Avengers 2: A Movie Rant so Good it Belongs on a Video Game Site
I’ve noticed some negative reviews appearing for Avengers: Age of Ultron. I took to my personal Facebook page with a digital rant of my own. It was so angry, I decided it belonged on my website even though it isn’t video game related. Enjoy:
I understand a particular gripe the Internet has with Avengers: Age of Ultron:
Yes, it was an obvious second movie in a trilogy. It didn’t do a whole lot.
And that’s where I begin to diverge from the hate. A second movie doesn’t need to do a whole lot. The exposition is already done. The world is built and the stage is set. It’s the perfect time to just have a little fun and blow shit up. And that is exactly what Avengers: Age of Ultron did and it did it Marvel-ously.
Overall the movie had excellent execution. The cast was great… except for Quicksilver. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the scrawny kid from Kickass, certainly looked the part. I just found his acting lost in a sea of more assertive talent. On the other side of the spectrum was Scarlet Witch. Brilliantly acted – stole the show in a way similar to Mark Ruffalo in the first Avengers. It’s difficult to pull off the “weird charismatic thing.” Elizabeth Olsen, a nobody to me, did it perfectly. She was downright enchanting. Ruffalo was, again, a sleeper hit. His Bruce Banner is quickly becoming one of my favorite things to watch in geek cinema.
Chris Evans as Captain America continued to fucking deliver. And yes, I needed to swear for emphasis.
When the MCU inevitably gets around to killing off Steve Rogers (around the time Evans’s contract expires) and he’s replaced with some young actor that I don’t know and that actor lacks the presence and matter-of-fact delivery of lines Evans has perfected as Cap, I’ll be sad.
The Bad:
Some of the witty dialogue seemed shoehorned in because it’s become a Joss Whedon branding thing. But they rarely detracted from an overall scene and largely just existed to give already angry nerds something to complain about. There was a much larger issue with the plot/script writing than a couple out of place quips. Here’s the spoiler free version:
There was a second attempt to do something tried earlier in the film. The characters did the exact same thing they attempted earlier and changed nothing. They just doubled down on Stark’s bravado and it all worked out the second time because a literal god said it would… That is the definition of Deus Ex Machina in more ways than one. It’s not done in the self-aware way that could make me appreciate the pun either. It’s just “here it is, moving along.”
Then there’s some more (magically) forced tension between the team. Since it was the focal point of the first movie I felt bored watching it play out in exactly the same way again. Yes, I get it. Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are at odds ideologically. Woo. Dead horse. Etc.
That’s it. That’s the bad. Exceedingly nitpicky, I know, and almost entirely beside the point of a second movie. They’re literally the only technical flaws in an otherwise awesome production. Some negative reviews I’ve seen harped on purely cosmetic crap. “Scar-Jo kissed the Hulk. It was weird and totally ruined my fantasies and by extension the entire film.” Other reviews began their critique by saying something like, “I didn’t like it because [personal taste issues with how they didn’t cater to my specific fanboi needs].” Others still have chosen to hate on Avengers: AUO because a douche bag actor was, not surprisingly, a douche bag in reality. On screen Jeremy Renner was a great Hawkeye and his expanded role and personal conflict were some of the highlights of the movie. From his quips to his greater dilemma.
Onto the Good:
In point of fact, one of the most mastered moments of writing involved Hawkeye. Joss Whedon showed an insane mastery of “the rules of writing” with the way he used Clint Barton’s personal story. He laid all the groundwork, all the foreshadowing, and followed all the rules of setup to a particular character outcome. At the last minute he trolled and basically looked right at the camera and said “you didn’t see that coming.” It was perfect. I said, “touche” aloud in the theater and clapped – seriously, people stared at me. I saw what Whedon was doing. And when he pulled a rope-a-dope… well that’s why he’s the best in the business.
Good writing and character development are Whedon’s real strengths. We all cling to his quippy dialogue. But that’s less remarkable. Tons of 80s and 90s “dumb-action” movies are laden with one-liners. It’s practically its own genre. Overall mastery of writing, character development, and an understanding of the meta make Whedon the icon he is.
And now let’s talk about big action summer blockbusters. And again I must stress, this is the second movie in a trilogy. One of many movies in the grander MCU. It is allowed to revel in some big action. And as far as big action goes it was some of the best I’ve seen and could stand all on its own against as an action sci-fi flick. It was a lot of fun sitting in the theater Ooing and Awing at the fireworks display indicative of the genre.
Daredevil episode two’s last fight (maybe it was episode three; you know the one) was one of my favorite fight scenes of all time in any genre of film – including a long list of Bruce Lee fights. Daredevil, Bruce Lee, HK flicks, even the new James Bond are a different sort of choreography though. They’re the technical, cinematographic fights. Avengers: AOU did something else. It honored it’s source material and finally made comic book scenes that lived up to the action in my head. I’ve read comics all my life. I’d see a single panel, or a series of panels, and my mind would be blown. I have a fantastical imagination and my brain would extrapolate the possibilities of all the action that could unfold when Cyclops hits Wolverine with an optic blast to the chest. Or I’d contemplate all the amazing ways an indestructible shield could bounce if it were thrown by a supersoldier with near infinite knowledge of battle. This movie didn’t leave my imagination wanting. I’m like “yeah… that’s how my brain would’ve animated that.”
The Ugly:
This is a good movie. And the negative criticisms are overblown.
I’ve seen nerds criticizing Age of Ultron because they were right about the way the broken shield was delivered.
[spoiler title=’Spoiler Alert: Cap’s Shield Broken in the Trailer’ collapse_link=’true’]”I’m mad it was a Scarlet Witch illusion. Too predictable. I knew it would be and now I’m mad.” Go back months to read that same person’s predictions. “Captain America’s shield is broken in the trailer?! It better be a Scarlet Witch illusion or I’ll be pissed.”[/spoiler]
So nerds are upset that the thing they said was going to happen, happened the only logical way it could’ve happened? Fucking fanbois.
And that’s how every negative review can be summarized. “Fucking fanbois.” Even the missteps and predictable things that the movie did were done to setup something even more awesome.
[spoiler title=’Spoiler Alert: An Entire Country Filled with the Shit’ collapse_link=’true’]”Captain America’s shield is supposed to be the last vibranium on Earth.. wtf? Now I’m mad because it’s not.” Look nerd, they’re setting up Black Panther so shut up and enjoy the movie.[/spoiler]
“They’re setting up another awesome Marvel Super Hero? I’m still mad.” Okay, why?
Basically there’s an entire group of aging nerds that have forgotten how to have fun and I’m not one of them – which I take a little comfort in. This movie was fun, did big action better than other big action movies, and even manged to sneak some substance and foreshadowing in where it didn’t need to be. For a second movie in a trilogy that’s impressive. All it had to do was show up and tell you the third one was coming.
The Point:
I loved Avengers: Age of Ultron. And love isn’t a word I toss lightly around. Let’s see in recent years the list is… Batman: Arkham Asylum. The Last of Us. Uncharted 2.
More than that the movie was the best possible type of fun. It wasn’t cheap. It wasn’t the more disposable self-exploitation type of fun. Just an honest and sincere attempt at pure awesome the way that only comics can be. Comics remember? It’s an artistic medium graced by fucking Charlie Brown and Calvin and Hobbes. I am absolutely baffled by the negative reviews I’ve seen. I know they’re not a majority. But I usually count on myself to be the voice of dissent. Often, I’m ranting angrily at the status quo or at the popular thing. Now I’m ranting against the opinion of others that are ranting against the popular thing. It just feels more natural that way.