REVIEW -- Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Thor: Ragnarok is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Thor, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to 2011's Thor and 2013's Thor: The Dark World, and is the seventeenth film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Taika Waititi from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and the writing team of Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost, and stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor alongside Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Hopkins. In Thor: Ragnarok, Thor must escape the alien planet Sakaar in time to save Asgard from Hela and the impending Ragnarök.

A third Thor film was confirmed in January 2014, with Kyle and Yost beginning work on the screenplay. The involvement of Hemsworth and Hiddleston was announced that October. Waititi joined the film as director a year later, after The Dark World director Alan Taylor chose not to return. Ruffalo joined the cast reprising the role of Hulk from previous MCU films, which allowed elements of the 2006 comic storyline "Planet Hulk" to be adapted for Ragnarok. The rest of the cast, including Blanchett as Hela, was confirmed in May 2016, with Pearson's involvement revealed at the start of filming in July 2016. Principal photography took place in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia, with the film also having exclusive use of Village Roadshow Studios in Oxenford, concluding in October 2016.

Thor: Ragnarok premiered in Los Angeles on October 10, 2017, and was released in the United States on November 3, 2017, in 3D, IMAX, and IMAX 3D.

Cast:

Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Tom Hiddleston as Loki
Cate Blanchett as Hela
Idris Elba as Heimdall
Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster
Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie
Karl Urban as Skurge
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk
Anthony Hopkins as Odin

Additionally, Tadanobu Asano, Ray Stevenson, and Zachary Levi reprise their roles as Hogun, Volstagg, and Fandral, respectively, members of the Warriors Three. They are all killed early in the film, which Feige called "noble ends" that served to establish the threat of Hela and the danger she poses to the main characters. Benedict Cumberbatch reprises his role as Stephen Strange from the film Doctor Strange. Rachel House, who has appeared in several of Waititi's films, plays Topaz, the Grandmaster's bodyguard,while Waititi portrays Korg, a gladiator who befriends Thor. Waititi provided a motion-capture performance for the character, who is made of rocks, and wanted to do something different by having the character be soft-spoken, ultimately basing Korg's voice on that of Polynesian bouncers. Waititi also provided the motion-capture performance for the fire demon Surtur, based on the mythological being Surtr, with Clancy Brown providing the voice for that character. Thor co-creator Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance as a man on Sakaar who cuts Thor's hair. There are also several cameos in a sequence where Asgardian actors perform a play based on the events of The Dark World: Sam Neill, who Waititi previously worked with on Hunt for the Wilderpeople, plays the Odin actor; Luke Hemsworth, brother of Chris, plays the Thor actor; and Matt Damon plays the Loki actor.

Plot: 

Two years after the Battle of Sokovia, Thor has been unsuccessfully searching for the Infinity Stones, and is now imprisoned by the fire demon Surtur. Surtur reveals that Thor's father Odin is no longer on Asgard, and that the realm will soon be destroyed in the prophesied Ragnarök, once Surtur unites his crown with the Eternal Flame that burns beneath the city. Thor defeats Surtur and claims his crown, believing he has prevented Ragnarök.

Thor returns to Asgard to find his adopted brother Loki posing as Odin. Thor forces Loki to help him find their father, and with directions from Stephen Strange on Earth, they locate Odin in Norway. Odin explains that he is dying, and that his passing will allow his firstborn daughter Hela to escape from a prison she was sealed in long ago. Hela had been the leader of Asgard's armies, and had conquered the Nine Realms with Odin, but had been imprisoned and written out of history after her ambitions became too great. Odin dies, and Hela appears. She destroys Thor's hammer Mjolnir, and when Thor and Loki attempt to flee through the Bifröst Bridge, she pursues them and forces them out into space to die. Hela arrives in Asgard, destroying its army and the Warriors Three; resurrects the ancient dead who once fought with her, including her wolf Fenris; and appoints the downtrodden Asgardian Skurge as her executioner. She plans to use the Bifröst to expand Asgard's empire, but Heimdall steals the sword that controls the Bridge, and hides away with the rest of Asgard's citizens.

