Review: Avengers - Age of Ultron (spoiler free)

Title: Avengers - Age of Ultron
Rating: 12A
Cast:
Robert Downey Jr. ... Tony Stark / Iron Man
Chris Hemsworth ... Thor
Mark Ruffalo ... Bruce Banner / Hulk
Chris Evans ... Steve Rogers / Captain America
Scarlett Johansson ... Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow
Jeremy Renner ... Clint Barton / Hawkeye
James Spader ... Ultron (voice)
Samuel L. Jackson ... Nick Fury
Don Cheadle ... James Rhodes / War Machine
Aaron Taylor-Johnson ... Pietro Maximoff / Quicksilver
Elizabeth Olsen ... Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch
Paul Bettany ... Jarvis / Vision
Cobie Smulders ... Maria Hill

Summary (IMDB): When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and it is up to the Avengers to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plans.

First off let me say I really enjoyed the movie. I was entertained the whole way through and it didn't screw up as far as my head canons go, which is always nice :). However, I wasn't blown away. With every MCU movie including and since Avengers, I have walked out of the cinema wanting to walk right back in and watch it again - not so with Age of Ultron. Oh, I have it on pre-order, but I was not overtaken with the desire to see it again immediately.

The dialogue is brilliant, the characters are superb, the action is well done, the special effects are awesome, however, for me, the plot falls down.

First of all the good stuff. The dialogue in this film is magnificent. It is, in places, hilarious. The timing is perfect and the one liners are brilliant. You can tell this cast know each other well and get on like a house on fire, even when they are in conflict. The script, when it comes to interactions between the characters, is flawless.

I love the characters and where they have been taken. They are all a little bit broken, and that is very important and yet they are strong. The interpersonal relationships really come through and where they took some of the characters was awesome. I really liked all the directions Joss took it in. They were unexpected and, for me, perfectly done, but I suspect some people are grinding their teeth :). The reveals that happen were great and the reactions of the other characters to certain reveals was really nicely done. I also loved the new characters.

The action sequences are exciting and engaging. I've seen some films recently (Jupiter Ascending for example) where I thought some of the chase scenes etc were too long, not in Ultron. I thought everything was put together very well. The film starts with a bang and keeps going.

The special effects are wonderful, as we have come to expect. They defy reality and make you believe what is going on.

The cast is marvellous. I love, love, love seeing Paul Bettany rather than just hearing him. James Spader had the sexiest voice ever, even when he is being a psychotic machine. Everyone else is brilliant. They all pulled off what they were asked to and I love them all.

BUT ...

The plot was messy, bits just didn't make sense and it felt to me as if the film should have been another hour longer to make sense of everything. Thor has his own little part, that just felt silly, Yes, thank you for the gratuitous shirtless scene, but that whole sub-plot needs at least another half hour to make sense. I suspect if you are familiar with the comics it's fine, not so for me. There are also things that happens to several characters where it felt very meh.

Unfortunately, to me, this felt like a fill in film, one that is a bridge rather than being utterly wonderful in it's own right. I never had that sense with the Avengers - yes it was all about bringing the team together, but it was still an awesome story all of it's own. This had Ultron, but it still felt like a stepping stone to The Infinity War arc, not it's own entity. I think that's because it tried to cram in too much.

Don't get me wrong, I honestly, really, really enjoyed it and I recommend it to all fans of the MCU, but I don't think it's as good as those that have gone before.

Heads up for Thor 2 collectors in the UK

So I was in Home Bargains this morning and they have the Thor 2 4'' figures in for £2.99 a pop. Not a price I have seen beaten anywhere :). These are all the figures they had in ours (click to see larger version) - so if you are after them I suggest you hightail it to your closest store (or they are selling them in random pairs on the website here).

How was I supposed to resist?

Review: Guardians of the Galaxy - Let me tell you how much I love this film :)

Title: Guardians of the Galaxy
Rating: 12A
Cast:
Chris Pratt ... Peter Quill
Zoe Saldana ... Gamora
Dave Bautista ... Drax
Vin Diesel ... Groot (voice)
Bradley Cooper ... Rocket (voice)
Lee Pace ... Ronan
Michael Rooker ... Yondu Udonta
Karen Gillan ... Nebula
Summary: Peter Quill is abducted from Earth just after his mother dies. All grown up he retrieves an orb for a high paying client only to find himself being chased down by the lackies of Ronan, a warlord with an eye to destroying planets.

