Let's Review: Deadpool

I’ll be entirely honest when I say that this film had me worried. As a Deadpool fan I had already been massively disappointed by his appearance in the X-Men Origins: Wolverine film; and I know for a fact that I’m not the only one.  Like most characters in fiction, Deadpool has a special place in the hearts of the fans and we want to see the character given the proper adaptation that he deserves. From the interviews you could tell that the people running this project had a passion for this character and that can mean all the difference. So did Deadpool disappoint every fan’s dreams again? Let’s review Deadpool.

The Negative

The villain was sorely underdeveloped. I can’t exactly blame them either. Deadpool’s tone has the ride the edge of being a crude comedy while also retelling some of the darker aspects of the character. Deadpool certainly has some skeletons in his closet and the overly dark nature of such things would have been ill fitting in the tone that the film was going for. Having a villain that was mostly nondescript certainly didn’t hurt as it was easy to have the villain simply be a villain for evils sake. Though I do wonder what kind of film could have been made had we flipped the coin and sought to adapt the character’s darker nature instead.

Some people will never be happy. Certainly I’ve been on both ends of this sword before, but they did have to change certain aspects of Deadpool’s story in order to allow it to flow better as a cohesive plotline for the film. Now I’ve never been one to shy away from saying that the source material is better (which it is) but the changes made here really aren’t that bad considering the end result. I’m saying that I understand if certain fans will feel jaded but I for once was not affected by the changes made.

The Positive

The reason the changes didn’t really bother me is because as fans we got WAY more than I was every expecting to receive. Despite having to change certain aspects of the story I have never seen a more pure adaptation of a comic book character than with this film. What we got was the character Deadpool in a movie and I could not have been happier. Even better the film also adapted a great deal of Deadpool’s personal side characters, which is something even the video game didn’t do. Little touches like that certainly proved to me that this was a passion project by the producers and it really paid off for them.

Not only was this a good superhero film, it was also one of the best comedies I have seen in a long time. I cannot remember the last time I laughed so hard in a theater. Between the opening credits sequence that went out of its way to insult everybody who had worked on this film to the series of 4^th wall breaks where Deadpool addressed us all personally, I was simply overjoyed to see that the tone of this character was captured so magnificently.

In Conclusion

This was by all means a really good film, a film that I will probably find myself re-watching multiple times over the years whenever I feel like I need a good laugh. I’m sure I stand with many in the awe and wonder that allowed this film to be made so perfectly for the fans. Even if you are not a longtime fan of Deadpool, I highly recommend checking out this film as it will certainly try its hardest to get you there. 4.9 out of 5.

Let's Review: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

Anyone who knows me knows that Star Wars is my favorite movie. I absolutely love this franchise and my excitement as well as my expectations were incredibly high before this movie came out. I honestly didn’t hate the prequel films, sure they weren’t as good as the original trilogy but what could really beat those films. I knew without a doubt that I would love this new film just like all the other Star Wars films before it. Was I right? Let’s review Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

The Negative

I didn’t like it……..well that’s not entirely fair nor is it entirely true. As with a lot of movies in my library I eventually come around on the film after a few more times viewing it, but I will admit that my initial reaction to the film was disappointment. I feel like The Force Awakens is missing some special ingredient that will allow it to stand out in the Star Wars franchise. The film is almost a complete copy of Episode IV: A New Hope and I know I am certainly not the only one that feels that way. Now just being a copy of Episode IV isn’t really that bad in its own right, you could copy worse films. What makes this a bad thing is that the film honestly doesn’t have any moments that truly define it as its own. For as much as fans gripe about Episode I, it at least had the amazing Pod Race sequence and the stunning 3 way lightsaber battle at the end. Episode VII suffers from not having any really jaw dropping action sequences. The starfighter segments are just sort of there and the lightsaber battle at the end is undoubtedly lackluster.

