Avengers: Age of Ultron Review - Episode 1556 Talkback

brydeemer

You knew it was coming: No fewer than six Geeks assemble to trade quips, quibbles, thoughts, theories, and general enthusiasm for Earth's Mightiest Sequel! Whether you choose to watch or listen, miss it not!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6DEWBEiXmM

Matt

I made an error; Christy Lamire made another critical review of the movie. It was Camilia Long who commented on the boobs.

M

brydeemer

Also, I would like to preemptively apologize for the audio. Some of the new microphones we got were used and they are not working out. Hopefully I will have them replaced soon.

abuddah

Error #2

Joss Whedon Didn’t Quit Twitter Because of All Those Mean Tweets

Matt

abuddah said:

Error #2

Joss Whedon Didn’t Quit Twitter Because of All Those Mean Tweets

I just read that article. Correct, it's to spend time writing.

M

bamfbamf

LOVE THESE VIDEO EPISODES!!!

wuchmee

If the Director's Cut adds back the Thor cave material that was cut (and more, I hope), that'll address the most puzzling aspect of the film. The whole Thor sub-plot was jarringly disjointed.

That said, the one thing that took me completely out of the film was the Hulk-Buster sequence -- gratuitously overlong and just too, too much. The proceedings came to a grinding halt.

I applaud Whedon's decision to open the movie in media res, as well as his expansion of Hawkeye's back story (Linda Cardellini!!!).

James Spader ruled.

8.5 out of 10.

bamfbamf

what is on Matt's face???

David_D

bamfbamf said:

what is on Matt's face???

He thought it was going to be a very different kind of party.

brydeemer

Lol!

Matt

bamfbamf said:

what is on Matt's face???

I asked for the blank out in case I flashed one of my hairy nipples.

M

bamfbamf

did Matt just come back from the optometrist?

Matt

bamfbamf said:

did Matt just come back from the optometrist?

Haha, no. I don't wear prescription glasses. The Girls Gone Wild crew loaned me their black bar.

M

Dman

OMG! It is so cool to see you guys doing the podcast in video. Are you putting these on YouTube?

Matt

I was just watching an interview with Scarlett & she was talking about how very pregnant she was during filming. Maybe that reduced her 'interrogation' type scene.

M

Mr_Cosmic

I agree with Bryan 100%..I LOVED the cameo parts..Wakanda and all that was great. Better than the first one, IMHO.

brydeemer

Dman said:

OMG! It is so cool to see you guys doing the podcast in video. Are you putting these on YouTube?

Yep, that's where the videos are hosted.

JaxUr

I must admit that this film fell a bit flat in my estimation. It had some good moments spread throughout but it suffered from:

1. A relatively weak main villain. Ultron never seemed as menacing here as he did in that first trailer. The quippy Joss Whedon tone he spouted undercut any dread. Isn't Tony Stark the real villain here? The Avengers did confront him on secretly creating Ultron but seemed to forgive him pretty quickly. Maybe this will be addressed more in the upcoming Civil War.

2. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch had no real personality. We never got a sense of who they were as people & they switched to the good guys side too quickly. I thought the speed special effects were actually rather weak (even compared to the Flash TV show).

3. That whole Thor goes to a cave just so he can take his shirt off subplot should have been dropped entirely. I know a lot of that was cut for time but it was never really clear what Thor was leaving just as the action was heating up.

4. The film keeps having to service other movies within the MCU franchise. We have to name check Wakanda for the upcoming Black Panter series, mention Winter Soldier being MIA, squeeze in Agent Carter, etc. At some point I think the individual films should be more self-contained.

I know I've been negative here but I don't mean to sound as harsh as some may perceive. The film's a fun 2 hrs but not a classic. The film I am most interested in seeing is how Disney/Marvel deal with the moment when Downey, Evans, Hemsworth, etc fulfill their contracts. Will they reboot everything?

Matt

JaxUr said:

I must admit that this film fell a bit flat in my estimation. It had some good moments spread throughout but it suffered from:

1. A relatively weak main villain. Ultron never seemed as menacing here as he did in that first trailer. The quippy Joss Whedon tone he spouted undercut any dread. Isn't Tony Stark the real villain here? The Avengers did confront him on secretly creating Ultron but seemed to forgive him pretty quickly. Maybe this will be addressed more in the upcoming Civil War.

2. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch had no real personality. We never got a sense of who they were as people & they switched to the good guys side too quickly. I thought the speed special effects were actually rather weak (even compared to the Flash TV show).

3. That whole Thor goes to a cave just so he can take his shirt off subplot should have been dropped entirely. I know a lot of that was cut for time but it was never really clear what Thor was leaving just as the action was heating up.

4. The film keeps having to service other movies within the MCU franchise. We have to name check Wakanda for the upcoming Black Panter series, mention Winter Soldier being MIA, squeeze in Agent Carter, etc. At some point I think the individual films should be more self-contained.

