Film Review | Avengers: Age of Ultron
★★★★☆
It would have been easy for Avengers: Age of Ultron – the sequel to Marvel’s franchise mega-hit Avengers Assemble – to rest on its laurels. Thankfully, Avengers 2.0 improves on its predecessor on many fronts even if it doesn’t fully recapture the magic of the 2012 endeavour.
Whereas it took a little while for Avengers Assemble to get going, the opposite is true for the sequel. We begin with a Bond-esque opening skirmish between our heroes and HYDRA cronies that ends with the recovery of Loki’s scepter and a party to remember. But when Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) attempt to use the power of the scepter to jumpstart a peacekeeping program, the inadvertent result is Ultron (James Spader), a highly intelligent robot hell-bent on human extinction. Making matters worse, Ultron joins forces with powerful Maximoff twins Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen).
Film Trailer | Avengers: Age of Ultron
There is a great disparity between the posters and the trailers for Avengers: Age of Ultron.
In the build-up to today’s big reveal Marvel had released a number of bland and lazy character posters featuring each of our principal heroes in a standard hero pose set against a boring backdrop filled with Ultron drones. There’s also a one-sheet with all the Avengers that’s spent far too many hours in Adobe Photoshop:
Thankfully the trailers for Avengers: Age of Ultron have been anything but bland and lazy, and the third and supposedly (but probably not) final clip that was unveiled earlier today is no different.
Film Trailer | Avengers: Age of Ultron
For as fun and entertaining as the films in Marvel’s cinematic universe have been thus far, one element almost all of them have lacked is a physically imposing and truly memorable villain. To clarify, this is not to say that Loki was underwhelming in Avengers Assemble, only that watching the Hulk dismantle him in 2.3 seconds (awesome as it was) felt just a little too easy.
Film Review | Captain America: The Winter Soldier
★★★★★
Where Captain America: The First Avenger was an efficient if slightly underwhelming piece of superhero entertainment, the star-spangled hero’s second solo outing helmed by Community’s Anthony and Joe Russo is an altogether different beast; multi-layered and action-packed, it’s Marvel’s best standalone film yet and easily the best representation of the character on screen thus far.
While Thor returned to Asgard and Tony Stark retreated to his armoury, Steve Rogers aka Captain America (Chris Evans) has been working for S.H.I.E.L.D since the events of New York whilst trying to acclimate to the modern world. When a colleague comes under attack and conspiracy is suspected, Steve goes rogue and teams up with Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) in a bid to expose the corruption, a mission made more difficult when an old friend from his past re-emerges as a formidable adversary – the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan).
Film Trailer | Guardians of the Galaxy
Kicking off with Jon Favreau’s Iron Man (2008), the past six years have seen Marvel gradually build to become a blockbusting behemoth, the apex of which was ensemble adventure Avengers Assemble (2012). That success has granted Marvel the leeway to bring even more outlandish projects to the big screen, and in that regard Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) is easily their riskiest venture yet. Directed by James Gunn, it’s the first and only ‘Phase Two’ instalment that isn’t a direct sequel to what’s already been established. As is the custom for big releases, the past few days have seen the marketing machine ramp up ahead of today’s big reveal, and now we finally have our first good look at our ‘cosmic Avengers’.
Film Trailer | X-Men: Days of Future Past
DC’s jewel in the crown Superman marked his return to the silver screen this year with the somewhat divisive Zack Snyder-directed, Christopher Nolan-produced Man of Steel, but next year will be an all-Marvel affair for superhero blockbusters. We were given our first look at ‘Phase Two’ offering Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) last week, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) are two other highly-anticipated entries, but now the first trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) has landed online. Based on the celebrated comic-book arc of the same name, the footage offers a tantalising glimpse of what is an elaborate undertaking.