Thor crash-lands on the planet Sakaar, a garbage planet surrounded by wormholes. He is captured by a bounty hunter named Scrapper 142, and taken to serve as a gladiator for the planet's ruler, the Grandmaster, whom Loki has already become ingratiated with. Thor recognizes 142 as one of the Valkyrior, a legendary force of female fighters who were killed defending Asgard from Hela long ago. Thor is forced to compete in the Grandmaster's Contest of Champions, facing his old friend the Hulk. Thor almost defeats the Hulk, before the Grandmaster fixes the fight to ensure the Hulk's victory. Still enslaved, Thor attempts to convince Hulk and 142 to help him save Asgard, but neither is willing. He soon manages to escape the palace and finds the Quinjet that brought Hulk to Sakaar. Hulk follows Thor to the Quinjet, where a recording of Natasha Romanoff makes the Hulk transform back into Bruce Banner for the first time since Sokovia.

The Grandmaster orders 142 and Loki to find Thor and Hulk, but the pair come to blows and Loki forces her to relive the deaths of her fellow Valkyrie at the hands of Hela; she decides to help Thor, taking Loki captive to prove her goodwill. Unwilling to be left behind, Loki provides the group with the means to steal one of the Grandmaster's ships. They then liberate the other gladiators who, led by Korg and Miek, stage a rebellion. Loki attempts to betray his brother to gain a reward from the Grandmaster, but Thor anticipates this and leaves him behind. Loki is soon found by Korg and the gladiators. Thor, Banner, and 142 escape through a wormhole to Asgard, where Hela's forces are attacking Heimdall and Asgard's citizens. Banner becomes the Hulk again, fighting Fenris, Skurge, and the resurrected warriors with 142 while Thor faces Hela. Loki and the gladiators arrive to help, and the citizens board their large ship; a repentant Skurge sacrifices himself to allow their escape. Thor loses an eye and then has a vision of Odin that helps him realize that only Ragnarök can stop Hela. While she is distracted, Loki locates Surtur's crown and places it in the Eternal Flame. Surtur is reborn and destroys Asgard, seemingly killing Hela.

Hulk's going to SMASH no matter how big his opponent is...

Thor and the others escape with Asgard's remaining citizens aboard the Grandmaster's vessel. Thor, crowned king, decides to take his people to Earth. In a mid-credits scene, the vessel comes across a large spacecraft. In a post-credits scene, the Grandmaster encounters a group of his former subjects, who are still rebelling.

The Verdict: 

Casting

For someone with PTSD and allegedly in mourning, the girl sure knows how to make an entrance.

While I wasn't too crazy about Tessa Thompson being cast as a Valkyrie instead of the Valkyrie, I was fine with her performance here. It wasn't nothing groundbreaking, but she served her purpose well here. I just feel like she might want to hold her horses on that talk about an all-female Avengers film in the near-future. I'm inclined to lean towards no thanks on that offer as it really doesn't fit well with the state of their continuity thus far and Marvel Studios aren't ones to do shit just to do it like our friends at DC/Warner Bros. Outside of Scarlet Witch, Gamora, Black Widow, Valkyrie, along with Wasp and Captain Marvel in the near-future, there's not many "strong" female characters in the MCU to justify this at the moment. I get that people are applauding and praising DC/WB for their success with a female-led superhero film with 2017's Wonder Woman, but it's a much more risky gamble with Marvel's femme fatales. Wonder Woman has been a household name for decades prior to this boom of popularity and acceptance of superheroes into mainstream media. Marvel doesn't have that advantage with any of their ladies that have been established to this point. I know, I know... that bit there isn't relative to this review, but just my two cents that I wanted to put out there.

Seriously, where does Hela get all of those knives from? It looks fucking cool though.

I adored Cate Blanchett as Hela here. The costume, the attitude, her swagger/arrogance, just everything about her performance in this role. I hope this isn't the only time that we see this character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This continuity has far too many disposable villains. It's about time that they establish a main stay major player and I humbly nominate Hela for the task. Surtur (voiced by good ol' Clancy Brown, aka Lex Luthor from Superman: The Animated Series and currently Ra-Zar/Chris Bradford from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012) animated series) was wasted here for the most part. He's only in the film long enough to be the butt of several jokes at the tail end of both points of this film - briefly at the beginning and once more during the film's climax.