I think this wouldn’t have been a problem if the film’s plot was more original but it just feels like sequences we have seen done better before. I think the film was so desperate to get us back to that galaxy far far away that we knew and loved from the original trilogy that it forgot to be really distinctive in any way or fashion. The film brought back practical effects but many of them didn’t look particular good or stood out too much. We brought back John Williams, but aside from a few notable pieces most of the soundtrack just felt like re-hashes of the old series. This is my overall problem with Episode VII, it’s not a bad film by far but it’s unimaginative, unoriginal, and uninspired. Now being within the Star Wars pantheon of films, being the most indistinctive is probably one of the worst things to be known for and it feels even worse knowing that the rich expanded universe was discarded for a reused plotline.

The Positive

Now that I’ve gotten that rant out of the way, let’s talk about what I do walk away from this movie with. I think Episode VII did in one movie what the Prequel series couldn’t do in 3, have memorable characters. All of the new main characters have distinctive personality quirks and personal goals that make them all stand out wonderfully. This was a major problem in the prequels where the majority of the characters were incredibly bland and lifeless. I am significantly more excited to see what becomes of these characters far more than I would anyone from the prequel series.

In Conclusion

Like many films I feel like my opinion on them waxes and wanes as time goes on and I figured that given enough time I would eventually come to enjoy The Force Awakens. Actually the thing that helped me the most was going out and buying a massive visual encyclopedia that let me divulge into every little secret the film had to offer (I really shouldn’t be asking for a massive exposition speech). I enjoy the film but I also think it might be one of the weaker outings Star Wars has to offer. When I think about the Star Wars films I think about how each of them brought something new and fantastical to this already rich world, while Episode 7 certainly adds to this already rich universe it also feels like not enough.  3.7 out of 5.

Top 10 Fictional Clowns

Here I am magically with another article to give you all and here you thought I was joking about wanting to start writing again. Well of course I should be joking around as it is April Fool’s Day. As such I would like to take this time to celebrate some of the greatest clowns in fiction…it’s a shame that most clowns in fiction are merciless villains. As per usual I give you a few runner-ups before starting the list proper:

-Krusty the Clown (The Simpsons)
-Ronald McDonald
-Mimey (Pokémon)

Now then ladies and gentlemen let’s begin the Top 10 Fictional Clowns!

10 - Jack-in-the-Box (Astro City)

Jack Johnson was a denizen of Astro City who ended up making it big in the toy industry, though little did he know that toy industry, Whamco Corp, were using his eccentric inventions to conduct crime. Disgusted by this, Jack combined his inventions into an arsenal of justice and took down Whamco, thus becoming the costumed crime fighter known as Jack-in-the-Box. Jack eventually perished but his superhero legacy lived on in his son and several others.

9 - Pennywise the Dancing Clown (It)

There are, of course, way too many horror movies that star demonic clowns as the main monster but nothing will ever quite beat out Pennywise.  Little is known about Pennywise other than he is an ancient creature born before time itself in an alternate dimension known as the Deadlights. Since arriving on Earth, Pennywise spends his time alternating between hibernating and feeding on people. Pennywise isn’t even its real name, it just happens to take the form of a demonic clown to lure children in and to psychologically break previous survivors.

8 - Piedmon (Digimon)

Piedmon is the leader of the Dark Masters, a group of four extremely powerful warriors created by Apocalymon for the sole purpose of conquering, destroying, and overall warping the Digital World. Out of all the Dark Masters, Piedmon has the least amount of follows, not because he can’t find them but rather because he doesn’t really need them. If Piedmon is going to go out and fight the battle will be over shortly. The only reason he lost is because….well I mean who really thought an Archangel was going to sudden appear and smite him…..I mean really.

7 - The Clown (Hawkeye)

“I told you…I came from hell.”

Probably the most recent character on this list, Kazimierz Kazimierczak was just your typically young circus boy when tragedy struck and his entire circus family was murdered. After coming to America, tragedy struck again when he lost his best friend in an explosion. Both of these incidents broke Kazimierz’s mind and he started killing for apparently nothing. Either way his skills in murder allowed him to become a prominent assassin in the criminal underworld, which is saying something when the vast majority of super villains in the Marvel criminal underworld are nothing but assassins.

