Avengers: Age of Ultron
Finally managed to catch Avengers over the weekend. I thought it was pretty fun, and some of the lines or gags were just hilarious. Got quite a few laughs in the audience, on a Sunday night no less!
[Spoilers and show-related thoughts]One of my favourites is at the beginning, when Hawkeye gets shot and Black Widow rushes up to assist. "Will someone take care of that bunker please?" she requests, like it was a reminder to take out the trash. Hulk obliges, and that puts paid to the hostile fire. A little thing, but it clearly brings across the whole other level on which this group operates.
Hawkeye has some great lines too. "The city is flying and we're fighting an army of robots. And I have a bow and arrow." It seems ludicrous that someone with such an archaic weapon can hold his own, but turning it around clearly highlights the extraordinary caliber of his skills as a marksman.
I also liked the lead up to Ultron's actual intentions. Through the later part of the movie, I kept wondering what he was doing with the additional vibranium and his hideout in Sokovia. By the time I left the theatre, I realized it was Joss' way of topping an alien invasion: by bringing on an extinction-level event (ie a meteorite like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs). Now that is one-upmanship I can appreciate!
Cap's line "Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die” was of course echoing Project Insight, which I really appreciated having just watched Winter Soldier again. As was the scene where Scarlet Witch says "So this is S.H.I.E.L.D." when the helicarrier arrives, and Cap replies "This is what S.H.I.E.L.D. is supposed to be." It might not mean much to those just following the movies, but it sure resonates with the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. audience, since this is Coulson's vision for the organization. And man, the guy who refused the launch the Insight helicarriers is right there on the ship's bridge! Which also spotlights the woeful shortage ot S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Behind Fury and Hill, that guy is the most recognizable S.H.I.E.L.D. agent on the big screen!
One thing that wasn't quite clear to me was all the personnel, including Fury (and Hill?), at the new Avengers facility. Are these S.H.I.E.L.D. or Avengers support staff? If Avengers, why so many, especially all those trainees jogging round the perimeter? And especially since Avengers Tower previously seemed fine without them. I didn't manage to notice any S.H.I.E.L.D. or Avengers emblems, so can't say for sure, but could this be Coulson's Theta Protocol? (From what we know of it, it involved a lot of money, Coulson travelling all over the world, a whole lot of bunk beds, and possibly being a place to train powered people). Hopefully the next few episodes of S.H.I.E.L.D. will clear this up. And I still want to know what's in the cargo hold of the "real" S.H.I.E.L.D. ship/helicarrier.
And finally, I don't have an icon of the actual Crysis 2 box cover, but I noticed that the back shot of Ultron with the Maximoffs bears a striking resemblance.
[Spoilers and show-related thoughts]One of my favourites is at the beginning, when Hawkeye gets shot and Black Widow rushes up to assist. "Will someone take care of that bunker please?" she requests, like it was a reminder to take out the trash. Hulk obliges, and that puts paid to the hostile fire. A little thing, but it clearly brings across the whole other level on which this group operates.
Hawkeye has some great lines too. "The city is flying and we're fighting an army of robots. And I have a bow and arrow." It seems ludicrous that someone with such an archaic weapon can hold his own, but turning it around clearly highlights the extraordinary caliber of his skills as a marksman.
I also liked the lead up to Ultron's actual intentions. Through the later part of the movie, I kept wondering what he was doing with the additional vibranium and his hideout in Sokovia. By the time I left the theatre, I realized it was Joss' way of topping an alien invasion: by bringing on an extinction-level event (ie a meteorite like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs). Now that is one-upmanship I can appreciate!
Cap's line "Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die” was of course echoing Project Insight, which I really appreciated having just watched Winter Soldier again. As was the scene where Scarlet Witch says "So this is S.H.I.E.L.D." when the helicarrier arrives, and Cap replies "This is what S.H.I.E.L.D. is supposed to be." It might not mean much to those just following the movies, but it sure resonates with the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. audience, since this is Coulson's vision for the organization. And man, the guy who refused the launch the Insight helicarriers is right there on the ship's bridge! Which also spotlights the woeful shortage ot S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Behind Fury and Hill, that guy is the most recognizable S.H.I.E.L.D. agent on the big screen!
One thing that wasn't quite clear to me was all the personnel, including Fury (and Hill?), at the new Avengers facility. Are these S.H.I.E.L.D. or Avengers support staff? If Avengers, why so many, especially all those trainees jogging round the perimeter? And especially since Avengers Tower previously seemed fine without them. I didn't manage to notice any S.H.I.E.L.D. or Avengers emblems, so can't say for sure, but could this be Coulson's Theta Protocol? (From what we know of it, it involved a lot of money, Coulson travelling all over the world, a whole lot of bunk beds, and possibly being a place to train powered people). Hopefully the next few episodes of S.H.I.E.L.D. will clear this up. And I still want to know what's in the cargo hold of the "real" S.H.I.E.L.D. ship/helicarrier.
And finally, I don't have an icon of the actual Crysis 2 box cover, but I noticed that the back shot of Ultron with the Maximoffs bears a striking resemblance.