The director of this film Taiki Wahiti plays Korg, who is vastly altered from his comic book counterpart. Wahiti plays him off as mostly comic relief to add more humor to a film that already has enough jokes as is. To his credit, the character didn't overstay his welcome and I wouldn't have a problem if he popped up in future MCU films just for a joke here and there.

I wonder if the raging fangirls were a little disappointed with Tom Hiddleston's performance as Loki as I was here. It's not that he lost his charm, it's like that there wasn't enough of it here. This wasn't as serious of a Thor film as it's predecessors, so I would like to think that was to blame. I did enjoy that Loki's character went through what seems like a little bit of growth as he warmed up to the aspirations of being a hero - even though it was to his own benefit in front of the people of Asgard. Hiddleston does better when there's not so much comedy to be had in these Thor-centric films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I enjoy him more as a cold, calculating villain rather than the butt end of majority of the jokes here.

The Grandmaster in all of his holographic 3D glory...

Jeff Goldblum's performance as the Grandmaster was as out there I expected after audiences were treated to the Collector in the original Guardians of the Galaxy. FYI Grandmaster is the brother of Benicio del Toro's Collector from Guardians of the Galaxy, and producer Kevin Feige expressed interest in seeing the two together in a future film. Much like the Collector back in the original Guardians of the Galaxy, there wasn't enough of this character for my taste.

Karl Urban was completely wasted here as Skurge the Executioner as I honestly felt that his role wasn't even really necessary for this film. Hela was a powerful enough threat on her own right without any need for a C/D tier villain sharing the spotlight with her, only for him to play the anti-hero card by the time it was all said and done. I'll say it again, this role was a complete waste of Urban's talents. For his sake, I hope this isn't Skurge only appearance in the MCU.

Last but not least, let's talk about Thor's character evolution here - at least in relation to Chris Hemsworth's performance in this film. This film decides to take Thor in a different direction across the board. No more that he is the same boring Shakespearean hero that we have come accustomed with from the last five films. Hemsworth and this new director decided to bring Hemsworth's charm and comedic performance from the recent Ghostbusters reboot here. I felt it was a little hit or miss but worked for the most part. I just found it was hard to take anything serious when the titular hero didn't do so in the least outside of the final act while confronting Hela and opening few minutes of the film during his fight with Surtur and his forces. I think Hemsworth will have time to polish this act off before the inevitable Infinity War as it's a welcome change to a character that is known for being so stale and boring over the course of his comic book history. Marvel Studios had to do something as this iteration of Thor doesn't have an alter ego to fall back on to provide depth of character. 

Narrative

My biggest issue with this film is that it never seems to take itself seriously. From start to the final act, it feels like this film is more focused on being a big joke instead of being the traditional superhero flavored epic that we have come accustomed to these Thor movies of being. I would have to blame that on the new director that was brought in.

Pulling influences and themes from several popular Thor and Hulk stories had a hit or miss result on this narrative to boot. I was fine with Hela being established as Odin's first-born daughter in this continuity as this revelation spares the MCU the headache that the comics continuity got when Angela was established in theirs as Odin's first-born and Thor and Loki's long-lost sister. At the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if Marvel does introduce that character down the road at some point.

Did I miss something or did they actually explain why Thor was carrying swords around charged with electricity the rest of the film?

