Thursday, October 23, 2014

Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer is here!!!

Karen: WOW WEE!!! AVENGERS....ULTRON....HULKBUSTER!!!! 'NUFF SAID!


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16 comments:

Humanbelly said...

The few bits of comments I've caught so far do contain an element of, "It looks so grim. It looks so dark. It doesn't look as fun as the first film."

But-- as I mentioned to HBSon, that's kind of the necessary structure or formula for almost any trilogy-based narrative, regardless of format. Movies, books, television-- at the most simplified level, you have Introduction, Conflict, then Resolution-- and that second installment is where the going is gonna get the toughest. Empire Strikes Back, The Two Towers, Temple of Doom (at least in tone), almost any three-part comic-book story (the Counter-Earth/Adam Warlock saga in Hulk #176-178 comes immediately to mind). I know it's a gross simplification of an incredibly complex feat of story-telling-- but it's just kind of how conventional drama works, y'know?

Anyhoo-- I think the trailer's well-done in setting us up w/ the bleak perspective of Ultron's worldview. The musical underscoring and Ultron's low-key, measured monologue are chillingly and effectively juxtaposed w/ the over-the-top mayhem of the visuals. It's not a new trick, but like a favorite song, you never tire of seeing/hearing it done well. But-- I'm going to take a risk and say that the film DOES appear to be too. . . crowded. . . according to this preview. What we're not getting a sense of is the continued development of these characters and their relationships in this team setting. It's a LOT of folks and faces, and I want to be able to hang just a second or two of an emotional hook on SOMEBODY. . . but it's simply too fragmented a clip to do so.

Still, I'll put my faith in Joss Whedon. The man does NOT skimp on investing his characters with life. . . ever!

HB

October 23, 2014 at 8:20 AM
david_b said...

HB, I agree on Whedon's expertise when it comes to investing in character development and 'quiet moments'.

Luckily it won't go the way of the Spidey films and simply pile on villains, more action, and less dimensional/believable characters/situations..

One uber-mean villain, one classic story, couple of emotional entanglements/conflicts to chew on, add a side of humor, and superb, majestic 'ebb-and-flow' pacing for 108 minutes.

"Bring it home, Josh..!!"

October 23, 2014 at 8:28 AM
Edo Bosnar said...

Personally I was kind of hoping these movies wouldn't go the way of the original comics and have Hulk duke it out with the rest of the team - I liked that he was more or less able to function as a member of the Avengers in the first movie.

However, I've decided not to overthink it, because none of the Marvel movies I've seen so far have been disappointing - quite the opposite in fact.
Also, right near the end, Ultron just looks awesomely scary.

October 23, 2014 at 8:44 AM
Anonymous said...

Hunnert and eight!?! That's it? It can't be 108!?! Ultron, Hulk, Hulkbuster, Pietro and Wanda, Hawkeye in a skirt, Thor drops his hammer, somebody's doing ballet.......you can't do that in a hunnert and eight minutes. No man of woman born can........

The Prowler (a bottle of red, a bottle of white, A bottle of white, a bottle of red perhaps a bottle of rose instead we'll get a table near the street in our old familiar place you and I-face to face).

PS: HB I've never really viewed the Indiana Jones movies as a trilogy. More like the Bond series or MI, random movies featuring the same lead.

October 23, 2014 at 9:28 AM
Humanbelly said...

Yeah, you're right Prowl, that's not a solid example. WRATH OF KHAN might have been a better choice, except the Star Trek films continued much farther on past a trilogy (soooooo far past their sell-by date!). It's also an example of how a somewhat darker story can make for a MUCH stronger film.

As psyched as I am about how this iteration of Ultron looks and sounds. . . I must confess that I miss our pal Tom Hiddleston as Loki. He's just sooo flippin' good, y'know?

I suppose I'll go ahead and get in front of the possible commentary from older fans, and say that I DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM with this Ultron being a product of Stark tech gone wrong. Yes, it's obviously not at all true to the source material, but there are points where one simply has to yield that the source material maybe doesn't have first-rate cinematic legitimacy or practicality. We don't have Henry Pym on hand for this. Trying to work him in at this point would be forced and awkward, and the necessary emotional impact of a core member being responsible for Ultron's creation would be completely lost. It's a different story this way (more about hubris than oedipal transgressions, I'll wager), but it's a solid, smart direction to take with it.

HB

October 23, 2014 at 10:50 AM
Karen said...

I guess people aren't nearly as excited about this movie as I am. HB, I agree, Ultron will be a product of Stark's ego and arrogance, and I don't think that's so bad. this is a big turnaround for me, as I had been vehemently opposed to losing the comics origin, with Pym and the Oedipal complex. but given how the Marvel Movie universe has developed so far, it makes perfect sense for Ultron to be Tony's mistake. The important thing is, Ultron has to have that 'family tie,' and now it will be provided via Stark.

Although I'm sure we'll all miss Loki and the terrific Tom Hiddlesotn, I am hoping they can develop another villain to match his presence in Ultron.