Let's just get the squee out of the way first - I loved this film, it was awesome. It's a romp of an adventure and oh, so, so ,so funny. I was laughing so hard at points I cried.

Okay, now I can be rational and tell you why I enjoyed it.

This film is unashamed fun. It's fast, with engaging characters, a decent plot and lots of special effects.I didn't feel it was anywhere near as complex at any of the other phase 2 MCU films or even some of phase 1, but then, that wasn't what it was for. There is none of the political intrigue of Captain America: Winter Soldier or the schenanigans of Iron Man 3, the Avengers or Thor 2, but then this is the Guardians first outing, so that would have been difficult. I think they went the right way and gave us a very entertaining film to introduce the characters with a lot of laughs.

The bad guys in this are bad and the good guys are good (even though they are supposed to be a little grey) and even the neutrals are good really :). It's an honest adventure, which is really an epic fantasy quest in space.

The whole cast is great, but Chris Pratt is simply amazing and so is Bradley Cooper. They are the comic genius of the film and their timing is simply stupendous. Peter Quill is a self-centred, arrogant idiot - only of course he's not at all and you see more and more of his true self as the film goes on. Rocket is a Raccoon and you'd think that would be hard to relate to, but he turns out to be one of the deepest, most human characters in it. Rocket is brilliant.

I loved the relationships between the characters as well. They felt kind of real. No one is a real hero, except possibly Groot. The whole disappointed father and rebellious son vibe between Yondu and Peter is so well done. Yondu is also a brilliantly kick-ass character. The relationship between Gamora and Nebula is wonderful as well. Both adopted daughters of Thanos their interactions are complex and not simply good gal, bad gal.

The plot in general holds together well. It makes sense in a step by step manner. There are a few details that made me go -  huh, but that's more to do with physics and biology than the plot :). The only problem I had with it was the lack of detail about some of the players. Unlike in the Thor movies we didn't have an Anthony Hopkins voice over to introduce the main background conflict. We did have a Lee Pace voice over, but it didn't have enough detail for me. It didn't explain who both sides were and why they had been in conflict in the first place. I don't know anything more about the Kree at the end of the film than I did at the beginning, expect the fact that they're arseholes in general. Lee Pace's voice over talks about the traditions of his people, but never mentions what those actually are exactly.

The only other issue I had with the film is the same as I had with Thor 2 - the villain is two dimensional. Both Ronan and Malekith suffer from the same, I am the big bad, but I have all the emotional depth of a paddling pool problem. That's not to say the actors didn't do a good job, they did, but their characters weren't really given any depth to work with. They're both fanatics, but I never really understood why.

Ronan is bad and doesn't like the universe the way it is so wants to kill people. That's about all I got for his motivation. Yes he's a pawn of Thanos, but Loki was a pawn of Thanos too and he had depth out the whazoo. The good guys have so much more depth and even Nebula has a deeper character that is made Ronan look very uninteresting as an antagonist. I don't know, maybe I would get more from him on a second viewing. After all it is possible I was so focused on the good guys I just didn't take enough notice of him, but I'm not so sure. I've seen Thor 2 more than once and still find Malekith not very interesting.

That being said, this is still a great movie. I could watch it again and again. It has everything to push all my buttons, from funny characters to an epic adventure with a little bit of the mystical thrown in. This is my kind of film. I can't wait for Guardians 2. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did.

Have you seen the film, did you love it? Were there any parts you would have changed or was it perfect for you?

Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier - It's Awesome!

Title: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Rating: 12A
Cast:
Scarlett Johansson ... Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow
Sebastian Stan ... Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier
Chris Evans ... Steve Rogers / Captain America
Samuel L. Jackson ... Nick Fury
Robert Redford ... Alexander Pierce
Anthony Mackie ... Sam Wilson / The Falcon
Summary:
Steve is having trouble reconciling his role as an agent of SHIELD with what he feels is right. When a legendary assassin known as the Winter Soldier shows up to cause trouble within the very heart of the organisation Steve must find his own path.

