Age of Ultron!
May. 2nd, 2015 06:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nansliceAlright. I have thoughts about it. But first! I went with tapsters, who is in fandom (but not the MCU fandom), and two other people who aren’t fandom at all and the differences in our viewing experiences was so funny. Tapsters and I were questioning everything and meta-ing things and comparing stuff to previous movies and the other two were very much taking this movie as it was. It was funny how that worked out.
ANYWAY, my thoughts. Massive, massive spoilers for the entire movie.
I think my main problem with this movie is that I watched The Winter Soldier right before it, and that movie was so well-done and so good character-wise that it gave me Expectations, and that’s a dumb thing to have when you’re watching a Whedon movie. So let’s get started.
Positive stuff first!
I fucking loved the twins. I didn’t expect to care about them, I didn’t expect to even enjoy their moments but I really, really did. Wanda was so creepy and the way she was filmed at times so that she disappeared and reappeared and moving in jerky ways was so cool. Pietro’s speed was really well done and I enjoyed how he didn’t always seem to have control of it; he stumbled and faltered and it was nice to see that. They played off each other really well and their relationship was pretty great. I joked with tapsters that I was probably going to ship them but I don’t think I do, at least not the way I normally do. I can see how people would but I think I kind of view them as having a somewhat unhealthy but totally necessary codependent relationship where no one’s good enough for the other and they can only trust each other. I just really, really liked them. ;3;
Vision. VISION. At first I was like “the fuck is this?” but oh man, he was so cool. I loved him so much. And his casual usage of Thor’s hammer and the way everyone was like WHOA and the theater audience collectively shat their pants and man, it was so cool. Oh man. I loved it. And...okay, so I was assuming the scepter was an infinity stone anyway, but for that to be made explicitly clear, and for Thor to say “well Vision held my hammer, the stone’s safe with him” was pretty great as well. Oh man. So cool.
Steve. Steeeeeeve. My precious patriotic babe. ;3; I really didn’t like the whole “language!” thing but it ended up being a pretty funny running joke, so I’m letting that pass. He did get some good lines in and the elevator one was classic. I loved that he and Tony were kind of sore Vision was able to wield the hammer, what with their “robots have different rules” things. I loved it. It kind of childish, which really, Steve’s the youngest avenger, he’s not always got a scowl and “the right thing” molded on his brain. Whedon turns him into a boyscout but that’s not really who Steve Rogers is. But he was done fairly well in this film. And I did end up shipping him with a lot of people. ;3;
Thor. Thor is so wonderful. When he tried to cheer Bruce up but just completely failed and then tried to make that better and failed there was just. AUGH MAN. When he finished with “gaunt” I just fucking died.
Tony. Tony is clearly Whedon’s fave and he’s also Whedon’s favorite type of character and it really shows. And there’s really nothing wrong with having a favorite, I just. Tony was at the center of everything. He got the most (non-bullshit) characterization, we delved into his mind the most, and he got the best (or at least the longest) fight scenes. And it makes sense, since he’s the one who created Ultron and he’s the one who has to stop it but. I don’t know man. I don’t know. But I loved that his worst fear was failing the Avengers, failing his friends, and when he and dead!Cap clasped hands and Cap said “you could have done more, you could have saved us” or something like that, I was like “oh no I’m started to ship it.;;;;;” and At the end when Steve told Tony that he would miss him, I was like “oh no, shipper feels ;;;;;” But yeah, I really liked delving into Tony’s mind and seeing how he feels about the Avengers and everything, I just kind of wish there had been more for the others.
Clint. Clint had SUCH A WONDERFUL PERSONALITY THIS TIME AROUND. It really made up for the first Avengers movie where he didn’t really get to do much. Oh man. Oh man. I loved him.
Ultron. I loved how immediately terrifying he was. I loved that he acted like a virus, spreading across everything. He was also weirdly charming and some of his lines made me laugh painfully hard. So that was cool. ;3;
There were a lot of things in this movie that I really liked! But then there were huge, huge things I didn’t like.
The Bruce/Natasha romance. Okay so I’d been spoiled for this and I tried to think positively towards it since, you know, it could have worked out! But it really didn’t. I liked the “Hey Big Guy, the sun’s getting low” lullaby thing, that was pretty great. But this romance was basically the entirety of Natasha’s characterization???? I mean, she got some epic fight scenes, sure, but whenever it got quiet it came back to her and Bruce. Even her background, of being sterilized, came around to Bruce and how they’re both “monsters”. And Bruce did not get the same treatment because he was also helping Tony with Ultron. So I’m just like. Why is this happening? I love Natasha. I have loved her in every movie she’s been in. She’s so cool. And then this happens and I;m just like whaaaaat??? This romance could have worked so much better if it was just a part of Natasha’s role in this movie, not the entirety. At one point she wanted them to run away together. Guys, come on. I don’t. Why. I don’t understand.