6 - Marx (Kirby)

“I got the sun and moon to fight. I got you to go into space... it was all according to my perfect little plan.”

Marx was just a simple jester who pleaded with Kirby to help the land of Popstar and stop the Sun and the Moon from fighting. Little did Kirby know that it was all Marx’s fault from the start. When Kirby gathered the power to summon the great wish granted comet known as Nova, he was suddenly pushed out of the way by Marx who then wishes for the power to control Popstar for himself. Luckily for us the pink star warrior was able to summon enough strength to destroy the now godlike Marx….not that it will ever stop him from coming back.

5 - The Violator (Spawn)

The Violator is a guide for new Hellspawn arrivals on Earth, utilizing his demonic powers and abilities to lead them down the path of ruin. He honestly takes great pleasure in torturing and breaking new recruits for the underworlds army. Violator doesn’t care for their lot as he believes that humanity is overall too weak and that the armies of hell should be lead by the demons that rule there. If Violator is so powerful and strong it simply leaves one question to mind. Why take the form of a short obese clown?  

4 - Buggy the Clown (One Piece)

Buggy is by far one of the most useless and powerless villains in the One Piece universe. Despite that, Buggy is also one of the most recurring villain characters and is strangely connected with every major important character by some degree. In a get-rich-quick-scheme, Buggy stole a devil fruit with the plans to sell it but after being startled accidentally ate it, gaining the powers of the Chop Chop Fruit. With these powers in hand Buggy has started his mediocre crusade to command all the oceans.  Regardless of his setbacks Buggy will always aim for more power and more gold.

3 - Kefka Palazzo (Final Fantasy VI)

Kefka is the main antagonist in Final Fantasy VI and is one of the most popular villains in the entire franchise, most place him second only to FFVII ‘s Sephiroth. Kefka originally appears as the court mage for Emperor Gestahl, though this sadistic clown’s thirst for more power would not be quenched by that position for very long. Kefka simply enjoys killing because it’s fun and once he gains the power of gods he quite literally destroys the world and becomes king of the ruined wasteland left in his wake.

2 - Hisoka (Hunter x Hunter)

Hisoka is a fighting obsessive monster. He has no real character motivation at all except for the sole desire to fight stronger opponents. Hisoka will regularly leave victims alive if he sees potential in the skills. This is because he hopes that they will become stronger and eventually come after him seeking out vengeance. Hisoka honestly doesn’t care about choosing sides or what’s going on; so long as he gets to fight the strongest out there he will be ultimately satisfied.

1 - The Joker (Batman)

“…you of all people should know, there’s plenty wrong with me.”

If for one second you thought anyone else should or could ever be on the top of this list other than the Joker, then I honestly don’t know what you were thinking. This character is the Clown Prince of Crime but even more so he is THE TOP CLOWN OF FICTION. He nails all the tropes of being sadistically evil while at the same time having the darkest sense of humor that you can’t help but laugh at during certain moments. For how amazing Batman is at being a hero, Joker will always be his dark reflection epitomizing everything that makes a super villain spectacular.

Let's Review: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

It has been a long time since I have posted anything. This has been a long winter hiatus and a lot has happened in the mean time. I have had a really hard time sitting down and writing, but I love writing and I want to do more again. So I have the great honor of starting my return to reviews with a film that had everyone expecting it to be terrible and the reviews have agreed with that thought. I almost didn’t go see this film because I’m honestly tired of being disappointed by films about characters I use to enjoy. So was this film as bad as I was expecting? Let’s review Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

The Negative

Batman kills in this film. This is something that does need to be addressed as Batman’s moral code against killing is one of the most interesting and well defined aspects of his character. That said, Batman killing really doesn’t bother me in this film. I think it’s actually really fascinating that they decided to play with Batman a bit in this film and make him an older version of the character that has been beaten down a little by his ongoing battle through Gotham. You’re probably wondering why this is in the negatives then. The answer is this has been one of the major complaints towards the film and I honestly think it was a very interesting take on the character. The public at large knows by now who Batman is, I should think it would be okay for us to explore different versions of him or aspects of him that have shown up in alternate material. We are talking about a character that has had around 7-8 live action films already.