Here's the things that bothered me with the plot though. If Surtur was going to be Asgard's end after having his crown placed on the Eternal Flame, then why in the world would anyone put his skull anywhere NEAR that thing in Odin's armory? The same could be said about the Tesseract in that vault as well, but I honestly cracked up when Hela pointed out that roughly every other thing in there was "fake" - so we know who has the "real" Infinity Gauntlet when Avengers: Infinity War starts up in 2018. Secondly, if Hulk has been on Sakaar for about two years now since the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, then why haven't the Avengers even bothered looking for the guy? He really would have tipped the scales during Captain America: Civil War, that's for sure. It's like how General Ross said during that movie, how careless can you be when Thor and Hulk - arguably the most powerful Avengers outside of Wanda/Scarlet Witch's untapped potential and The Vision, are unaccounted for without any concern nor urgency where in the nine realms they could have been? Third, after seeing Natasha caused Hulk to revert back to being Bruce Banner, why does the film make it an ongoing joke about Banner's serious condition and struggle he has with dealing with the Hulk? He pleaded to Thor like a friend for help, but this douchebag just used Banner to use the Hulk for his own personal benefit to aid him against Hela. So yeah... that whole deal about if he changed into the Hulk again, he might not come back was completely swept underneath the rug in the sake of comedy. That was really in bad taste when we should have had some real dilemma come from that turn of events. I guess one could say that Banner willingly gave himself up to be the Hulk again to aid in the fight to save Asgard from Hela and protect the Asgardians during their escape but I still didn't like how Banner's character development was swept underneath the rug. I get this wasn't his film, but this is the first film we've seen in him since Age of Ultron so they had to give us something. Fourth, the Executioner's character was completely wasted in this film. I was hoping that we could have seen Enchantress introduced in this film - we got Surtur, Hela, Valkyrie, Grandmaster, Korg, Miek, and Executioner in one film, so one new character more wouldn't have hurt in my honest opinion, even if it was down to a minor cameo in the mid-credits/post-credits teasers. My personal fan-casting for that role would have been Hemsworth's lovely wife, Elsa Pataky, since she already looks the part anyway. Seeing Executioner killed off after his one minor role in this film made me shake my head here as Marvel Studios continues their trend of disposable villains, not that Executioner had a great role in this film to begin with. Last but not least, I couldn't fathom why they had to destroy Thor's hammer and make him lose his eye all in one film. I know I couldn't be the only one waiting for someone to make a He-Man/Masters of the Universe joke at some point from how Thor was throwing around lightning from the heavens and it striking his hands like it came straight out of Castle Greyskull. That being said, I don't get how Odin said that Thor was more powerful than him, but even he when tapped into his full potential it still wasn't enough to beat Hela. Hell, he still couldn't beat Hulk before they zapped him with the obedience disks. FYI those disks are powerful enough to even bring the Silver Surfer to his knees as stated back in the Planet Hulk comics. That was one small detail that wasn't really mentioned on how the Grandmaster was able to force Hulk to fight in his games.

In terms of details, they were pretty damn vague on a lot of stuff here - did Hulk and Valkyrie have a fling? Is Valkyrie bisexual? (Kinda got that vibe from the flashback of the rest of her kind being slaughtered by Hela) So... Thor had no time to mourn the Warriors Three to say they were his life-long friends? How was Hulk able to land the Quinjet without wrecking it on Sakaar? If Korg and Miek were Hulk's friends like in the Planet Hulk comics, then why didn't they inform Thor of who the Grandmaster's 'champion' was when he arrived? (There was no need to keep that information a secret when that information was spoiled in the promotional trailers and commercials for this film) Why wasn't Loki locked up and made to fight in the Grandmaster's games? Valkyrie is one of the last of her kind, yet she wasn't forced to fight in the games either? I swear this movie muddled up a lot of details that I'm sure a lot of people just ignored for sake of the comedy.

Final Thoughts

I have seen this film twice now and I honestly don't see what film people are talking about when I read the overall reactions online that regard this as Marvel's best film to date. This film is fine and all but I felt that it was a far cry from being the best film that was produced by Marvel Studios. Like previously mentioned, my biggest issue with this film is that it has a lot of unnecessary baggage with the narrative and the fact that it never seems to take itself serious enough to make the viewers believe that there was any true sense of danger or a real crisis.

