5 Things WRONG with Avengers: Age of Ultron

Let me make one thing very clear first. I enjoyed the Avengers sequel. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s a funny, action-packed summer blockbuster that’s practically guaranteed to put a smile on your face. That being said, it is not a great film. Not by a long shot. And just because I thought last year’s Captain America: Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy were absolutely brilliant doesn’t mean I’ll bury my head in the sand and ignore when this franchise runs into some problems. And the Avengers sequel most certainly does. Here are 5 things WRONG with Avengers: Age of Ultron.

1. It’s a shorter film than it was supposed to be - I’ve heard that Joss Whedon’s original cut of this film was well over three hours long. It shows. The film has an unfortunate habit of bringing up plot developments and then discarding them never to be brought up again. We get backstory fairly early in the film about new characters Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. This back story explains to us why the characters would want to join Ultron (the villain) in his fight against our heroes and it’s kind of a big deal. But if you happen to go refill your popcorn at that moment, don’t worry about it. It has nothing to do with the rest of the film and won’t change the characters decision making about where their loyalties lie at any point. We’re also treated to a side story about a quest Thor goes on on his own, but the point of it is lost on me. And lastly, all through the film characters will be at certain points and I’m left wondering, ‘how did we get here?’ I’m very interested to seeing the full cut of the film on the blu ray to see if the film then makes more sense,
2. Iron Man 3 is ignored - I realize many people don’t like Iron Man 3. But it does still count as part of this universe, right? At the end of Iron Man 3 Tony has decided to hang up the armor of being Iron Man. He decides he just wants to live his life peacefully with the woman he loves. Nevertheless, at the start of this movie he’s Iron Man. No explanation. No nothing. Does this mean events that happen in this universe don’t necessarily matter anymore? This is the first successful cinematic universe so I suppose they can make their own rules.
3. Ultron - Let’s get this out of the way first. Ultron is a TON of fun to watch on screen and he’s very charismatic! He’s definitely a cut above most Marvel villains. But I believe that has more to do with the actor James Spader than the writing. The origin of our villain is SO unbelievably rushed that we’re just left to accept that he wants to destroy human life to protect the earth without getting any reason why. Or getting much insight into him as a character. I wish Spader’s great performance wasn’t so heavily relied upon, and they gave him more development in the script. But this may also be fixed in the extended cut.
4. Civil War - Any self respecting movie nerd knows that next year we’re getting a movie called ‘Captain America: Civil War’. In this movie, Captain America and Iron Man are going to turn against each other and become enemies. And this movie does a very good job building tension between the two characters. I fully believed they were on the edge of becoming enemies. *MINOR spoilers* But at the end of the film, the two make up and everything is perfectly fine between the two. This makes no sense to me. Why are we building tension and then resolving it, while knowing we’re just going to have to build it all over again in the very next movie?
5. The Trailers - This isn’t really even the movies fault, but I feel I have to address it. And it’s a growing problem I’m noticing a lot lately. Because of all the trailers for this movie, there was very little I didn’t know was going to happen. There was some! But not much. Now one could say, just don’t watch the trailers! But in our media heavy age, this is easier said than done. I love going to the movies and I’ve seen the trailers for Avengers many times before other movies. Is there no respect for the movie going experience anymore? Is there no joy left in the discovery of a film? Do we really need to see almost every plot point and every action scene set piece in the trailers? Trailers these days make me want to show up 10 minutes late to every movie just to avoid the spoiler heavy trailers. In fact, that’s not a terrible idea.

Now I’m sure this sounds like a fanboy nitpicking a movie that’s just suppose to be fun. And believe me I did have fun! In fact, I wouldn’t even say I’m disappointed. But I’ve seen Marvel make films are more than fun and are truly great, like Winter Soldier. And these are just my observations on what kept this film from reaching that status. Have fun at the movies and thanks for reading!