My Two Cents: AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (2015)

Given that I'm not too well-learned on comic books and their correlation to movies as of late, I won't get too much into the technical aspects of director Joss Whedon's Avengers: Age Of Ultron. I'm no superhero geek and I really just try to absorb what I see from a filmic aspect, and dozens of reviews about this film have been written already, so there's nothing I can really add to the conversation that other early reviews have already mentioned on other sites.

What I will say though, is that I recommend seeing it. It's definitely a kids' movie and fun to watch with some mature and grown moments. A lot of the dialogue was a bit dry for my taste in points where I expected to laugh out loud and for about half of the movie, I didn't - maybe that's just me, while the action was much more global and as fantastic as anyone could expect (such is a Marvel movie), further adding a lot to the drama that takes place for some of our characters.

Actress Elizabeth Olson's role as Scarlett Witch is ultimately the driving force of this entry into the MCU, opening doors to learn just a little more about our heroes and their underlying fears amidst their bravery against the threat of robotic would-be overlord, Ultron, played by actor James Spader. Through this, the element of mortality takes place as we observe the subtle divide that takes place between the superhuman and non-superhuman, including Jeremy Renner's continued iteration of Hawkeye and Asgaardian protector of Earth, Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth with actor Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man at the center.

I have to say, a lot of the criticisms I observed from other people regarding "Ultron not being Loki" (as per the previous Marvel movies, Avengers and Thor 1 and 2) don't really make any sense to me, because we're clearly dealing with a different kind of villain and for people to make that kind of comparison is just silly. I enjoyed watching this particular antagonist at work, and that's really all I have to say about that.

Paul Bettany's entrance as Vision was okay. It's a new character added to the mix and one that keeps you intrigued as to the uncertainty im how he will appear and which side he will fight for considering Ultron wanted his body (I'm sure all the other comic book librophiles already knew how that would play out to some degree). The one thing that threw me off a bit was the Infinity stone Vision wears on his head and where it came from. Maybe I missed something as I'm trying to keep track of just how these things make their way into the MCU. It's crazy.

It was great to see Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson building a relationship and lending a little more poignance and uncertainty to the story with the inner-struggles their characters, Hulk and Black Widow, face with respect to their role in the team, as well as the in-fighting as ideologies clash between Stark and Steve Rogers (a.k.a. Captain America), played by Chris Evans.

The film certainly lends some delightful surprises and appearances, as well as opens a few doors to Captain America: Civil War and other films to come as we await the rest of the slate, including Ant-Man this summer, and Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok, Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 and Avengers: Infinity War (I still have to see Iron Man 3...I'm late, I know). So, the epic saga continues, and I surely hope to be there as it all unfolds as we can expect more big announcements for the Marvel fanbase. I just hope I don't get superhero movie fatigue as a result of all this because we still have the DC films to keep track of. *sigh*

My two cents.