Clint’s secret farm/secret family. Okay so. I actually loved that Clint had a secret farm but who are these people in it? Are you telling me that Clint has had a secret family this entire time (the older kid looked maybe 8? 9? idk kids are weird)? And Clint decided to bring superheroes who are currently being tailed by a evil computer robot thing? And this seemed like a good, safe idea? Because look, I get that the farm was a safe house but to even think of bringing this kind of danger to his family , seems really....not...smart. It really seemed like this was shoehorned in to show us that no, no, there’s nothing between Clint and Natasha, they definitely have lives outside of each other, which okay, great, but also naaah. This is why I don’t have a lot of het ships, guys. This right here. Heartbreaking. I am just going to ignore the people’s existence and keep the farm in my headcanon, hahaha.
Pietro’s death. So okay, like I said, I really liked the twins a lot soooooo why the fuck did Pietro have to die? There was no reason for it. Like. At all. Except I guess to make Clint retire from the team? I don’t know. It was cheap drama. Boo.
Clint retiring from the team. Technically Tony retired too but everyone knows he’s going to be in the third Cap movie so we know this wasn’t his last time out. Do we know this about Clint? Because goddamn it, he was barely in Avengers, he was awesome in AoU, and now he’s done? I hope that is not true. :\
The fight scenes. They went on too long. Especially the one between Iron Man and Hulk. Just. I realize this is a superhero movie but dude, calm down.
WHERE THE FUCK WAS BUCKY BARNES??? So, okay, on one hand I’m happy that Whedon basically ignored his existence (he was relegated to “a missing person” and when Sam said that to Steve, he didn’t even react) because goddamn, Whedon would probably just kill him, but on the other hand, the last time we saw Steve he was all about Bucky. So. I mean. I am not even being a shipper here, Bucky was Steve’s mission, and yes Ultron was a huge threat that needed to be dealt with, but not even a real mention of the childhood friend turned assassin? smh. smh indeed. Not even in Steve worst fear/mindfuck thing was Bucky mentioned. Whatever.
I mean, overall I was entertained and that’s all I could really expect. But there are definitely some things that happened that I’m going to need fandom to fix for me.
ANYWAY, my thoughts. Massive, massive spoilers for the entire movie.
I think my main problem with this movie is that I watched The Winter Soldier right before it, and that movie was so well-done and so good character-wise that it gave me Expectations, and that’s a dumb thing to have when you’re watching a Whedon movie. So let’s get started.
Positive stuff first!
I fucking loved the twins. I didn’t expect to care about them, I didn’t expect to even enjoy their moments but I really, really did. Wanda was so creepy and the way she was filmed at times so that she disappeared and reappeared and moving in jerky ways was so cool. Pietro’s speed was really well done and I enjoyed how he didn’t always seem to have control of it; he stumbled and faltered and it was nice to see that. They played off each other really well and their relationship was pretty great. I joked with tapsters that I was probably going to ship them but I don’t think I do, at least not the way I normally do. I can see how people would but I think I kind of view them as having a somewhat unhealthy but totally necessary codependent relationship where no one’s good enough for the other and they can only trust each other. I just really, really liked them. ;3;
Vision. VISION. At first I was like “the fuck is this?” but oh man, he was so cool. I loved him so much. And his casual usage of Thor’s hammer and the way everyone was like WHOA and the theater audience collectively shat their pants and man, it was so cool. Oh man. I loved it. And...okay, so I was assuming the scepter was an infinity stone anyway, but for that to be made explicitly clear, and for Thor to say “well Vision held my hammer, the stone’s safe with him” was pretty great as well. Oh man. So cool.
Steve. Steeeeeeve. My precious patriotic babe. ;3; I really didn’t like the whole “language!” thing but it ended up being a pretty funny running joke, so I’m letting that pass. He did get some good lines in and the elevator one was classic. I loved that he and Tony were kind of sore Vision was able to wield the hammer, what with their “robots have different rules” things. I loved it. It kind of childish, which really, Steve’s the youngest avenger, he’s not always got a scowl and “the right thing” molded on his brain. Whedon turns him into a boyscout but that’s not really who Steve Rogers is. But he was done fairly well in this film. And I did end up shipping him with a lot of people. ;3;
Thor. Thor is so wonderful. When he tried to cheer Bruce up but just completely failed and then tried to make that better and failed there was just. AUGH MAN. When he finished with “gaunt” I just fucking died.
