Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) Movie Review

Director: Joss Whedon

Writer: Joss Whedon

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle

My viewing of Age of Ultron came directly after watching the first Avengers film along with the second Captain America film. Needless to say both those films remain hugely enjoyable. What is interesting is the multitude of references to these films within Age of Ultron. Falcon shows up and talks about his and Steve’s on-going search for Buck Barnes and Don Cheadle turns up and is incredible. Don Cheadle isn’t involved in the other films but he is so unforgettably hilarious that I cannot help but mention him.

Tony Stark finds this crazy computer contraption inside Loki’s sceptre and decides that the correct course of action is to create an artificial intelligence, an idea that never goes wrong. Everything goes wrong.

In the same vein as Cheadle’s impressive use of screentime, the entire film turned out to be majorly a comedy as opposed to the DC-esque, gothic films that the trailers somewhat make it out to be. I am in no way annoyed by that. I feel that Marvel films understand their purpose far more than DC does. It would be unwise for you to mention Man of Steel to me because you will invoke my unstoppable rage and perish immediately. The mood that the film set was utterly opposite to the whimsical, borderline comedic destruction of Metropolis. Marvel Studios films understand that they should (and do) aim to entertain the audience and they succeed. The film does this by just making the film hugely funny. The jokes were constantly present and connecting making the film something that I would actually like to watch, a feat Man of Steel was clearly unable to reach.

This flow of humour sadly meant that the atmosphere of the film was unstoppably flipping between whimsical happiness and psychological terror. It’s as if the film wants to entertain but also to be taken seriously. Each moment is successful in achieving what they are aiming for but when stitched together, the tone is more unpredictable than a caffeine filled boy with Tourette’s.

Along with this, the film felt far too dense to me. They were trying to cram so much into an admittedly long film. Andy Serkis turns up for a bit and there are three new characters need to be introduced. Far more than the zero introductions made in the first. This paired with the tonal shifts made the film feel slightly shambolic.

I am happy to report that while there are a lot of new characters they are all pretty damn cool… except for Ultron. Hawkeye is the marquee example of that. I have been waiting since the first Thor film for Hawkeye to be an interesting character and his backstory is delved into a little in this film. The other characters: Vision, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are basic but that base was pretty decent. On a more negative note, the titular villain, Ultron, didn’t nearly get the screentime that he needed.

All that needs to be said is that he isn’t exactly Loki, something that can be said referring to the other Marvel villains of the recent films.

Marvel Studios has been on excellent form for the past four or five years and Age of Ultron maintained the comedy and pace of Guardians of Galaxy. The film certainly does have flaws but there was only one point at which when I wasn’t loving it and that point was Mark Ruffalo wearing Beats headphones, maybe the worst product placements I have ever seen. Besides this, I would conclude that Age of Ultron is on par with the first Avengers film. BOOM

Avengers: Age of Ultron receives an: 8/10

Iron Man 3 (2013) Movie Review

Director: Shane Black

Writers: Drew Pearce, Shane Black

Starring: RDJ, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce

I feel that Iron Man 3 is easily the most enjoyable of the series. Not the best. That title goes to Iron Man 1 but if I were going to watch one of them on a whim, it would be the third. The third and supposedly last of the Iron Man movies sees Stark going through post-Avengers-stress-disorder as his old arrogant ways come back to bite him.

The main reason why I love the movie so much is that it is beautiful to look at (mostly).  There are a couple short scenes that are visually unimpressive but any of that gets utterly eclipsed by the marvel of the climactic battle. People wonder why Stark didn’t use the house party protocol earlier in the movie. That’s because at the end he had come to the realisation that he was done with iron man. When his house was getting blown up, he had no intention to sacrifice all his suits and the situation didn’t call for it. In terms of CGI choreography, the final fight is spectacular. The fluidity of movement in and out of the suits is incredible and every move is clearly defined.

The returning characters are all probably at their best during this movie. RDJ is funny as always and Rhodey is actually interesting for once. Speaking of funny, there are some moments in the movie that are unexpected and brilliantly absurd. There is a random guy cowering behind a truck who has a little conversation with Stark. Also, the guy who is holding Tony captive and accurately knows the distance between two random American cities… masterful.