The major problem I have with this movie is Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor. This is not a complaint about Jesse Eisenberg’s acting as I believe that he actually pulls out a great performance in this. Simply put the character doesn’t work. The character is clearly insane or at the very least unhinged from society and the rest of the world. Almost every piece of dialogue and action from him just strike me as nothing but the machinations of a madman. Nothing about this character makes me believe he would be in charge of a powerful and rich company nor that government officials would ever make deals with him. I have heard him described as being similar to Batman’s archenemy the Joker in this film and I would agree that the two are far too similar. Luthor should be his own character and not a copycat Joker, plain and simple.

The Positive

I have heard people complain about how grainy and washed out this film is color wise and to that I simply ask do you remember Man of Steel? I really shouldn’t be defending one films problems with the example of another film but I think it stands to reason to Batman v Superman actually improved on a major problem found in Man of Steel. We have seen the before and after shots for Man of Steel where we have seen how colorful the film actually was before they viciously grayed it all out. This film actually brought the color back and I highly appreciated it for it. With BvS I can honestly say I saw a lot of improvements for a sequel. They actually took the bizarre extreme violence/action of Man of Steel and turned it into an important point of conflict as well as story development for the characters to go through. I think the mark of a good sequel is not only improving where the original failed but also taking the problems of the original and turning them into solid character drama.

Everyone was concerned about Ben Affleck taking over the role of Batman, I mean just look at Daredevil. I won’t lie that I wasn’t concerned but I also believed that Affleck has been making some smart choices lately and I was intrigued enough to wait and see what he would do with the role. In all honesty, Ben Affleck completely nails the role. I think nailing both Bruce Wayne and Batman is a really difficult thing to pull off but Affleck just knocks it out of the park. I think it really helps that he has a far more interesting Batman to work with than were used to seeing in these films. I think Henry Cavill also greatly improves from his stoic-heavy performance from Man of Steel. One of the standout performances of the film is definitely Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth. Irons’ Alfred really held the level of snarky repertoire of a man who had spent years arguing with Batman and really helped sell this version of a more war torn dark knight. I would discuss some of the other heroes that appeared in this film more but I believe they were mostly delegated to just cameo appearances and leave me looking forward to seeing more of them in future installments.

In Conclusion

After leaving this film I honestly wondered if maybe I was the one in the wrong. I actually liked this film a lot more than I did The Force Awakens, which is something I never expecting to say when I first knew about these two films before they came out. But then I remember that these reviews are simply my opinions and not set in stone facts that all should obey. I’m actually quite excited about seeing a sequel to this film. I’m excited that DC is finally going to show us more heroes than just Superman or Batman. I went into this film expecting absolutely nothing and came out of it having had a good time. I think reviews for a film are important, but I also think you should reserve final judgment for yourself. I give this film a 4 out of 5.

Top 10 Friendly Ghosts

Ah Halloween, one of my most favorite times of the year, thus the return of the Halloween special. There is just something about this holiday that always puts me into good spirits…….and that was the entire inspiration for doing this special in a nutshell. There are, of course a boatload of evil ghost stories out there, some of them even are "haunted boat stories", but I’ve always enjoyed the spooks that fight for the side of good. Before we get started I as per usual have a small list of runner-ups:

-Adam and Barbara (Beetlejuice)

-Dampé the Gravekeeper (Legend of Zelda)

-Grams Halliwell (Charmed)

And now I present my personal Top 10 Friendly Ghosts:

10 -Slimer (Ghostbusters)

What started off as the first catch of the newly formed Ghostbusters organization; would eventually end up becoming a bizarre pet for the team in the majority of expansive material. Slimer isn’t really a bad ghost just…..hungry. The spectre’s tongue is rarely kept within its mouth as it spends most of its un-living days devouring all food in sight. Despite some animosity at the beginning the Ghostbusters eventually took him in as a loyal ally in their fight against the occult.   