First of all, just like all the MCU movies, this is awesome. It's fast, it's plotted well and the characters are wonderful. As ever there are moments of the most serious actions interspersed with gems of humour that lift the whole thing.

However, I didn't feel like it was actually a film about the Winter Soldier. Don't get me wrong, he's important, but actually not the most important part. I can't say too much or I will give things away and this is a spoiler free review, but I kind of felt as if I had been miss sold the movie. I totally see why they did it that way and it's kind of genius, but yeah, I definitely did not see the film I thought I was going to see. Please note I am not a comic fan, so I take very little knowledge about them into the MCU.

This does not mean I didn't love it, not at all, it was utterly awesome.

The action in this is non-stop. It is a array of the most wonderful fight scenes, special effects and stunts and by the end I was exhausted, yet wanted to see it all again immediately. I think the comic book movies are coming into their own these days because the technology is finally there to pull them off. The look of this film is amazing. I never once stopped to question the physics or the machines; they were just real.

Then there is the plot which is part action movie, part espionage thriller and part buddy movie. It's superb. It was partially obvious, even Rob spotted it a mile off, but there were details which were a shock. Again, not a comic fan, so I didn't have any info to give away all the subtleties. There was only one really big surprise, however, and that was the end, but I can't say what that is, however, it's epic.

The characters are also fabulous. I love Falcon, he is so good and I definitely wanted more of the sidekick in the movie, not less. Anthony Mackie plays him beautifully and he's not just a 2D prop for Cap. The way we see them first meet if comic gold.

Sam Jackson is as awesome (sorry, that word seems to fit so well) as Nick Fury as ever and in this one we actually get to see character evolution, so yay!

Scarlett Johansson is simply brilliant as Natasha. We really get to see the grey in her nature and she is the perfect foil for Steve with all his truth and justice mentality. She gets her world view shaken and it is amazing to watch. She also, of course, kicks arse.

Finally for what I think of as team Cap we have the big man himself and Chris Evans is fabulous as ever. He is the rock in the film, the pillar of all that is right. At points you have to ask is he the only thing that is right. The way he is struggling with the modern world, not because of all the technology, but because of all the social changes is well handled. I thought it was the perfect angle. His fight scenes are also epic.

Then we have Robert Redford as Secretary Pierce, or the guy who bosses the Council around. He is played beautifully, and that is all I am going to say.

Finally Sebastian Stan as The Winter Soldier is superb. He's cold, he's dangerous and he's merciless. I can't say much more just in case someone is reading this who isn't aware of the worst kept spoiler known to man and doesn't recognise actor names.

Now for my shallow moment - oh lord this is an attractive cast. It's not quite as overwhelming as The Avengers, but Chris Evans' abs and chest should have a health warning. We don't actually get a shirtless scene, but with the t-shirt he wears at times being quite so tight, we don't need one! Then there are the "superhero" costumes - oh boy, I love those. Scarlett is, of course, stunning as well and just, yes, this film has eye candy out the whazoo.

[Edit - Soph made a good point when she shared this on G+ - we might not get a Cap shirtless scene, but we do get a Winter Soldier shirtless scene with lots of hurt/comfort possibilities. As she said - buttons pushed, oh yes.]

P.S. There are two credit scenes, one in-credit and one after-credit - stay for both.

When's the DVD coming out again (adds it to Amazon alerts)?

Review: Iron Man 3

Title: Iron Man 3
Cast:
Robert Downey Jr. ... Tony Stark
Gwyneth Paltrow ... Pepper Potts
Don Cheadle ... Colonel James Rhodes
Guy Pearce ... Aldrich Killian
Rebecca Hall ... Maya Hansen
Jon Favreau ... Happy Hogan
Ben Kingsley ... The Mandarin

Summary: The USA is under threat by a terrorist named The Mandarin who keeps hacking into their TV to show pictures of atrocities and make threats. People are dying in explosions all over the world. Tony Stark is having trouble with flashbacks to New York and his underlying need to protect Pepper. When circumstances put him up against the Mandarin he starts a journey that will change everything ... again.

