to touch on them to some extent to build the larger Thanos storyline.
Anyway, sorry for the long rant. My son loved it, I loved it, I'll definitely see it over and over again. God Bless America.