Film Review | Iron Man 3
Much like Tony Stark, Marvel Studios have been tinkering with Iron Man for over five years now, striving to upgrade and improve upon the previous model. In some ways, the success rate of the franchise mirrors Stark’s own cinematic journey. The first Iron Man (2008) was an unexpected hit, delighting cinemagoers whilst sowing the seeds for Marvel’s ‘Phase One’. Iron Man 2 (2010) saw both protag and film succumb to expectation, whilst Avengers Assemble (2012) took the character’s popularity to new heights. Enter Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 (2013) – a fun, action-packed superhero yarn that’s arguably Marvel’s best solo instalment to date.
Film Trailer | Thor: The Dark World
With Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 released in UK cinemas nationwide from this Thursday (my full review can be read at Cine-Vue here), now seems the perfect time for Marvel to drop the first trailer for their second Phase Two feature, Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor’s Thor: The Dark World (2013). Due for release on this side of the pond in late October, we pick the story up with Chris Hemsworth’s thunder god back in Asgard after the events of Avengers Assemble. However, it’s not long before Thor’s beloved Earth – and plucky human love interest Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) – to come under threat from a new intergalactic force, led by the vengeful Dark Elf Malekith (Christopher Eccleston).
Film Feature | Iron Man 3 Trailer: 5 Things We’ve Learned
An epic new trailer for Iron Man 3 came online this afternoon, and I wrote a succinct breakdown of what was revealed for What Culture. Read (and watch) here.
Film Feature | Wish List: Superhero Movies We’d Love To See
With no fewer than five comic book movies released this year, superheroes on film have never been more prominent, and Avengers Assemble and The Dark Knight Rises have been two of the most talked about and successful films of 2012.
Marvel, DC, and other studios still have many characters who they would love to see get the coveted multiplex treatment, and after much deliberation, we’ve whittled down our wish list to 10 potentially awesome comic book movies.
For the full list, read the rest of this article at Screen Geek here.
Film Features | For and Against: The Amazing Spider-Man in The Avengers
Next week, the eagerly anticipated franchise reboot The Amazing Spider-Man swings into UK cinemas (read my review here), and with its impending release, its star Andrew Garfield – who of course plays the famous scarlet-clad hero – has been asked on numerous occasions about the possibility of Spider-Man joining the Avengers at a later date.
The answer has always been a tongue-in-cheek ‘Yes’ – honestly, who wouldn’t want to be on that team?! – but there is a lot of red tape to get through in order to get to that stage, what with Sony currently owning the rights to Spider-Man meaning that Marvel will have to buy the rights back before being able to use the character.
There is no doubting that the web-slinging hero is one of the most well-known comic book characters of all time, and his presence in a future Avengers movie is at the very least intriguing to ponder.
The question therefore is; would Spidey be a good fit for the Avengers?
Read the rest of this article on HeyUGuys here.
Film Review | Avengers Assemble
“And there came a day unlike any other…” This opening line to the Avengers comic books was also spoken by Samuel L. Jackson when the cast of the Avengers was first unveiled at Comic-Con almost two years ago. Marvel’s ambitious superhero team-up has been four years in the making and has spanned five films, but now it’s finally upon us. Make no mistake about it; Avengers Assemble marks an unprecedented event. Just like the team itself, there are so many reasons why it should not work. And yet, director Joss Whedon & co have managed to surpass all the lofty expectations and deliver not only one of the greatest superhero films ever made, but one of the best blockbusters in recent memory.
Read the rest of this review on Yin & Yang here.
Film Trailer | Marvel’s Avengers Assemble
No, that is not a typo; in case you hadn’t heard, ‘Marvel’s Avengers Assemble’ is the new UK title for the eagerly anticipated superhero team-up, set to hit cinemas on April 26. New footage has been revealed today via the second full trailer, and it does not disappoint. Have a gander after the jump.
Marvel’s The Avengers | Super Bowl TV Spot
‘Who in their right mind would take on these guys?!’
Back in October 2011, we got our first look at The Avengers with an impressive debut trailer. As it nears its release date of May 4 (mark it in your calendars folks), more snippets of footage are making their way to the web. This action packed TV spot which aired during the Super Bowl last night is guaranteed to have anticipation at a fever pitch.
Hit the jump to watch a whole minute of pure awesomeness.
AMONymous 