I know I've been negative here but I don't mean to sound as harsh as some may perceive. The film's a fun 2 hrs but not a classic. The film I am most interested in seeing is how Disney/Marvel deal with the moment when Downey, Evans, Hemsworth, etc fulfill their contracts. Will they reboot everything?

For your number 4, I respectfully disagree. The Winter Soldier discussion was 1 line by Wilson lasting 5-10 seconds max. Working the hex dreams was more IW set up then individual franchises. Ultron's final body upgrade was made of Ubranium. Was that franchise specific or showing the reach of the combined universe? If we didn't know BP is getting his own movie, would you have seen that as a solo franchise nod or a possible Barton/Widow type appearance?

I do agree the solo films should essentially remain that (which is an issue I have with Cap 3), but I think it's foolish to not give each franchise a quick nod.

M

JaxUr

I know that the WS line was merely moments long but I think it's indicative of what looks like an increasing necessity of reminding audiences of where all the various pieces are on the board. I'd lump in the obligatory " where are Jane and Pepper " comments with this.

I guess my main concern with the Avengers franchise is that it's dangerously close to being overstuffed once they start adding Spidey, Agents of Shield, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Netflix heroes into supporting or secondary roles. It will be cool to see everyone in the same shot but I don't want the movies to turn into :"Around the World in 80 Days" which had 40 cameos. That 1956 movie may be the worst Best Picture Oscar winner ever BTW!

i_am_scifi

Something Kris and I were thinking about, that has also been pointed out on the Internet: this entire story line, minus Ultron's creation, could have been an AMAZING Magneto vs. The Avengers movie. Almost every single thing Ultron does is something Magneto would do. Surrogate father figure to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, lifting an entire island to make a point, believing he is a force for peace but needs to eradicate certain portions of the public to make that happen...totally Magneto.

Matt

i_am_scifi said:

Something Kris and I were thinking about, that has also been pointed out on the Internet: this entire story line, minus Ultron's creation, could have been an AMAZING Magneto vs. The Avengers movie. Almost every single thing Ultron does is something Magneto would do. Surrogate father figure to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, lifting an entire island to make a point, believing he is a force for peace but needs to eradicate certain portions of the public to make that happen...totally Magneto.

Truthfully, at first I thought Ultron was lifting Asteroid M.

M

RickM

I had the same thought as Deemer; this film looked more like a vintage Marvel comic book on the big screen than any other film has managed. I still think Winter Soldier is a better movie but dang was this fun.

Evening639

i_am_scifi said:

Something Kris and I were thinking about, that has also been pointed out on the Internet: this entire story line, minus Ultron's creation, could have been an AMAZING Magneto vs. The Avengers movie. Almost every single thing Ultron does is something Magneto would do. Surrogate father figure to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, lifting an entire island to make a point, believing he is a force for peace but needs to eradicate certain portions of the public to make that happen...totally Magneto.

I sense a fan edit coming soon. C'mon, Internet, don't let me down. I want to see that s**t on YouTube.

bralinator

spam alert?

Update: @David_D foiled it :) well done.

brydeemer

bralinator said:

spam alert?

Huh?

David_D

There was some-- but the account and content got deleted.

Greg

Tried listening at work. Got yelled at. Told people not to eavesdrop.

LibraryBoy

I mostly liked this a whole lot, but James Spader's voice took me out of the movie any time Ultron was on-screen. Smarmy, bored annoyance doesn't play well for "genocidal supervillain" with me. He just seemed like we were back to the mean guy from Pretty In Pink but with an upgrade. It might have worked on a Buffy big bad, but for Ultron, it feels a little too, well, Buffy big bad.

Also, the whole Thor subplot just kinda stopped, didn't it. He recruits Erik, says it's going to be dangerous, and then... goes for a nice little swim. Wha?

Also also, I was a little annoyed that we see Cap budge Thor's hammer (Thor's reaction was awesome, btw), but then it's the Vision who lifts it problem-free? I know it's a quick and plot-convenient way to sell him to the rest of the team without another 20 minutes of angsty on-screen distrust, but it's a huge missed pay-off.

Also also also, I enjoyed seeing Rhodey and Sam make appearances, but I was bummed Sam didn't get to come back for the final battle like Rhodey did. Sure, Sam says avenging isn't is thing, but he's there at the end, so clearly something happened to make him answer the call. I realize it's probably just that Anthony Mackie wasn't available, but again, missed opportunity.

This is a very complainy post, but on the whole I really did enjoy this. When it works, it works really, really well, but that makes the flaws stand out all the more, sadly.

rebis

I apologize for being the Luddite in the group, but is there an audio file of the episode? I listen to these at work and don't need the video since my eyes are preoccupied with other things.

luckymustard

Click on the episode title. On that page you'll see a download link.