I thought the best moments of this film was the opening act where we saw Thor at the pinnacle of his abilities with his hammer for the last time while reminding viewers that this is a shared universe with the short cameo from Dr. Strange to locate Odin. Hela's introduction was simply marvelous (no pun intended) - I haven't been that impressed with a villain's arrival in this continuity since the Winter Soldier back in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. That's what this continuity needs more of - villains who are just bad for the sake of being evil and enjoy every second of causing misery and inflicting pain to all of those who stand in their way. I have my fingers crossed that we haven't seen the end of her with Infinity War right around the corner and I hope that we have Hela playing the part of "Death" that Thanos is known to want to court with his actions on is pursuit of conquest after obtaining all of the Infinity Stones. Remember, don't forget that Loki is in debt to Thanos after failing to conquer Earth after being allowed to use the Tesseract and command over his forces in the original Avengers film. It was confirmed in interview with Kevin Feige that the ship that Thor's group encounters in the mid-credits teaser is none other than Thanos' ship, so I would like to believe that he has come to collect payment on that debt. Those who were at Comic Con who have seen the Infinity War footage that was shown to the public have already confirmed that the Guardians of the Galaxy are the first ones to encounter Thor in space among some wreckage, so I will like to think that the Asgardians fight a losing battle against the Mad Titan after that exchange.

Watch It or Don't Bother?

Thor getting his Highlander on as there only can be one...

This is the first film since Avengers: Age of Ultron where viewers are treated with what happened to Thor and the Hulk since the events of that film that cost them to miss out on last year's Captain America: Civil War event that left the Avengers' house divided. So naturally, audiences are going to want to see this as it's one of the last stops (along with Black Panther in February) before Avengers: Infinity War. If you enjoyed the last two Thor films, then you're going to enjoy this film as it's a bit more of the same with these characters, but in a lighthearted tone. The lack of seriousness to the subject manner may be a turn off for some, but I think most Marvel fans will find something to like about this, despite the lack of accuracy to a lot of the comic book events that this narrative draws from. At this point, fans should be used to the Marvel Cinematic Universe take their own spin on these events, so that shouldn't come to a surprise. 

PREVIEW -- Thor: Ragnarok - Official Trailer 2

One of the many teases Marvel Studios shown off to the public during San Diego Comic Con was the latest Thor: Ragnarok trailer.

My thoughts?

I'm digging the 80's style presentation direction. Totally loving what they've done with Hela here. I think she's going to be Marvel's best major villain(ess) to date, or wait, is she the first now that Nebula has swapped sides?

I'm still on the fence about how they are going to condense Planet Hulk somehow into this story.

Speaking of the Hulk...

😲😲😲 Hulk can talk now???!!! Well, more than one liners?

I'm STILL not feeling that girl who they got to play Valkyrie. Costume looks awesome though.

REVIEW -- Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Avengers: Age of Ultron is a 2015 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to 2012's The Avengers and the eleventh installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was written and directed by Joss Whedon and features an ensemble cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgård, James Spader, and Samuel L. Jackson. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Avengers must work together to defeat Ultron, a mechanical artificial intelligence bent on human extinction.

Cast:

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye
Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes / War Machine
Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Pietro Maximoff / Quicksilver
Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch
Paul Bettany as J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision
Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Falcon
Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter
Idris Elba as Heimdall
Stellan Skarsgård as Erik Selvig
James Spader as Ultron
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury

Thomas Kretschmann and Henry Goodman return as Baron Wolfgang von Strucker and Dr. List

Linda Cardellini portrays Laura Barton, Hawkeye's wife.

Claudia Kim portrays Helen Cho

Andy Serkis portrays Ulysses Klaue

Julie Delpy appears as Madame B., who mentors Black Widow into becoming an assassin.

Kerry Condon voices the artificial intelligence F.R.I.D.A.Y.

Josh Brolin makes an uncredited appearance during the mid-credits scene as Thanos.

Avengers co-creator Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance in the film as a military veteran who attends the Avengers' victory party.

Plot:

In the Eastern European country of Sokovia, the Avengers — Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Thor, Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff, and Clint Barton — raid a Hydra outpost led by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, who has been experimenting on humans using the scepter previously wielded by Loki. They encounter two of Strucker's experiments—twins Pietro, who has superhuman speed, and Wanda Maximoff, who can manipulate minds and project energy—and apprehend Strucker, while Stark retrieves Loki's scepter.