9 -Nearly Headless Nick (Harry Potter)

“Nearly headless, how can you be nearly headless?”

The resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower, Nearly Headless Nick was once Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, a member of Henry VII’s royal court. Nick would meet his grim end when he decided to try and fix Lady Grieve’s crooked teeth as she was in waiting for Henry. Unfortunately instead of fixing her teeth he ended up causing her to grow tusks.  Nick was sentenced to death but even more regrettable his executioner’s axe was dull and it took over 45 hacks to end his life. Deciding to remain on as a spirit, Nick now helps out the students of Hogwarts by any means he can.

8 -Haunter (Pokémon)

One of the great mysteries of the Pokémon series is whether or not Haunter actually counts as one of Ash’s Pokémon or if he was acting entirely of his own accord. Either way, Ash received some advice from Gym Leader Sabrina’s father that he might be able to defeat her if he acquired a ghost type Pokémon. Instead of doing that he died…and made friends with 3 ghost Pokémon that haunted a shady looking house, then came back to life and had one of the ghost sort of follow him back to the gym but not really. Regardless of the events that got him there, it was Haunter’s good nature that ended up curing Sabrina of her psychic madness and save the day.

7 -Deadman (DC comics)

Boston Brand use to be a circus daredevil, under the alias of Deadman, who would perform extreme stunts to entertain the audience but during one of his acts he is tragically murdered by an unknown assassin. Instead of leaving our world, his ghost was granted the ability to possess any living being by a Hindu goddess named Rama Kushna in order to solve his own murder. Deadman of course resolved his case ages ago but decided not to move on and become one of the many defenders of the DC universe.

6 -Amidamaru (Shaman King)

The ghost of a 600 year old samurai, who suffers from a tragic past and even more tragic death, haunts the top of a hill waiting for his friend to someday arrive…which his friend never would have come because he was waaaaaaaay too embarrassed after having put it off for 600 years. Luckily a new shaman by the name of Yoh strolled into down and decided to resolve the unfinished business of many of the spirits that still haunt the area. After putting to bed a 600 year old issue, Amidamaru decided to become Yoh’s yojimbo and continues to guard his family to this day.

5 -Izabel (Saga)

A good babysitter is so hard to find these days, it’s almost as if they have all died out and Izabel is here to prove that theory right. Izabel is a Horror from the planet Cleave. The indigenous species of Cleave was wiped out but they continued on as the spiritual guardians of the planet. Izabel sought to leave her planet by attaching to the soul of the infant Hazel and now acts as her babysitter and advisor to the child’s parents. Despite appearing as a teenager Izabel is far wiser than most characters in the series, often giving almost sage like advice to the protagonists.

4 -Lobster Johnson (Hellboy)

“Beware my claw…”

The Lobster was a pulp action hero of the 1930’s who operated in New York City, spending his years fighting off mobsters and paranormal entities. He was well known for leaving his signature lobster claw emblem burnt into the faces of his many criminal victims. The Lobster eventually perished during 1939 when he was attempting to stop Nazi’s from launching a space probe, but death would not be the end for this hero…it only made him stronger. The Lobster is the most powerful ghost in the Hellboy universe and comes to the aid of the BPRD when the world needs his help once more.

3 -Casper the Friendly Ghost

I know, heresy you say, how dare I not put Casper at the number one slot on this list much less give him the number 3 slot. Look I love Casper as much as the next person, the 1995 film was a favorite of mine as a child, but in all honesty there isn’t terribly much substance to his character, which is hilarious considering he is a ghost. Casper is the day to day adventures of a young boy ghost who goes about being happy go lucky and friendly to all around him, which is just about it for him. He is a great character but his title is about all there is to him.