This is all well and good but there is a lot wrong with the movie as well. There are pretty much no interesting villains in the movie. It’s unknown to me if you are supposed to be surprised when Guy Pearce is evil (but the other big reveal is infamously unexpected and hilarious). My least favourite thing about the movie is how much screen time the bald guy gets. He is a generic henchman with absolutely no personality yet the movie insists he exist longer than five minutes.

On of the most reoccurring complaints I have heard surrounding this movie is that they did not do justice to the Mandarin. I personally thought that they handled this brilliantly well, both in and outside of the movie. The studio knew that the trailers of the movie would be viewed by millions of people making the twist so much more unexpected. I have heard so many people complain that Aldrich Killian is a poor substitute for the Mandarin. I agree with that but I see it unlikely that anyone was going to take Ben Kingsley fighting Iron Man seriously. It would have been a much less exciting movie had they played it straight. It is by far the most unique of a cluttered marvel catalogue.

My favourite of the Iron Man trilogy is rife with humour and stupendous action. Some of the characters lack in depth and interest but the previously established ones more than make up for them. Any complaints the Internet make can be debunked by making them imagine a kung fu Ben Kingsley. Overall, Lovely Stuff.

Recommendation Status: Worth a watch

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Iron Man 2 (2010) Movie Review

Director: Jon Favreau, Kenneth Branagh?

Writer: Justin Theroux

Starring: RDJ, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke

Being someone who spends most of my life on the internet, the idea that this movie is awful has been jammed into my cranium like a nail into a coffin. I feel like we have come to a point as a species, where we are going to realise that Iron Man 2 is actually rather enjoyable. I feel that if you are stingy and snobby enough, you can dislike the movie (but you could dislike anything in that case). If nothing else it’s good fun.

The best part of the movie by far, is the final action sequence. I love fluid action sequences. The final scene of this movie combines fluidity with nonsensical amounts of neon lights and it is amazing. It looks delectable, it sounds incredible and it's impossible to dislike. It seems like something that can’t be argued but Robert Downey Jr is excellent as Tony Stark. I feel that the character is nowhere near as interesting as in the first movie. He is still unpredictable, humourous and enjoyable to watch though.

That being said, there are some scenes in the movie that give half measures of some of the main aspects of the comic book Tony Stark. I am perfectly okay with comic storylines being omitted and altered in movies but it’s just depressing when they try and fail to pay tribute to the comics. One of Stark’s most notable aspects in the comics is his alcoholism. You can almost see the framework of them trying to add it throughout the movie. The blood toxicity device shows this and he gets a little tipsy at his birthday party but the alcoholism is so subtle it is imperceptible. The 'demon in a bottle' would add to the depth of the movie, giving it a cautionary tale vibe but it was only half done. While this problem may only really affect a comic fan, something that perturbs the entire audience is Mickey Rourke. He adds to the already extensive list of evil Russians with questionable Russian accents. He is just a dull character. It could be argued that he is interesting because of his backstory regarding Howard Stark but that is such a tenuous link to intrigue that you forget his backstory after the first twenty minutes.

If you were a fool and took my opinion based on how big each of my paragraphs is, you would think that I detest this movie. As I said in my introduction, people give this movie far too much grief, yes, Mickey Rourke is awful and forgettable and the movie is depressingly Disney-fied for a younger audience but it was a visual and aural treat. It is certainly the least enjoyable of the Iron Man trilogy but it is most definitely not a bad movie.

Recommendation Status: Worth a watch

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Iron Man (2008) Movie Review

Director: Jon Favreau
Writers: Hawk Ostby, Mark Fergus, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges

This movie really represents a huge shift in the cinematic universe. Before this movie, Marvel wasn't really taken seriously. After the abomination that is the 2003 Hulk and Nicolas Cage happened, very little was expected. This movie proved everyone wrong because it is amazing.

A ragtag team of terrorists kidnap one of the world’s leading weapons manufacturers. He decides he doesn't need to take anyone’s crap any long and so builds a goddamn exo-suit with freaking flamethrowers that can fly. It is pretty damn awesome. On top of this incredible idea, Robert Downey Jr’s portrayal of Tony Stark is honestly one of the most memorable performances in recent memory. I have heard (not that it is true) that this movie is almost entirely improvised. It really is a testament to both the acting as well as the casting. It was this movie’s job to kick-start a franchise so the fact that actors were so good they became synonymous with their characters, certainly helps. As an action movie, this was certainly one of the coolest looking movies at the time. I used to think that the climax was just boring but watching it again, the fight just looks incredible and is a joy to watch.