Stark and Banner discover an artificial intelligence within the scepter's gem, and secretly use it to complete Stark's "Ultron" global defense program. The unexpectedly sentient Ultron, believing he must eradicate humanity to save Earth, eliminates Stark's A.I. J.A.R.V.I.S. and attacks the Avengers at their headquarters. Escaping with the scepter, Ultron uses the resources in Strucker's Sokovia base to upgrade his rudimentary body and build an army of robot drones. Having killed Strucker, he recruits the Maximoffs, who hold Stark responsible for their parents' deaths by his weapons. Together, they investigate the base of arms dealer Ulysses Klaue in an African shipyard to obtain vibranium. The Avengers pursue them, but Wanda subdues the heroes with haunting visions, causing the Hulk to rampage until Stark stops him with his "Veronica" weaponry.

A worldwide backlash over the resulting destruction, and the fears Wanda's hallucinations incited, send the team into hiding at Barton's safehouse. Thor departs to consult with Dr. Erik Selvig on the meaning of the apocalyptic future he saw in his hallucination, while Romanoff and Banner plan to flee together after realizing a mutual attraction. However, Nick Fury arrives and encourages the team to form a plan to stop Ultron. In Seoul, Ultron forces the team's friend Dr. Helen Cho to use her synthetic tissue technology, vibranium, and the scepter's gem to perfect a body for him. When Ultron begins uploading himself into the body, Wanda is able to read his mind; discovering his plan for human extinction, the Maximoffs turn on Ultron. Rogers, Romanoff, and Barton find Ultron and retrieve the synthetic body, but Ultron captures Romanoff.

The Avengers fight amongst themselves when Stark secretly uploads J.A.R.V.I.S. — who is still operational after hiding from Ultron inside the Internet — into the synthetic body. Thor returns to help activate the body with lightning, explaining that the gem on its brow – one of the six Infinity Stones, the most powerful objects in existence – was part of his vision. This "Vision" and the Maximoffs accompany the Avengers to Sokovia, where Ultron has used the remaining vibranium to build a machine to lift a large part of the same-name city skyward, intending to crash it into the ground to cause global extinction. As the city begins to lift, Banner rescues Romanoff, who awakens the Hulk for the battle. The Avengers fight Ultron's army while Fury arrives in a Helicarrier with Maria Hill, James Rhodes and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to assist in evacuating civilians. Pietro dies when he shields Barton from a barrage of fire, and a grieving Wanda abandons her post to destroy Ultron's primary body in revenge, inadvertently allowing one of his drones to activate the machine. The landmass plummets, but Stark and Thor overload the machine and shatter the city into pieces. In the aftermath, the Hulk, unwilling to endanger Romanoff by being with her, departs in a Quinjet, while the Vision confronts Ultron's last remaining body.

Later, with the Avengers having established a new base run by Fury, Hill, Cho, and Selvig, Thor returns to Asgard to learn more about the forces he suspects have manipulated recent events. As Stark and Barton also leave, Rogers and Romanoff prepare to train new Avengers: Rhodes, Vision, Sam Wilson, and Wanda.

In a mid-credits scene, Thanos, dissatisfied by the failures of his pawns, dons a gauntlet and vows to personally retrieve the Infinity Stones.

The Verdict: 

Watch it, rent it, or don't bother?

Who am I kidding? You have to be crazy NOT to watch this one - DEFINITELY watch this one, folks.

Now that's out of the way, I'll weigh in a lot of things I loved about this film along with my own personal analysis since you guys tend to love to hear what I have to say on this Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

The number one complaint that I have heard from a LOT of people is about how Ultron is yet another throw-away villain for the MCU. If you want to be black and white about it in terms of comics, that was the role that Ultron was given in comics until recent years. Ultron was a major villain but he was used mainly as a distraction to build towards bigger storylines. That is EXACTLY what part he serves here in his introduction in the MCU. Ultron is yet another "disposable" villain for the Marvel Cinematic Universe but he serves a plot device more than a threatening antagonist, who merely plants the seeds for further conflicts and drama in more upcoming films, namely Captain America: Civil War. 