2 -Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars)

“The Force with be with you…always”

Despite not actually being a living mentor for very long, Obi-Wan continued his duties as Luke Skywalker’s master many years after his death in the form of a glowing apparition. Obi-Wan had been trained with the ability to maintain his consciousness within the force after his death by Master Yoda who saw the ability as a means for the Jedi order to survive should the two pass on before being able to find a new suitable pupil to take on the teachings of the Jedi order. Thus Obi-Wan was a faint guiding hand to Luke, teaching him the last will of the almost forgotten Jedi.

1 –The Ghosts of Christmas (A Christmas Carol)

“Tonight, you will be visited by three spirits”

I know what you’re thinking, why would I end my Halloween special with a reference to Christmas? It is entirely because A Christmas Carol is my all time favorite ghost story. You can argue that the three spirits aren’t really that friendly at all and actually bully a man into becoming a better person, yet I would say that it is these 3 spirits that represent the greatest aspects of the holiday itself, the gift of giving. These spirits owe nothing to Scrooge and could just as well let him rot like his former partner Jacob Marley but they have chosen to use their gifts towards the effort of making Scrooge a better man before he does end up sharing the fate of his departed friend.

Thank you for reading and have a Happy Halloween. 

Let's Review: Mad Max: Fury Road

I haven’t really seen the previous Mad Max films but I was aware of them. It wasn’t through lack of interest that I hadn’t gotten to them it was always just something on my list for later. That said when the trailer came out for Fury Road I found myself to be very excited since it looked like a really over the top action flick. My surprise came when the reviews started to come out and each one of them gave the film perfect scores. My excitement doubled to see this film. So did the film live up to the hype? Let’s review Mad Max: Fury Road.

The Negative

The film is a massive action set piece with very little breathing room. That said when the film actually does take a moment to stop and collect itself the entire pacing comes to a dead crawl. This pause isn’t unwarranted as it took a lot of effort on the part of our heroes to reach this point but at the same time it almost singlehandedly derails the momentum the film had going. I’m not sure how the film could have reached this point without killing the speed but as it is now this moment just feels out of place.

Everyone has gone mad. I mean that is the point of a Mad Max film after all but what I really mean is sometimes it becomes impossible to really invest yourself into this world because absolutely everyone in it has gone bonkers. Even when you think you are following completely sane characters in their venture for freedom, the film goes out of its way to remind you that they all have sanity issues and that is the only reason some of them are surviving at all.

The Positive

Everything has gone mad. Yes it can be a positive as well. The main driving force behind the Mad Max universe is that with everyone being insane you are going to witness some of the most insane action sequences. I simply must applaud director George Miller for his mastery in executing some of the most over the top and death-defying car stunts ever put to film. You do wonder how they pulled the majority of these stunts off with CGI being used to a bare minimum within this feature.  

This film is a marvel to look at. Between the high octane stunts and the gorgeous desert landscape, this movie captivates the audience. I honestly didn’t want to remove my eyes from the screen for even one second in case I missed another fantastic site to gawk at. Director George Miller has stated that he is releasing a version of the film that will be entirely in black and white. I’m really intrigued to see this version and how the new dynamic will change up the visual splendor this film provides.

One of the greatest aspects of this movie is the acting. Of particular note is Tom Hardy’s Mad Max who has surprisingly little dialogue yet says so much through simple gestures or looks. Max’s story arc of redemption is very subtle but one that is accomplished wonderfully. Nicholas Hoult also turns in a rather bizarre performance of War Boy Nux, but one that fits perfectly within this world. It is Nux’s story arc that really gives us a glimpse into how the main villain operates. The true star of the film is Charlize Theron’s performance as Imperator Furiosa. Theron’s performance commands every scene she is in and honestly eclipses everyone else in the film.

