Avengers: Age of Ultron |OT| If you open this thread, you're an Avenger

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inky said:
"Phoning it in" is not "negative criticism". It's not criticism at all, just a shit opinion with zero thought or information behind it. That is considering the work involved in making this project and the amount of information on said work out there. It might be the worse movie ever made and it's still inaccurate to state that.

No need for an essay to make a point, just a little bit of wit which you obviously lack.
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Opinion in these matters is criticism, even if it's hardly developed. And besides, that's why I used the "/opinions". I'd say that if an opinion (however developed it is) bothers you, there are two simple choices. You can either ignore it (which is the simpliest thing to do when you think they're not worthy of consideration), or you can engage the poster and try to see why they feel that way.

Also, I am not personally attacking you, but if it makes you feel better to do it, then good for you.
 
inky said:
"Phoning it in" is not "negative criticism". It's not criticism at all, just a shit opinion with zero thought or information behind it. That is considering the work involved in making this project and the amount of information on said work out there. It might be the worse movie ever made and it's still inaccurate to state that.

No need for an essay to make a point, just a little bit of wit which you obviously lack.
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No need for insults, either.

"Phoning it in" isn't the same as "lazy devs", IMO. Devs are doing the work of a product designer/owner/director. It's the equivalent of saying "lazy camera crew" or "lazy production design".

Can someone's "vision" be lazy or phoned in? Yes, I think so. When most people object to shit like "lazy devs", they're objecting to the idea that tens, if not hundreds, of people were ALL lazy, which is likely inaccurate. Can a vision be criticized as lazy, lacking in thought, "phoned in", going through the motions, etc.? See: the Hobbit movies, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, huge portions of the Prequel Trilogy, etc.

Even Malick was crticized as basically "phoning in" To the Wonder.

The only problem I have with the idea of phoning something in, is that you just don't know. Maybe Whedon really did work himself to the bone and this is the best he can produce.

I hope not.
 
Charles Foster Kane said:
I'd say that if an opinion (however developed it is) bothers you, there are two simple choices. You can either ignore it (which is the simpliest thing to do when you think they're not worthy of consideration), or you can engage the poster and try to see why they feel that way.
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Okay, so because I'm curious, I'll choose option #2:

Why do you feel that Joss Whedon "phoned it in" when making Avengers 1 & 2?

Obviously you feel that it's a rather pedestrian and simple task to make a movie with an all star cast that ties together several other movies of various styles and stories, while simultaneously attempting to please both moviegoers of the separate films AND decades long worth of comic book material, into one all encompassing film that not only has a cohesive story with a satisfying conclusion but also 1) gives all of the characters adequate screen time, 2) sets up future stories and movies with said characters. You think it's so easy that Joss could simply "phone it in" and coast his way through it without much work or effort.

So, why do you feel that way? What are your examples from either movie to back up your claim that Joss simply slept his way through making both films?
 
Mengy said:
That's a shame, I would have loved a DC with story gaps filled and pacing issues fixed. It's done literal miracles for many movies like Watchmen and Kingdom of Heaven.


Oh well.
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I don't know if I'd say that AoU is phoned in, but I think the version we got is compromised by its cuts. It's clear (well, it's a fact) that the studio had some say in what stayed in and what was cut.

So, yeah, I agree--it's a damned shame we're not getting a DC.
 
Mengy said:
Okay, so because I'm curious, I'll choose option #2:

Why do you feel that Joss Whedon "phoned it in" when making Avengers 1 & 2?

Obviously you feel that it's a rather pedestrian and simple task to make a movie with an all star cast that ties together several other movies of various styles and stories, while simultaneously attempting to please both moviegoers of the separate films AND decades long worth of comic book material, into one all encompassing film that not only has a cohesive story with a satisfying conclusion but also 1) gives all of the characters adequate screen time, 2) sets up future stories and movies with said characters. You think it's so easy that Joss could simply "phone it in" and coast his way through it without much work or effort.

So, why do you feel that way? What are your examples from either movie to back up your claim that Joss simply slept his way through making both films?
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I actually took it back after thinking about it. :P

I agree with what Anton said about phoning it in. Maybe Whedon really did work himself to the bone.

I simply don't think they're very good movies, from dialogue, to pacing and editing, to cinematography (though I will say I think AOU improved a bit in this regard). Overall direction.
 
Lothars said:
I disagree Whedon is a great director. He brought a great style to both of the avengers movies. I think they were far from bland.
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Mengy said:
I wouldn't call him a great director, but he is certainly a very competent one. His true skill is in writing though, especially when it comes to characters and ensembles. His style might not be for everyone but it is a great skill of his nonetheless.

AoU was just a little too packed for it's own good, it needed a tad more room. I still love it though and will buy it day one on blu-ray, but I'll admit it has it's flaws. Both CA:TWS and GotG are better written and tighter films IMHO.
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I don't think the movies are bland just his directing choices. He did a fine job bringing it all together. His strength is in his writing though.
 
Anton Sugar said:
I don't think Whedon phoned it in, but whatever his vision was, I don't think he reached it and I think he's dissatisfied by that. Maybe he felt a DC wouldn't do anything to solve that, you know?
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Even if that were true (and I don't think it is, he says just the opposite here) I don't really think artist dissatisfaction is a helpful measurement. Plenty of artists critique or outright hate something they did, regardless of how others feel about it, because they're too close to the project's failings or they didn't think it was an accurate enough jump from script to screen. Woody Allen thinks Manhattan was a failure, but I'd say that film is pretty damn good as is and doesn't need a director's cut. :P

Whedon lays it out pretty clear: the film is not 100 percent what he wanted, but it's close enough to it that he stands by the theatrical release as his version. Every film is a series of compromises. What matters is how comfortable the artist is with making those compromises. Whedon is clearly comfortable (or at least comfortable enough) with the ones on Ultron whereas, say, Ridley Scott was clearly not with Kingdom of Heaven.
 