The Hulkbuster sequence looks sure to be a show-stopper. I am still wondering if it is really Stark in the armor, or if Ultron has taken it over. it did look like there was a smaller Iron Man inside the big Hulkbuster though, so it may be we're looking at a fight between former friends. Perhaps we are seeing the films follow the comics cycle of Hulk joining, and then quickly leaving the team.

I am not looking forward to a version of Civil War played out on film. I just think it's not a good idea. We haven't had enough time with these characters to get to that point. I hope that's not what we're getting with Cap 3. But I am looking forward to this movie. So far Marvel has done things right and I am not losing faith now.

October 23, 2014 at 3:19 PM
Humanbelly said...

Gosh, is Civil War the over-plot direction the producers are heading in? Man, that would make even less sense than a Pym-fathered Ultron, here. There'd have to be an implausibly HUGE population explosion of super-powered beings to even remotely justify it-- and in the MU a big chunk of them were mutants. . . which Disney/Marvel doesn't exactly have the film rights for. At least not for the familiar ones.

But, y'know? I can fully see the ego-monster creative heads insisting that all of what's been done before was merely a build up to the cinematic realization of the buh-RILLIANT work they did in the MU, and somehow making the case that THAT is what the fans will truly want. . . all evidence to the contrary aside (or ignored. . . or suppressed. . . ).

But again, Civil War didn't happen in the Ultimate U-- so maybe the Cinematic U doesn't have to mess w/ that nonsense either. It's not like their struggling for material at this point. . . !

HB

October 23, 2014 at 3:32 PM
William said...

It looks freaking awesome to me!!!

HULK... BUSTER... IRON MAN... nuff said.

October 23, 2014 at 3:55 PM
Anonymous said...

All I gotta say here is ... bring it on Joss Whedon! Yeah, this second act looks like it definitely will be darker in tone than the first movie. This is not necessarily a bad thing, like HB said in the case of Wrath of Khan. However, ultimately this movie will be judged on its own merits. Glad to see Wanda and Pietro here. It'll be interesting to see how they are incorporated into the storyline.

The Hulkbuster armour looks awesome too!


- Mike 'Ultron rules' from Trinidad & Tobago.

October 23, 2014 at 5:43 PM
Anonymous said...

A NEW WORLD RECORD (and personal best)!!!! Dyno-Mike in before dinner time.

That's it people, nothing more to see here, move along, move along.

The Prowler (Well you went uptown riding in your limousine with your fine Park Avenue clothes you had the Dom Perignon in your hand and the spoon up your nose).

October 23, 2014 at 6:43 PM
Dr. Oyola said...

Looks fantastic, BUT Spader's voice for Ultron needs more robotic effect to be Ultron's voice for me. Ultron hates humanity, why would he want to sound human.

That being said, I can get over it.

October 23, 2014 at 11:39 PM
Anonymous said...

Your basic Frankenstein story.
I like Spader, though. I think it would have been a lot creepier if they had kept Ultron's voice closer to his real one. Spader can do scary just by reading lines. mp

October 24, 2014 at 1:27 AM
andy said...

Did it have to be so spoilerific? Possibly Scarlet Witch and Quicksiliver join Ultron because the hulk buster fight wrecked their city? It's the same back drop when witch screams to the heavens. Hulk is uncontrollable which resulted in the fight in the first place, hence Banner looking like he's wracked with guilt in the Quinn jet. Which in turn leads Ultron to believe in a new order.

October 24, 2014 at 6:40 AM
Robert said...

I can't wait. Ultron with the voice of James Spader is brilliant. Even if everyone doesn't embrace this film...I've waited for this movie for over 40 years and I knew somehow someway that Marvel would be making multi-million dollar block buster movies. I knew it after Star Wars came out in 1977. Marvel has too many classic characters that appeal to fans of the sci fi/ super hero genre.

But I digress, I've read the Ultron Saga written by Roy Thomas and years later purchased some paperbacks with George Perez and Kurt Busiek in yet another Ultron Saga.

I do like the fact that Ultron can wreck so much destruction and it makes for good comics story telling.

It looks like this one will be another block buster for Joss Whedon.
He knows the genre because he's a guy of a certain age that grew up on those comics. In the hands of anyone else the Avengers would be lost without him. I hope he has at least six more Avengers movies in him.

October 24, 2014 at 5:14 PM
Anonymous said...

I think Spader will be fine but to me in the comics, Ultron was anything but cool headed, that was the great twist, a robot who ranted and frothed. He did not have a cold dislike for the Avengers, he had an insane hatred of them. Look back in issue 162 at how Perez drew him. I recall him almost hopping from foot to foot with glee at times! As such, I imagined Ultrons voice to be shrill & high pitched.

October 25, 2014 at 9:22 AM
Anonymous said...

Ultron sounds more like Robbie Robertson "Somewhere Down that Crazy River" than the Ultron from the Avengers animated show, or what I'd imagined he sounded like in the books. Other than that everything is looking great.

October 27, 2014 at 5:29 AM

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