Interesting points established for the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward: 

Thor knew what the Stones are for - even went as far as mentioning that FOUR (instead of THREE) have appeared in the last few years, meaning that he is aware with what goes on in the Guardians of the Galaxy's end of Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Mind Stone was in Loki's scepter all along, despite people have been arguing with me since the original Avengers film that Loki's scepter was NOT one of the Stones. Look who's wrong now, hmm?

JARVIS bonds with the Mind Stone to become the Vision = embodiment of life. I personally believe that with the Mind Stone, JARVIS/The Vision will play the part of Adam Warlock in the Infinity War. If you don't know what that is then I suggest you do some research. I won't spoil that for you guys.

Hawkeye has a family and children, so we (old school Marvel fanboys like myself) can forget about Hawkeye hooking up with Mockingbird from Agents of SHIELD in this continuity. Seems like Marvel is going a completely different direction with those two characters' development entirety..

Notice that BOTH Captain America and Ironman were clearly targeted by Scarlet Witch's powers - which opens the door on what will have those two Avengers butting heads down the road in Captain America: Civil War.

Ulysses Klaw was introduced in this film, hence sparing the lengthy explanation and backstory in the opening moments of the upcoming Black Panther solo film. Speaking of Black Panther, his home nation of Wakanda was referenced as well as the source of the world's most powerful metal substance, vibranium. Marvel fans should remember that Captain America's shield is composed of this substance, thanks to Howard Stark in Captain America: First Avenger.

Almost all of the Avengers were sporting various StarkTech upgades and gadgets - Cap with a magnetic adapter for his shield, Black Widow with a multitude of new gadgets, etc.

It was ironic that Hawkeye plays the role of Batman and Green Arrow in Justice League: Unlimited in this film as the mere mortal among gods and monsters who keeps the team "honest" and level headed. 

The Maximoff twins' origin is changed drastically from the comics - no ties to Magneto nor the Inhumans.

Tony Stark still dreams of a world encased in armor for protection, but still forgets that keeps everyone cold and forever in the dark from within.

New Avengers (or rather Secret Avengers) team established at the end of the film, consisting of Falcon, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Black Widow, and Captain America. The latter two members serving as mentors to the new recruits as the new SHIELD facility backs this new team.

Hulk is possibly written out of the story to return as back-upp during the Infinity War Part 2 when the Avengers need more heavy-hitters against the pending threat of Thanos.

Dr. Helen Cho was introduced in this film - it makes me wonder if her genius-level son, Amaddeus Cho will be introduced in the MCU continuity sooner more than later.

In the mid-credits teaser, Thanos grabs an Infinity Guantlet (Kevin Feige has stated that there are more than one in the MCU) and says that he'll take care of it himself, teasing that he's going to get involved sooner more than later. If I were to speculate, I would guess he would have a bigger role in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

This was a minor Easter egg, but one of the alternate operating systems that Tony was thumbing through before the film's climax was JOCASTA. In the comics, Jocasta was the name of the wife that Ultron built for himself who ended up destroying him instead and siding with the Avengers.

Strong Points of the film as a whole

Not quite as good as Captain America: The Winter Soldier in terms of being my personal favorite MCU film but we get a LOT more character development here than we did in the original Avengers.

Overall theme of destroying "monsters" of the world goes full circle in this film - both Avengers and Ultron tip the scales to see who is truly the "real" monster in this war to "save" the world from the other.

James Spader as the voice of Ultron resembles Tony Stark/Robert Downey Jr.'s natural wit and charm, but his arrogance and humor bleeds through the character as well as a mirror image of his rather flawed creator.

JARVIS/Vision becomes the light in the Avengers' darkest hour - reminiscent of the Matrix of Leadership in Transformers: The Movie, especially after Thor's vision and prophecy.

The film gave a simple, yet effective reasoning for fan-service of pitting Ironman vs. Hulk.

Civilian safety was the Avengers' #1 priority in every battle. DC Comics/Warner Bros. need to take notes for their films - their heroes need to take responsibility for their actions.

