Looking back on Avengers: Age of Ultron

In all fairness, Vision's just an elevator with legs.

I really like this movie

Ultron was hot trash, jobber villain..

I really liked it. It explored some stuff most other MCU movies didn't.

i don't think they'll ever replicate the coolness of the Avengers just hanging out

Loved Spader as Ultron.. but I had zero attachment to the character beforehand.

Movie isn't great but it's good enough to pass the time

I hate Ultrons teeth, it bothers me every time i see his stupid face.

Agree with all your points. It's not a great movie. Big let down after how incredible the Winter Soldier and GotG were. But the MCU went on a tear after that.

IDreamOfHime said:

I hate Ultrons teeth, it bothers me every time i see his stupid face.

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf-_230SjbM

yeah but he had killer lines

I kind of feel Ultron is only disappointing in hindsight because he represents another one of the MCUs big, obvious, wasted follow-ups.

The way Ultron's final destruction was framed, really pointed to a conscious effort to make the audience doubt what happened. Vision values him for his uniqueness. For years viewers had theories that Vision couldn't help but absorb the last copy of Ultron while destroying his body - see in a long shot to obscure exactly what happened.

This is after all, how Ultron is typically used in comics. His latest instance is usually outright destroyed, but the intelligence always returns.

But like a lot of character set-ups nothing was ever done with it in a timely manner.

Its my 3rd most favorite Avengers movie (Infinity War is #1 and Endgame is #2).

I liked it - especially moreso than the recent Marvel stuff.

Age of Ultron was needed. It's definitely messy, but it had some great moments and laid a lot of the seeds phase 3 sprouted. Introduced Scarlet Witch and Vision. First time we see Cap might be able to pick up the hammer. The destruction of Sokovia is one of the primary catalysts for the events of Civil War. Out of all the Avengers movie it's the only one with the core team together and already functioning as a well oiled unit before Thanos arrives.

These days I feel it's slightly underrated

saw it for the first time during the pandemic, when i caught up on MCU stuff

it was pretty fine i guess (James Spader definitely the standout) but like everything from Avengers 1 to Civil War it was kind of just a blur. yay 2010s hollywood spectacle woot

I loved Spader as Ultron.

It's got some brilliant moments.

The party at the start.
Everything at the Barton ranch.
Everything with Vision.

But yeah it has some flaws for sure.

Age of Ultron I stand by as only half of a story, with the second half being Civil War. It starts showing the very real building conflict between Steve and Tony, as all of Civil War is him trying to fix what he caused all to happen in Ultron.

Hell, the ending of Age of Ultron almost directly leads into Civil War's opening sequence.

Both are fine spectacles on their own, but neither are good stories until you put them together.

Easily one of the worst MCU films.

Having Raymond Reddington fight the Avengers was pretty great, but since none of the other Blacklist characters crossed over, it felt like something was missing.

This is not so much a joke as how I actually felt. Spider basically played the same character lol

I feel like the only two bad parts about Ultron is the highway chase action scene which is a monumental pace breaker without any interesting super heroics, and the fact that the final battle doesn't really reinforce the overarching theme of the movie outside of "they now have three more people on the crew".

Outside of that, I think it's alright. A few weird moments all around but also has some of the more underrated individual character moments in the MCU. Weakest of the four films, I'll admit.

All this movie (and What If) told me was that Ultron was wasted. Could have been a Thanos level threat from some of the comic book storylines I've seen.

Had some solid Avenger moments but it's hard to go back and rewatch, usually just watch some of the scenes on YouTube and move on.

I just hate how they wasted Ultron on this.

Then again, other classic villains like the Mandarin never got their proper due.

It's not great but far from awful. Probably the worst of the 5 avengers movies (don't kid yourself about Civil War).

Made retroactively better by how much exposition it provided tbh

cursed knowledge said:

i don't think they'll ever replicate the coolness of the Avengers just hanging out

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I mean, they know what they've got here.

Hulkbuster was the main thing I like AoU for, I'd been wanting to see that in the MCU since the franchise started.

I always hated that they killed off Ultron at the end. I always thought they might have left a little ambiguity with Vision and the final copy and not show its death.

What If?... Season 1 did help take the sting off of that a bit.

The rest of AoU ranged from eh (some of that Whedon comedy that's aged like milk) to OK (I liked Vision being introduced, Klaue's introduction).

There's things I really like about this movie. But it's really messy, particularly in the back end.

One of the most boring ass movies I ever watched

It's the biggest example of wasted potential in the entire series, in my opinion. We have Spader as Ultron and it's a let down. We have a good actor playing Quicksilver and he dies. We have Hemsworth at his peak as Thor, looks-wise but his actual writing hadn't turned the corner into the positive much yet, unfortunately. Iron Man as a whole is at his peak, with the best looking suits that were still plausible before the wholesale transition to nanotech. We have Cheadle there briefly and he should've had a bigger presence to add more weight to what happens eventually in Civil War.

That's also a big issue with the movie - there is a whole lot of set-up that eventually pays off (Civil War + Ragnarok being big parts) but at the time and even in hindsight AoU isn't great on its own.

There are a lot of good individual parts but as a whole, just very underwhelming.

