Okay Pepe, let's talk numbers...
Avengers: Age of Ultron made another $77.2 million in the U.S.
bringing the Domestic total to just under $312.6 million.
Internationally, things are even crazier...with $562.4 million in the bank. This puts the worldwide number at almost $875 million.
Now - it's true that this film has made less in two weeks (roughly $60 million) than Marvel's The Avengers did.
In fact, with only two weeks under it's belt, A:AoU is less than $700 million away from beating its predecessor's worldwide numbers.
So relax...it's all good!
Now, let's talk review -
I gave you all a week. If you haven't seen it yet, but still want to remain spoiler-free (and good luck with that), stop right here.
There be spoilers ahead.
The Good:
In case you were living under a rock, Ultron was played by James Spader.
No. Not that James Spader...
...that James Spader.
And he did phenomenally well,
Natasha...explained!
Making Clint a family-man. Totally unexpected, but I was so glad THAT was his secret...as opposed to, I dunno,
which would have sucked. HARD!
This fight.
Confirmed!
Tony.
Found him!
Paul Bettany ROCKED! I was pleasantly surprised that Vision was there for the final battle.
Okay...very pleasantly surprised.
but if you've ever seen The Blacklist, you'll notice Spader's mannerisms and facial expressions. I didn't mind them, but I noticed them.
I loved the history they gave her in this film. I also get the sterilization. A bit of a gut-punch for sure, but totally logical and believable.
Making Clint a family-man. Totally unexpected, but I was so glad THAT was his secret...as opposed to, I dunno,
Cap has a home!
I didn't think it came across in CA: TWS, but there was an intention there to show Steve's displacement. Not in time, which was obvious, but in space. He spent his life wanting to join the Army. To be part of something bigger than himself. He gets in,
gets bigger himself,
and joins the Howlin' Commandos...until he's frozen in ice (and time) until 2000-whatever. Now that he's back, he's still looking for that "something bigger than himself" to be a part of. By the time of CA: TWS, he thinks he's found it in S.H.I.E.L.D. -
but then that happened.
By the end of this film, he's found his place with the Avengers. He's home.
But you can see the pride in his face when he tells Pietro "It's what S.H.I.E.L.D.'s supposed to be."
I kinda called it - Scarlet Witch used her power on Bruce, which caused a Hulk-out, which caused Tony to call on "Veronica". (And let me say: I've got $5 that says Bruce named it...'cause y'know.) This was one of THE big scenes everyone was waiting to see, and they delivered.
=
My understanding is that Thor (and us) now know of four gems/stones, which leaves two out there. My guess is they'll show up in Thor: Ragnarok.
Having him leave the team at the end of this movie was the right thing to do. It's time. He'll show up in Infinity War, but beyond that? I wouldn't be surprised if the role was recast.
Good luck with that.
Ripping the heart out. That was cool. Changing her powers from the books made sense too. I also liked the beginnings of her relationship with Vision. That's gonna be awesome!!!
I'm glad he showed up at the party and gave that line about the "missing person's case". It was one line that totally explained where he is and what he's doing. 'Course bringing him back at the end of the film as part of "Avengers: Second Roster" didn't hurt either. Which must mean he's solved that case...right?
War Machine's BACK baby!
Seeing Rhodey at the party was great, but we already knew he'd be there. Seeing him in the suit at the end as part of Avengers: Second Roster"? Priceless.
Don't know if it's been said, so I'll say it -
This film marks the first time in twelve years that Bruce Banner was portrayed on film by the same actor twice. That in and of itself adds (another) milestone to the movie. But you know what else?
It also marks the first time in 12 years we've had the same HULK in two films...and I loved it.
The Bad:
The look of the guy.
Granted, he went through several changes throughout the movie, like he does in the comics, but there one version on screen the longest - when he meets up with the twins - where the CGI is...off. He looks too top heavy, meaning that his lower half look small compared to the upper torso and head. It was just enough to take me out of the movie a little bit.
They couldn't have helped?
Straight up man...
The accent bothered me. Not a lot...but enough.
Plus - I'm confused. The twins weren't mutants, and were among those experimented on by HYDRA, but are they Inhumans? Was Kree blood part of the experimentation? Or were they just f**king around with the Mind Gem scepter?
This relationship. I'm calling this a "little bad" as opposed to a "big bad".
Bruce needing a lullaby to calm down? Fine. Natasha being the one to use it? Uhh...okay? But since she's a fighter, what's their Plan B if she's unconscious? Or worse? Then there's the "relationship". That was purely for the sake of the movie, because I guess all movies need "angsty love" these days. Where the hell's Betty? I understand why she doesn't show up, but to not even mention her?
I guess I'll never see that Mockingbird/Hawkeye thing happen. This saddens me.
This was delivered...a little too on the nose for me.
There was that part during the fight. You know the part I'm talking about. It was probably left in to show how real these films are - that the damage heroes can cause could be just as destructive as what villains are capable of. I accept that effort, and I hear what they're saying...but watching what happened after Tony asked "How quickly can we buy this building?"...was uncomfortably real. I'd expect that from DC, and was surprised they didn't have that effect in Man of Steel, but here? It actually hurt.
Mjolnir. For one thing...
Steve can lift it. And second, the whole point of the scene at the party was so Vision could lift it?
But wouldn't Vision then possess the power of Thor? And if he did, would Thor lose the power of Thor?
Is Vision an elevator?
Nothing whatsoever (except for Bruce's bungling of the name) huh?
There's talk that an extra 30+ minutes of the film will be included in the Blu-ray. I hope to hell that's true.
Here was another villain buildup that fizzled out.
That was candy-a$$.
The WTF?: Yeah - there were several:
In all those flashbacks...they couldn't have put one F**KING scene in there from Agent Carter?
And what about that arrow necklace Natasha wore in CA: TWS?
Was there an affair? Was there almost an affair? Was it just a "partner" thing? I need details!
No, Pietro, I did not. But I want to thank you for reminding me that I was indeed watching a Joss Whedon film.
Dammit.
But in his defense - that image of Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Quicksilver posted above came out last year. And if you look really closely at it, you can see the "bullet holes" in the costume and his bloody legs, so technically it's our bad for not seeing that coming.
But this is Marvel Studios,
and he's coming...
...and this.
So I'm sure we haven't seen the last of him.
Plus - I'm positive Pietro's "death" in this film was the direct result of the deal struck with FOX
so they could use him too.
Not sure how the deal dealt with future movie appearances though...
Speaking of Whedon -
I don't care if it was about the Black Widow/Hulk relationship. I don't care if it was about Natasha's sterilization. I don't care if it was about Black Panther being cut from the film.
We're better than this.
In a world where people commit suicide after being harassed online, we - and by "we" I mean the collective fan base of all things Whedon, Marvel, Comic book, Movie, Conventions et. al. - need to step up and stop adding to the crap. Wil Wheaton's speech about looking to the community of fellow convention-ers as a safe haven when picked on by people outside that group...for being one of "them"...holds true.
At least it should.
Everyone has an opinion, and has a right to voice that opinion. But harassment needs to end.
Instead of telling someone what you think of them, we should take advantage of the 'net and use it to express our opinions openly. Like creating a blog for example...
Adorkification Moment:
How about...this movie's existence.
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