This being said, there are some problems that the movie does pose. The guy who plays Rhodes is completely dwarfed by his successor Don Cheadle. In terms of character, he has far less and is not nearly as enjoyable to watch. Incredibly, in this movie Coulson is rather underwhelming. Considering he is Clark Gregg and his performances in the other Marvel movies, it is eerie seeing him so boring. Other than that, this movie is fantastic.

Iron Man is a fantastic movie that was able to act as a trampoline for Kevin Feige wildest dreams. Until Thor, it was my favourite Marvel movie and for good reason. The action is neon, fast and has really satisfying physics to it. Some of the characters are amazing and some are rather bland. More than anything, it is a rather unforgettable experience.

Recommendation Status: Unmissable!

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Thor: The Dark World (2013) Movie Review

Director: Alan Taylor

Writer: Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, Stephen Mcfeely

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston

The first Thor movie is definitely one of my favourite superhero movies ever and Thor is by far my favourite superhero ever but I didn’t manage to watch the sequel until a couple days ago.

The Dark World is a far more ambitious movie than the first Thor movie. The first was very enclosed. Broadly, there were about three locations in the entire movie. The sequel however has numerous realms and locations in Britain. The added ambition with this movie makes the movie rather confusing. I think that there was a creature called the Kursed One, which the rules of where never even mentioned (and I know there are rules because they said there could only be one more). Also, the main villain, Malekith, was completely confused in every way. In the generic opening narration, it is mentioned that he wants to plunge the Earth realm into darkness. The disembodied voice doesn’t explain why or really even how (they do mention a weapon called the Aether but not how it works or why). So much was left unexplained.

However, this film is almost solely brought back from the gripping hands of Valhalla by Tom Hiddleston as Loki. Everyone has said for a while that Loki is an amazing character but I had never really believed them. Having not seen this movie before, I know understand why he is so brilliant. He never struck me as the mischief god in Thor and The Avengers but the Dark World perfectly shows his constant mischief. He is just so enjoyable to watch. Also the fight scenes with Thor are great.

The second Thor movie is the more confusing and grander version of its older brother. A lot of things are left unexplained and are just generally unclear. Loki steps into the light and is fantastic from 

beginning to end and the fight scenes are delectable. Definitely worth a watch.

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Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) Movie Review

Director: James Gunn
Writers: James Gunn, Nicole Perlman
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper

By far, this is my most anticipated movie of 2014. I have been waiting to see it for about half a year to see it. I was definitely not disappointed.

This movie slips into my favourite genre of films… the enjoyable genre. You can tell that the entire movie was catered to those who want to have fun while watching movies. Every character has great moments and Rocket and Star-Lord are a joy to watch. The entirety of the story is pant-wettingly hilarious and all the characters always have something to say. Usually something funny.

Annoyingly, this movie does a lot of teasing which is both aggravating and exciting.  Thanos is talked about so much in the movie. He is set to be the villain in the third Avengers movie. This is exciting for comic book fans considering how popular the character is. This child-like excitement is violently snubbed out when you realise that the second Avengers movie is almost a year away from being released. It is rather disappointing that Thanos won’t be around for at least 3 years from now. Ronan the Accuser seems to have suffered some unfortunate side-effects after going through the ‘comic-to-Hollywood-transformation’ machine. This side-effect being crippling mediocrity. He functions as something to try and murder but is the most forgettable of all the villains in the Marvel universe. Also, I rather wish that Nebula wasn’t in the movie… It’s like they popped a bunch of ‘pointless pills’

While the movie’s approach to villains is disappointing, the protagonists are fantastic. All of them are greatly memorable. Had I not know that Groot is practically immortal, I would have been rather upset when certain things happened to him. The movie also balances comedy and action remarkably well Even when the team is in the middle of a fight they are making you laugh. Also the director is probably addicted to skittles because the movie is so colourful… something that I love in movies.

This is probably my favourite movie to have come out this year mainly due it its sheer, unrelenting amount of enjoyment it constantly aggressively launches at your facial region. The villain is rather forgettable but the heroes more than make up for. If you have ever thought about watching a movie and wanted to enjoy it, Guardians of the Galaxy is a good choice.

Please feel free to leave a comment on either the movie or the review. Say if you liked or disliked the movie. I'm interested to find out what you think!