Black Widow and Hulk have to be the most unlikely romance pairing ever on this team, but somehow it works.

The film takes place immediately following the previous week's Agents of SHIELD tie-in episode after Coulson clued in Maria Hill on the whereabouts of Baron von Strucker. Speaking of Strucker, I think he faked his death or his son would take over HYDRA if Baron Zemo doesn't fill that role in Civil War - either way I don't see Strucker out of the equation so easily.

NEW Helicarrier and NEW Avengers facilities - this means that SHIELD can properly train powered people: i.e. Sky (Daisy Johnson/Quake and the other Inhumans) I personally can't wait to see how this factors into future seasons of Agents of SHIELD.

Iron Legion were a clever reference to Henry Pym's peacekeeper sentries in Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes and to follow-up Stark's "house party protocol" from Ironman 3.

Personal Criticism on film's narrative

There's one HUGE plothole between this film and Ironman 3. Tony Stark destroy his home and all of his armors. Did he start over at the Avengers tower? Did he do so before or after the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier?

Exactly why was Maria Hill working for Tony Stark after the "end" of SHIELD when she was clearly still answering to Nick Fury off the grid?

Black Widow seemed to bond with Captain America during Captain America: The Winter Soldier, much like how she bonded with Tony Stark and Pepper Potts in Ironman 2, so why the sudden geek crush on Bruce Banner/Hulk now? I'm not really complaining but Black Widow is making that "slut" label hard to ignore for nit-picky critics. To be quite honest, Widow has been simply reduced to the role of a surrogate/filler Betty Ross in Ultimate Avengers. To be fair, I did appreciate that after her three appearances in the MCU, she has finally shed some light into her backstory that held ties to the Red Room that was introduced into Agent Carter.

The film spent a little TOO much time trying to "fool" the audience that Hawkeye was going to die that the film feels more about Hawkeye and Black Widow proving that they belong among these gods and supermen instead of more focus on the threat of Ultron. Ultron does NOT feel like a threat to the Avengers until maybe the latter half of the film and even then, Vision makes him seem pathetic in comparison.

To say that he was an advanced artificial intelligence, Ultron wasn't smart at all to be quite honest:

1. He allows Black Widow to call the Avengers via Morse code. 
2. He trusted the Maximoff twins when they could have destroyed him whenever they pleased, 
3. Ultron was controlling StarkTech (namely the Iron Legion) so who said he couldn't have controlled ALL of Tony Stark's armors the same way? That being said, as much as I loved the sequence between Hulk versus Ironman, the setup was piss-poor. It would have made more sense to have Hulk fighting Stark as Ultron-controlled the Hulkbuster armor. Sue me, that's just my two cents as a comic book nerd.

Banner shouldn't be too shaken up about collateral damage if the Eric Bana Incredible Hulk film is still canon to the MCU.

Ultron stole ALL of Stark's sensitive files on the Avengers and SHIELD database (well, whatever's not in Fury's "toolbox" that Coulson has...). This makes you wonder who got a hold of that information by the time Ultron was destroyed and if he backed it up or passed that information along.

I know most people won't agree with me but the cinematography in this film compared to the original Avengers makes the action sequences look confusing and messy compared to the streamlined view of the original film.

Last but not least, it's rather ironic that this film recycles a lot of the same traveled ground as the as the original film - Nick Fury gives the Avengers the pep talk to when their spirits are crushed, Captain America calls the plan for battle in the climax, Captain America fights and holds his own against the film's main antagonist (like he has ANYTHING else to prove to skeptics? Like REALLY?), someone close to the team dies (in the original film it was Phil Coulson, in this film it's Quicksilver), and the team puts their differences aside for the greater good to save the day when it matters most.

Closing Thoughts

Age of Ultron is another blockbuster success for Marvel Studios in terms of box office ticket sales while simultaneously planting the seeds to further the expansion of their Cinematic Universe for the years to come. Much like it's predecessor, the Avengers, it's a bit rough around the edges but it's a wild ride for all ages from start to finish.