In Conclusion

I think that Fury Road lived up to a ton of the hype that it had going when it first came out. I also feel that the film probably isn’t as perfect as many critics make it out to be. This movie is a marvel to behold with insane stunts and wonderful performances by the entire cast. The issue being if you’re not into action films with insane over the top stunts performed by equally insane characters; this film is just not for you. I can see a great number of people not enjoying this film simply put because it’s not what they are into. For those who have been looking for a masterful work of art within the action genre, this is exactly what you have been waiting for. 4.2 out of 5.

Let's Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron

It can be near universally agreed upon that the first Avengers film was an astounding success. The plans for Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe went off perfectly and culminated in one of the greatest superhero flicks of all time. That said, the hype for Age of Ultron could not have been higher. While I feel as though Phase 2 as a whole had a more disjointed plot with the buildup not necessarily being as clear as Phase 1, getting to see all of the Avengers back together again is certainly something I would look forward to. So did the sequel meet the hype of the first? Let’s review Avengers: Age of Ultron.

The Negative

Now I’ve been told that I have been picky about CGI in film in the past so I decided to check on the opinions of a few of my friends and they agreed with me. The CGI in this film was downright awful. Now it wasn’t every scene but it was rather obviously where their time and effort had been placed. The opening in particular is awful to look at. The scene looks like a poorly edited green screen mash up than a team action sequence. The interaction between the real world and the CGI was equally awful. There were many scenes between the Hulk and Black Widow where the two touch hands but it is glaringly obvious that she is holding her hand up to nothing. I do wonder if the film was pushed forward in order to meet the release date and they just couldn’t fix up the scenes to the perfection they could have been.

I think this film could have done much better had it been 5 hours long. I think the film was trying to handle way too much plot that it just couldn’t handle in a 2 and a half hour run time. The story just felt like it was rushing through every moment in order to reach the proper plot points it had to in order to be done. Now I’m not saying this is necessarily a bad thing as I was thoroughly enjoying the entire story I just feel that a little breathing room to give every character their moment to shine would have been nice. This was something handled very well in the first film, but not so much here.

The Positive

I think the film’s greatest success is its depiction of Ultron. Ultron is just a mere child and his personality as well as his actions reflects that. Ultron ultimately reflect his creator in that he mostly acts like the bratty child of Tony Stark. This depiction really threw me off though it was an absolute pleasure to watch. One of the great things the film provided was the contrast between Ultron and Vision. Both of them realize that humanity is doomed but whereas Ultron sees that destroying them now would save them all, Vision views it as a privilege to stand by humanity until the very end. The two represent the extremes of Tony Stark’s own personality and the struggles he is dealing with moving forward with the Avengers. Ultron represents death whereas Vision represents life. Moving forward from this film I look forward to seeing how they handle Stark’s character progression.

I am a big Hawkeye fan and if you were like me then you wondered why there has been such a drought of Hawkeye in any of these films. He certainly is there but he is also certainly the least developed member of the team. This film goes out of its way to correct that by having massive Hawkeye development moments. He bizarrely brings a sort of real world view to this realm of superheroes and it’s a rather fantastic performance. Hawkeye got just the right amount of character development he needed that he was sorely lacking in all of the other films.

I honestly loved the plot of this film especially the character development given to the massive amount of cast members. As I stated early I just wish the film could have been longer to allow these character moments to breathe a little more. As an example, I felt like Thor really acted like Thor from the comics for the very first time in this film. He is a king from a supernatural realm, he would obviously act accordingly to the visions granted to him by Scarlet Witch and go seek council about what he saw. This plot thread gets very little screen time but was one of my all time favorite moments in the film. I just wish there was more time to expand out these moments a little more.

In Conclusion

I think after I saw the movie and walked out of the theater I honestly hated it. I told you I am fairly nitpicky about my CGI in films, but after sitting on it a few days I really got the chance to mull over what I really liked about the film and came to realize that I actually had a really great time with this film. I don’t think it’s better than the first Avengers film, but I doubt many things could outshine the planning put behind that. I highly recommend seeing this film especially since my only real complaint is that I wish it had been longer. 3.9 out of 5.