Ultron could have been such a cool villain, but it felt like the concept was really underwritten. He should have been really terrifying but instead the team just keep defeating him every time they meet.

I think the film has some really good scenes and some good character building (the after party, the farm, Hulk vs. Hulkbuster) and it sets up their falling out nicely, but on the whole it's a bit of a mess that has some odd decisions and doesn't quite come together.

I like it.

I love James's Spader's performance in this, it's just a pity they made Ultron such a jobber.

I get why it's an Avengers movie, but it almost felt like it shouldn't have carried the Avengers title. Not that it's bad but it just... I dunno. It's an odd duck. The marketing ahead of its release was amazing though; the whole "no strings on me" from Pinocchio being the the theme of Ultron breaking free as a rogue, sentient AI.

I still enjoyed it for what it was though, but when I think of Avengers movies that is the one that doesn't immediately come to mind. Plus... the killed off Quicksilver in the lamest of ways. Granted, Fox's Quicksilver from the X-Men movies was just better.

I still hold out hope we will get ultron again after we don't see vision fully destroy him

I don't even remember the movie, I felt like Civil War was much more an "Avenger" movie compared to this. Also Ultron is a great villain but they did him so dirty in this movie

I was hyped for this movie and Spader, and it let me down with such a weak Ultron.

I didn't see that coming.

the first MCU movie to really make me question whether i actually liked the whole project. i remember being excited for it and coming out of the theater feeling like it was all empty calories

This was the only MCU movie pre endgame that made me think it was "over". I left the theater hating it. Thank fuck they got rid of that hack whedon to at least wrap up the thanos storyline.

I remember liking the hulk vs hulk buster ironman fight tho

Far from awful but also far from great. Mostly wasted potential with some great scenes:

Ultron's intro in the busted armor sets him up super well as both menacing and threatening. The tone, the music, and James Spader being perfectly cast for the character. While Ultron himself doesn't hit the highs he could've, this was a great intro and Spader nailed what I'd always imagined he'd sound like.

Everything at the Barton farm. The character moments we get and the vibe rules. When the characters get to have more intimate, human moments, it's just so good.

Hawkeye giving encouragement to Wanda is a nice little moment.

Hulkbuster vs Hulk with the rapid fire beat down.

Ultron's last scene with Vision. The whole ordeal ending in a one on one conversation in a busted armor suit about how they both view humanity is a great idea that I wish was a little longer.

I still think Ultron could get another shot at being a big threat but wouldn't blame Marvel if they don't want to revisit that. What could've been...

I remember sitting in a theater and realizing very quickly that I was NOT enjoying this film. Something about it didn't click with me, and I fucking love the MCU.

Incredibly underrated movie, only gets better with the benefit of hindsight. It establishes so many great character dynamics, starts character arcs, does so much worldbuilding, and sets up so many story points. If Phase 3 is peak MCU, this is the movie that established that world. Before AoU the MCU was a bunch of separate movies crossing over; AoU made it a shared universe.

I think the Widow/Hulk relationship works in theory. I really like what she says about liking him specifically because he tries to avoid a fight. My main issue with it is Ruffalo and Johansson have absolutely zero chemistry. Which is bizarre because both of them are fantastic actors in their own right

Spades was awesome, Ultron was not. Him and the machines didn't kill anyone I think and felt like fodder. Cap took him on on top of a truck, very easily too.

The ending was tied up so nearly with a bow. Stark created this machine and there was no repercussions for him, not even anyone on the team scolding him, just a see you later buddy ending.

Vision picking up the hammer, sure I get it but it was a Whedon moment. Just didn't need to happen and takes away from Cap lifting it.

The team bonding scenes are the best parts of these movies, personalities clashing and interacting. Always the highlight. But I feel the pressure on Whedon cost this one a great story.

There was no sense of danger with Ultron and that was the biggest issue. He didn't kill anyone which they made sure to mention and even Cap had no issues fighting him. He looked silly in the train, as if the cg artists just shrunk him to fit and knew nobody would care.

Again, his dialogue was amazing and Spader killed it with what he had. But Ultron should've been more than he was, felt wasted.

I sat here for five minutes trying to think of something I liked about Age of Ultron and I came up completely empty. That's my take.

Taking a long, 5 year post-Endgame look back, Ultron might be my pick for best Avengers movie?

They aren't forming, they aren't broken up, they're just the team.

Infinity War and Endgame are packed to the gills and while they work, they don't have time for the human aspects of the Marvel characters.

The party scene is the best MCU content that exists.

I liked it a lot better than Civil War.

My ranking is Avengers 1 > Infinity War > Endgame > Age of Ultron > Civil War

Genuinely my favorite Avengers flick, slight edge over Infinity War.

It's the only time, ever - in the entire MCU - where we get to see the avengers acting like a team and working together, from beginning to end.

So for that reason AoU will always have a soft spot in my heart and I'll always rate it more highly than most peeps.

In avengers 1 they're assembling and don't know each other. In IW and Endgame they're broken up and only come together at the end.

AoU is just a pure fun team up through and through.

(Yes they argue and it sews the ideological seeds that would split them up in Civil War but in the context of AoU on its own they're all still a team at this point)

I still don't understand why they had to fuck up Ultron's face. Those Bayformers lips just didn't work. That's honestly my only major gripe with the movie lol.