Tony. Tony is clearly Whedon’s fave and he’s also Whedon’s favorite type of character and it really shows. And there’s really nothing wrong with having a favorite, I just. Tony was at the center of everything. He got the most (non-bullshit) characterization, we delved into his mind the most, and he got the best (or at least the longest) fight scenes. And it makes sense, since he’s the one who created Ultron and he’s the one who has to stop it but. I don’t know man. I don’t know. But I loved that his worst fear was failing the Avengers, failing his friends, and when he and dead!Cap clasped hands and Cap said “you could have done more, you could have saved us” or something like that, I was like “oh no I’m started to ship it.;;;;;” and At the end when Steve told Tony that he would miss him, I was like “oh no, shipper feels ;;;;;” But yeah, I really liked delving into Tony’s mind and seeing how he feels about the Avengers and everything, I just kind of wish there had been more for the others.
Clint. Clint had SUCH A WONDERFUL PERSONALITY THIS TIME AROUND. It really made up for the first Avengers movie where he didn’t really get to do much. Oh man. Oh man. I loved him.
Ultron. I loved how immediately terrifying he was. I loved that he acted like a virus, spreading across everything. He was also weirdly charming and some of his lines made me laugh painfully hard. So that was cool. ;3;
There were a lot of things in this movie that I really liked! But then there were huge, huge things I didn’t like.
The Bruce/Natasha romance. Okay so I’d been spoiled for this and I tried to think positively towards it since, you know, it could have worked out! But it really didn’t. I liked the “Hey Big Guy, the sun’s getting low” lullaby thing, that was pretty great. But this romance was basically the entirety of Natasha’s characterization???? I mean, she got some epic fight scenes, sure, but whenever it got quiet it came back to her and Bruce. Even her background, of being sterilized, came around to Bruce and how they’re both “monsters”. And Bruce did not get the same treatment because he was also helping Tony with Ultron. So I’m just like. Why is this happening? I love Natasha. I have loved her in every movie she’s been in. She’s so cool. And then this happens and I;m just like whaaaaat??? This romance could have worked so much better if it was just a part of Natasha’s role in this movie, not the entirety. At one point she wanted them to run away together. Guys, come on. I don’t. Why. I don’t understand.
Clint’s secret farm/secret family. Okay so. I actually loved that Clint had a secret farm but who are these people in it? Are you telling me that Clint has had a secret family this entire time (the older kid looked maybe 8? 9? idk kids are weird)? And Clint decided to bring superheroes who are currently being tailed by a evil computer robot thing? And this seemed like a good, safe idea? Because look, I get that the farm was a safe house but to even think of bringing this kind of danger to his family , seems really....not...smart. It really seemed like this was shoehorned in to show us that no, no, there’s nothing between Clint and Natasha, they definitely have lives outside of each other, which okay, great, but also naaah. This is why I don’t have a lot of het ships, guys. This right here. Heartbreaking. I am just going to ignore the people’s existence and keep the farm in my headcanon, hahaha.
Pietro’s death. So okay, like I said, I really liked the twins a lot soooooo why the fuck did Pietro have to die? There was no reason for it. Like. At all. Except I guess to make Clint retire from the team? I don’t know. It was cheap drama. Boo.
Clint retiring from the team. Technically Tony retired too but everyone knows he’s going to be in the third Cap movie so we know this wasn’t his last time out. Do we know this about Clint? Because goddamn it, he was barely in Avengers, he was awesome in AoU, and now he’s done? I hope that is not true. :\
The fight scenes. They went on too long. Especially the one between Iron Man and Hulk. Just. I realize this is a superhero movie but dude, calm down.
WHERE THE FUCK WAS BUCKY BARNES??? So, okay, on one hand I’m happy that Whedon basically ignored his existence (he was relegated to “a missing person” and when Sam said that to Steve, he didn’t even react) because goddamn, Whedon would probably just kill him, but on the other hand, the last time we saw Steve he was all about Bucky. So. I mean. I am not even being a shipper here, Bucky was Steve’s mission, and yes Ultron was a huge threat that needed to be dealt with, but not even a real mention of the childhood friend turned assassin? smh. smh indeed. Not even in Steve worst fear/mindfuck thing was Bucky mentioned. Whatever.
I mean, overall I was entertained and that’s all I could really expect. But there are definitely some things that happened that I’m going to need fandom to fix for me.
no subject
Date: 2015-05-03 01:43 pm (UTC)Vision's buuuuuuutt I was so mad when he started creating clothes!! NO VISION STAY NAKED. (Also, get the Vibranium D, Wanda. Get it.)
no subject
Date: 2015-05-04 06:15 pm (UTC)I was so unsure about Vision at first and then suddenly I was very HELL YEAH VISION. He's precious. ;3;
no subject
Date: 2015-05-04 11:07 pm (UTC)