I love this film. There are no two ways about it, Soph and I snuck off to see it yesterday afternoon and I would go and see it again today in a heartbeat. However, I have seen people say it's better than The Avengers and I would have to disagree. It's not the acting or the effects or the plot that make me say that, it's the humour. Maybe it needs a few Norse deities to knock off screen or a Hulk, but the humour in The Avengers is better. There are parts that are very funny (and if I tell you the funniest bit in my opinion it will be a huge spoiler, so I'm not going to, I will just say it made me think of a  toad) and the first scene where he is testing the new armour is brilliant.

That being said, it is still an awesome movie and a must see for everyone.

One question, was it originally supposed to be a Christmas release? Given the whole Christmas theme running through it, it seemed a little strange it came out in April.

Let's start with the plot. Now I'm not a comic book fan, I know very little of what goes on in them, so I have no idea if it appalled comic book fans, I just know I think the plot is a gem. It's well paced, well thought out, well written and I loved it. Yes there is a kid in it at certain points, a kid that could have made it so Disney and so not Marvel, but he is brilliant and the plot uses him perfectly, IMHO.

The effects are epic and I really mean that. I saw it in 2D because I hate 3D and it was magnificent. All the battles were simply amazing and every moment of them held my attention. I was not sitting there at all at any point looking at my watch wondering when it would end (unlike in Oblivion the other week). The effects outside the battles are also fantastic and I do love the new armour.

So, on to what really makes this movie for me: the actors and their characters.

Let's start with the man himself; Robert Downey Jr is astonishingly good. He gives 100% to the role and it totally engaging all the way through. Also, is he ageing backwards? What? I'm allowed to be shallow every now and then.

Tony Stark in this movie is brilliant. I love the fact that he has PTSD from New York. At the end of The Avengers you see him shrug it all off, but that's just an act. That there are consequences, even for the great Tony Stark, humanise him in a way that even the whole dying thing from #2 didn't. The way this movie takes him back to basics is brilliant and it is perfect that someone actually has to give him the advice (please forgive me if the quote is not quite right, I am quoting from memory):
'You said you were a mechanic right? ... Then just build something.'

The fact that a lot of his psychological fallout comes from that he feels he needs to protect Pepper is also spot on. I love how these films are brining them closer and closer together, because they are one kick arse couple.

Which brings me nicely on to Pepper. Oh wow, I love her in this movie. She is awesome. She gets to save Tony - yay! She gets to wear the suit - yay! She gets to be utterly awesome without the suit (for reasons I cannot go into or it would count as an epic spoiler) - yay! She also gets to be Pepper, you know, CEO, intelligent, not taking Tony's shit, running a multi-billion pound company like the amazing woman she is. So yeah, I'm a bit Pepper fan.

Then we have Rhodey who is also fab. The way Tony takes the piss out of him after War Machine is re-branded as Iron Patriot is so cool. The fact that he has a real part in the plot in this movie is also brilliant.

You really see how much of a friend he is to Tony and how much of a fabulous officer he is as well. He gets to be a hero as well as a foil for Tony Stark.

EDIT: I can't believe I forgot one of my favourite characters. JARVIS, how could I forget him. He is so completely brilliant in this movie and he gets to kick butt. I have always loved the way Paul Bettany voices him, but he actually gets to do lots of stuff in this movie. We also get to see how he is not completely infallible in a most amusing way. JARVIS rocks.

So, on to the bad guys. Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin is fantastically evil. He does Bin Laden type terrorist so very, very well. He is evil incarnate and eloquent and exactly how he should be.

Ben Kingsley is also brilliant for other reasons that I cannot reveal because of spoilers.

Then the other baddie is Aldrich Killian played by Guy Pierce who is superbly slimy. He does creepy and bad in a way that made me want to slap him; which I think is a good reaction. I can't say too much without spoilers, but he is deliciously bad.

You first see him as he is on the left at a business meeting with Pepper and when he kisses her on the cheek to say goodbye I already wanted to shoot him between the eyes. He's played that well.

The other characters are also engaging and interesting: The President, Happy, Maya, and it is a well rounded, visually stunning, fast paced, exciting film.

My favourite part of all would be a huge spoiler, so I will just say, Barrel of Monkeys and be done with it. It was so innovative (even though I'm pretty sure the physics and biology of one part of it were not compatible) and I thought it was brilliant.

This film will stay with me for a long time ... when's the blu-ray coming out? :)