Mood: a-ok
Topic: Comic Book Movies
TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #4026 - Yesterday, Sunday May 3rd was the day that I took in the latest Marvel film, Avengers: Age of Ultron. I saw this on a regular screen, (Not 3D), during a late afternoon screening. The theater was totally full, and I sat toward the back, where I could see and hear the audience reaction to the film. There were 20 minutes of previews of coming films shown first. Among them were the upcoming Fantastic Four film - with absolutely no crowd reaction, and Ant-Man - with several moments of crowd laughter and anticipation for more. I saw no no interest for me in the FF film, as it was NOT 'my FF', so I'm not so keen in attending later this Summer. Too many changes of the FF in what the preview showcased for my tastes. So... After twenty minutes of previews... The Avengers film was screened. First, I'm glad that I 'know' the Avengers, after reading their comics in the Silver Age of Comics, and attending all of the Marvel Comics Films released so far. That's because the film took right off into action, with a capital 'A' for Action! The person I took with me to the film knew of the Marvel superheroes, but hadn't seen all of the films released. No introduction to the characters, and the film only slowed down a bit when the Avengers went to a farm / ranch. The movie had a good plotline, and the action was basically almost nonstop. The characters were used well, the storyline made sense, and all together the film was pretty good. But something seemed missing to me. Maybe I've become a littled 'jaded', but this sequel to the first Avengers film was missing that little 'something' that made other Marvel films stand out, like the first Captain America did for me. Here's my thoughts on the actors / characters: Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man - Great job in the role, as usual. Robert is Tony Stark period. Nuff Said!. Chris Hemsworth as Thor - The perfect actor for this role. So Be It! Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk - I was more impressed with his role in this film. The Banner / Hulk situation was better used in this film IMO. Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America - Chris has really taken over this role. He fits my ideal Captain America character. Actually I even liked him as Johnny Storm / Human Torch in the Fantastic Four films a few years back. He also brings his character to life very well. Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow - Better use of her character in this film. Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye - I've liked him in this role in earlier films. But his secret life, revealed in this film, is one I can't get my head around to believing it... Don Cheadle as Rhodey / War Machine - Minimal use of his character, but then again there quite a few characters in this film... Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Pietro Maximoff / Quicksilver - Introduced in this film... Was okay in the role. Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch - I like the character in the Silver Age & Bronze Age of Comics, but this version on screen is just not the Scarlet Witch to me... Paul Bettany as J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision - I like him as the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S. and now especially as the Vision! Very good casting! Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter - Good seeing her again. Not enough screen time, but it was good seeing her. Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury - Not as much screen time, but his role was vital in the plotline. James Spader as Ultron - EXCELLENT choice in casting. His voice is so damned spooky, it totally fits Ultron! This casting made the film far more interesting for me! If you are a Marvel Fanatic as I am, you have to see this film, especially if you have seen the other Marvel Cinematic Universe films. Period. Just be careful as to whom you take to the film, as there is no slowing down to explain who is whom, and the other background bits that are included in this feature. The matinee price where I went to was $10.25 per person, which is pretty steep for a film for the general masses. Here is a link to more on the film, (Spoiler Alert!), if you aren't put off by knowing too much before actually viewing the film. Oh, and my comic book score for this film is a Very Fine (VF) 8.0 out of a possible 10.0 comic book grading scale. ~Michael.
NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics: My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 4,000 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog! BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link! Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button! And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!! Note: My online 'Local' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...! If I have it, you'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com! Web Page Note: This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly differently, sorry about that! The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer. Note: Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners. Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to my blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to me for possible review, just contact me. Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there. Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! --------------- In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related. You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also! As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'! |