Age of Ultron: My Thoughts
Fair warning, there may be some incoherent rambling ahead. I still am trying to wrap my head around this movie.
I've now seen the movie three times, and I have to say, that I really, really like it. The first viewing was purely as a fan. I cringed anytime Bruce and Natasha were on screen together. I stared in awe at any Hawkeye scene and wanted more. I loved Ultron, how he acted like a rage filled teenager. Wanda and Pietro were great additions, with Wanda being my favorite twin. Vision was damned near perfect, and the theater collectively gasped when he handed Thor his hammer. The ending with Cap and Widow getting ready to train the new recruits. There was very little to dislike.
That being said, what I did dislike, I really, really disliked. In hindsight, I am so very glad that I was spoiled about everything before I saw this movie. When you participate in a fandom and have to wait three years for new material, you have a tendency to create a head space that grows the narrative and the characters in the way that you would prefer, and when it doesn't turn out the way you expect, it is very jarring. This happened to me in the Harry Potter fandom. I had an expectation that was not fulfilled, and I had to adjust in order to separate from my head canon.
This was very much true with AoU. Shipping aside, I saw the story going a different way, and I needed time to adjust my way of thinking so that I could enjoy what we were given. Spoilers did that for me. I had time to grieve the sinking of my ship. Clint and Nat will never be canon, and I am ok with it. Fanfic is an amazing medium, and there are so many talented writers out there that continue their storytelling regardless of the events in AoU. I have a place to go to fill that need. It's awesome.
I will never be sold on the Bruce/Nat story. Never. It felt forced, out of context, they had zero chemistry, and even though now I've read some interviews that try to explain where they were going with that, it was just poorly executed. I even get that these are two people who see only the worst about themselves and that they have that in common. Set against the backdrop of Clint's happy family, they lament to everything they can't have. Natasha is clearly the aggressor here; it is she whom is doing the chasing. I did not see her as the love interest. Bruce was her love interest, and I see that she was trying to make a choice. But in the end, she choses the job, pushes Bruce into becoming the thing that he doesn't want, and goes on to save the day. There is a bit of hypocrisy there, and Bruce may have felt betrayed by that, thus his leaving on a jet plane. I do feel that as a romantic pair, they are done. Although her conversation with Fury at the end again felt forced. I like to hope that she focuses on the team, training with the New Avengers, and further strengthening the relationships she does have. She and Steve have a great rapport. And Clint is her best friend.
I love everything Barton Family. Give me more Laura Barton (oh, the fic potential is so, so great), give me more DaddyHawk, give me all the Natasha is a part of this family. She and Laura are the best of friends, both fulfilling different needs in Clint's life, and they both accept who they are for him. When little Lila asked if Daddy had brought Auntie Nat, I almost melted in a puddle of goo. If Whedon's purpose here was to show how Clint and Nat can have a meaningful relationship without the sex, then this he did write well. There is so much established about Clint and Nat in the scenes at the farm. And Laura. Who is this woman who holds Clint's life together in such a way that he comes home to her every time. I Need To Know.
I see why the critics have said that Hawkeye is the best thing about the film. I read that the studio didn't want the farm scenes, and that Whedon had to fight to keep them in. It would have done a serious disservice to the movie if they had been cut. It gives us time to pause and think about how this fight, this villain, is affecting them. Wanda hit them with a big damn stick, and it really opens up each character that we get to pause with them to take a breath before the final fight. And seeing what each of them fears is how we can relate to these gods and monsters.
This is mostly me rambling on, and I plan to see it again in the theaters, if only so I can see my favorite Avenger being awesome. But tl;dr version- it's a good movie, even though there were parts of it I didn't like.
I've now seen the movie three times, and I have to say, that I really, really like it. The first viewing was purely as a fan. I cringed anytime Bruce and Natasha were on screen together. I stared in awe at any Hawkeye scene and wanted more. I loved Ultron, how he acted like a rage filled teenager. Wanda and Pietro were great additions, with Wanda being my favorite twin. Vision was damned near perfect, and the theater collectively gasped when he handed Thor his hammer. The ending with Cap and Widow getting ready to train the new recruits. There was very little to dislike.
That being said, what I did dislike, I really, really disliked. In hindsight, I am so very glad that I was spoiled about everything before I saw this movie. When you participate in a fandom and have to wait three years for new material, you have a tendency to create a head space that grows the narrative and the characters in the way that you would prefer, and when it doesn't turn out the way you expect, it is very jarring. This happened to me in the Harry Potter fandom. I had an expectation that was not fulfilled, and I had to adjust in order to separate from my head canon.
This was very much true with AoU. Shipping aside, I saw the story going a different way, and I needed time to adjust my way of thinking so that I could enjoy what we were given. Spoilers did that for me. I had time to grieve the sinking of my ship. Clint and Nat will never be canon, and I am ok with it. Fanfic is an amazing medium, and there are so many talented writers out there that continue their storytelling regardless of the events in AoU. I have a place to go to fill that need. It's awesome.
I will never be sold on the Bruce/Nat story. Never. It felt forced, out of context, they had zero chemistry, and even though now I've read some interviews that try to explain where they were going with that, it was just poorly executed. I even get that these are two people who see only the worst about themselves and that they have that in common. Set against the backdrop of Clint's happy family, they lament to everything they can't have. Natasha is clearly the aggressor here; it is she whom is doing the chasing. I did not see her as the love interest. Bruce was her love interest, and I see that she was trying to make a choice. But in the end, she choses the job, pushes Bruce into becoming the thing that he doesn't want, and goes on to save the day. There is a bit of hypocrisy there, and Bruce may have felt betrayed by that, thus his leaving on a jet plane. I do feel that as a romantic pair, they are done. Although her conversation with Fury at the end again felt forced. I like to hope that she focuses on the team, training with the New Avengers, and further strengthening the relationships she does have. She and Steve have a great rapport. And Clint is her best friend.
I love everything Barton Family. Give me more Laura Barton (oh, the fic potential is so, so great), give me more DaddyHawk, give me all the Natasha is a part of this family. She and Laura are the best of friends, both fulfilling different needs in Clint's life, and they both accept who they are for him. When little Lila asked if Daddy had brought Auntie Nat, I almost melted in a puddle of goo. If Whedon's purpose here was to show how Clint and Nat can have a meaningful relationship without the sex, then this he did write well. There is so much established about Clint and Nat in the scenes at the farm. And Laura. Who is this woman who holds Clint's life together in such a way that he comes home to her every time. I Need To Know.
I see why the critics have said that Hawkeye is the best thing about the film. I read that the studio didn't want the farm scenes, and that Whedon had to fight to keep them in. It would have done a serious disservice to the movie if they had been cut. It gives us time to pause and think about how this fight, this villain, is affecting them. Wanda hit them with a big damn stick, and it really opens up each character that we get to pause with them to take a breath before the final fight. And seeing what each of them fears is how we can relate to these gods and monsters.
This is mostly me rambling on, and I plan to see it again in the theaters, if only so I can see my favorite Avenger being awesome. But tl;dr version- it's a good movie, even though there were parts of it I didn't like.