Blader said:
Woody Allen thinks Manhattan was a failure, but I'd say that film is pretty damn good as is and doesn't need a director's cut. :P
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God, it sure as hell doesn't.

It's like I think I read somewhere that Hitchcock was somewhat disatisfied with Vertigo (because it wasn't a hit) and he would have changed stuff. That's one film I wouldn't want changed.
 
I don't think Whedon "phoned it in" by any means...but Age of Ultron certainly suffered greatly from editing and pacing problems, much more so than the first movie. An extended edition could have fixed it up nicely.

Ah well. Looks like I'm just going to have to watch all the deleted scenes, and then imagine that they're back in the film when I rewatch it. Lol.

MasterBalls said:
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This is mid noughtie's Jackson. The extended versions are almost unilaterally held as the better ones, especially for TT/ROTK.
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Agreed - The Two Towers EE especially is much better than the theatrical edition.
 
WadiumArcadium said:
Hmm, I like the fact it looks similar to the first film's steelbook. I'll try and get it if it's available in the UK.
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As far as I know UK only got a Zavvi exclusive steelbook, which is already sold out.


TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared said:
Sure it came out..end of april? So nearly 5 months waiting for a blu ray is silly.
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Eh, sorry, I was talking about Guardians of the Galaxy which were im a similar situation like Ant Man.
 
The only movies I've seen with a quick home video and rental releases are usually box office bombs.

Avengers came out in May and the Blu-ray/DVD was released in late September in 2012.
 
Quick said:
The only movies I've seen with a quick home video and rental releases are usually box office bombs.

Avengers came out in May and the Blu-ray/DVD was released in late September in 2012.
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Even that may be not true anymore, Home Cinema releases fall shorter and shorter to the cinema releases.
 
GAMEPROFF said:
Italian (and with a high possibility for the rest of europe) Blu-Ray release is 23.09.
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Rumored release date for Germany is the 10th of September.
On the other hand, Italy is usually a lit bit faster then Germany.


GAMEPROFF said:
Maybe in the US, europe got the early january treatment.
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Are you saying this, because Germany had to wait until January?
Switzerland got it in time for Christmas, and Italy had it even earlier.

Ant-Man hit theaters earlier in the year than Guardians did, so even Germany will probably have it on Blu-ray in 2015, or you can import

Quick said:
The only movies I've seen with a quick home video and rental releases are usually box office bombs.

Avengers came out in May and the Blu-ray/DVD was released in late September in 2012.
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Yeah, the pattern definitely holds.
 
September is shaping up to be a great month of release with Avengers: Age of Ultron, Agent Carter, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D S2, The Flash and Arrow S3. And personally FIFA 16 and PES 2016 too but whatever. :)
 
I'm thinking of buying a combo pack with all the Phase 2 Marvel movies. The Amazon edition is super expensive...but I remember being able to buy a 6-disc "budget" version of the first phase collection on Blu-ray for only $80 (actually $40 with a coupon) back in 2012. I hope there'll be something like that again this time.
 
richiek said:
The Rotating Sculpture from AGE OF ULTRON is Real, and it’s Spectacular

UltronSculpture_FEAT.jpg


UltronSculpture_GIF.gif


I loved the closing credits for the film.
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MCU title sequences are consistently phenomenal; it's a shame they always show them at the end of the movie, when most are walking out and the few that stay for the after-credits have to see it washed out because the lights came back on; instead of as opening sequences. The original Avengers, both Captain Americas, and both Thors also had fantastic ones.
 
richiek said:
Marvel released a new HD clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTm0qlyCS0Q&feature=youtu.be

Best part of the film, though they left out
Thor, Vision and Iron Man blasting Ultron.
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Yep, I fucking loved this scene. It made the whole movie for me. I don't want to watch the clip because I'd like to save it for my next viewing of the movie. I think most of the complaints levied against the film are probably valid, they just didn't bother me all that much.
 
Shaanyboi said:
Man, 0:43 is like a splash page brought to life. Fucking crazy.
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Just like the famous Avengers assemble shot where the camera circles around them from the first film, the "splash page come to life" was definitely a trademark of Whedon's when directing these films. As a grown ass man, these shots made me squirm in my seat with childlike joy. I really hope the Russo's have taken notice of how Whedon used them and choose to continue to implement them maybe not in the solo films but definitely for the all out Avenger extravaganza's.

Also, regarding that clip after it ends...
the three-way beam was totally unexpected and made me jump out of my seat. It was so, so cool and took the MCU to a level I didn't think it would go at the time: straight up DBZ energy beams.
 
Stevetopsy said:
Just like the famous Avengers assemble shot where the camera circles around them from the first film, the "splash page come to life" was definitely a trademark of Whedon's when directing these films. As a grown ass man, these shots made me squirm in my seat with childlike joy. I really hope the Russo's have taken notice of how Whedon used them and choose to continue to implement them maybe not in the solo films but definitely for the all out Avenger extravaganza's.
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Winter Soldier has one, after Bucky beats the shit out of Steve and he falls out of the helicarrier. That slow shot of him falling is my favorite in the whole movie.

But yeah, Whedon does that "comic book come to life" stuff better than anyone.
 
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