I had some free time earlier today and decided to watch Avengers: Age of Ultron, which almost wraps up Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you’re going to go big, then go 3D. Avengers: Age of Ultron is one of those films that you should watch in 3D if you can.
But I will say this, watch the latest episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D before you watch Avengers: Age of Ultron.
You can watch Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D on Hulu right now.
Why am I imploring you to watch the show?
It’s because the show is part of the MCU, which serves to fill the gaps between films along with telling its own storyline. The show is currently going through the Inhumans Arc, where Skye’s real name is revealed as Daisy Johnson.
Daisy is known as Quake in the 616-Mainstream Universe if you didn’t know. The MCU portrays Skye as an Inhuman.
The latest episode ends when Raina, portrayed by Rute Negga, receives a premonition about “metal soldiers” that will change the world. It is an obvious reference to Avengers: Age of Ultron, which will likely play a role in the development of the Inhumans Arc that will eventually lead up to the Inhumans movie in a few years.
Agent Phil Coulson, played by Clark Gregg, has been doing some double-dealing behind the backs of everyone else, where he has the others concerned. He gets into an argument with Melinda May, played by Ming-Na Wen, over the “Theta Protocol.”
Coulson alienates May by refusing to divulge the details, but that is the fancy term to summon the Avengers. He tells Maria Hill, played by Cobie Smulders, at the end of that episode after locating Loki’s scepter.
That takes the titular Avengers to the fictional Eastern European country of Sokovia, where they fight Baron von Strucker and Dr. List. H.Y.D.R.A has Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, twin siblings, on hand as they effectively deal with the Avengers. The Maximoff siblings are referenced in the latest episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D as being the only “specials” to survive the experiments.
The reference is originally from Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Lincoln and Mike Peterson aka Deathlok were almost subject to the same experiments before Skye and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D saved them. Wanda, played by Elizabeth Olson, plays a mind hex on Tony Stark aka Iron Man.
Stark gets a vision of world destruction, which gives him the idea to create Ultron. He persuades Dr. Bruce Banner aka Incredible Hulk to help with Ultron’s creation. Ultron’s AI, voiced by James Spader, activates unknowingly to Stark and the others as they have a party in the penthouse suite of Avengers Tower.
Stan Lee makes a brief appearance as a military veteran getting sloshed off of Thor’s special liquor.
Sam Wilson aka Falcon, played by Anthony Mackie, makes a brief appearance as he prefers following cold cases instead of constantly getting shot at like Steve Rogers aka Captain America does. James Rhodes aka War Machine, played by Don Cheadle, receives a little more screen time than Falcon does in the film. I was disappointed because I was hoping to see Falcon in action later in the movie, but I was happy to see War Machine participate in some of the action near the end.
S—t hits the fan when Ultron reveals himself after the party ends, which leads to a brutal battle in the penthouse. It leads the Avengers to Africa, which is a small catalyst for the upcoming Black Panther movie.
Ultron makes his appearance with Wanda and Pietro in tow. The siblings express their loathing towards Stark for the death of their parents in an apartment explosion 10 years ago. It’s a likely reference to the first Iron Man film because Obediah Stane, played by Jeff Bridges, sold Stark Tech weaponry on the black market.
Wanda does her magic and mentally f—ks with everybody before being neutralized by Hawkeye.
It is more than enough to cause a rift between the Avengers, which Ultron wants, as it causes Banner to rampage through a South African city before being neutralized by Stark. The world expresses its anger toward the Avengers, which forces them to take shelter at Clint Barton aka Hawkeye’s farmhouse.
I was shocked that Barton secretly had a family and a third child on the way. It gets Rogers and Natasha Romanov aka Black Widow thinking about what they ultimately sacrificed to be part of the Avengers. Stark heads to Oslo to lure Ultron out of hiding and Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth, visits Dr. Selvig in London regarding the vision he had.
Thor’s vision obviously builds up to Avengers: Infinity War, but may also be the catalyst to the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok. It leads to a major battle in Seoul, where they retrieve the casket that houses Ultron’s new body.
Wanda and Pietro turn on Ultron when the former reads Vision’s mind and learns about Ultron’s plan to wipe humanity off the face of the planet. They assist Rogers in saving the civilians, but Romanov is captured after delivering the casket to Barton.
There is a hostile reunion at Stark Tower as Stark finds potential by downloading J.A.R.V.I.S into the body, but Rogers disagrees. It is a brutal fight, but Thor arrives and brings the body to life.
Vision, played by Paul Bethany, is born.
Everyone else is on edge, but Thor says that his vision foretells that Vision will be a great hero. It leads to a comically shocking scene as Vision easily lifts up Mjolnir, which even surprises Thor. Vision says it’s imperative that the Avengers stick together in order to defeat Ultron, which takes them back to Sokovia.
It becomes a brutal battle to prevent Ultron from carrying out his plan for global extinction.
Pietro ends up dying as he protects Barton from getting killed by Ultron, which pisses Wanda off to no end. The Avengers save what’s left of the day with S.H.I.E.L.D’s assistance and its helicarrier, which will likely play a role in the development of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Vision is welcomed as an Avenger as Thor believes the Mind Gem will be safe in his hands.
Banner vanishes off the face of the earth, Thor returns to Asgard, Barton returns to his family, and Stark drives away. That leaves Rogers and Romanov to train a new group of Avengers consisting of Wanda, Vision, Rhodes, and Wilson.
Ultron’s defeat angers Thanos, who takes matters into his own hands.
What are my thoughts on Avengers: Age of Ultron?
I liked it, but I liked the first movie better.
There were parts that I felt were slow and disjointed. I’m not going to complain about Ultron because I loved the human perspective that Spader’s voice has given him. In layman speak, the MCU version of Ultron wasn’t boring.
My big problem was the mismatched romance between Banner and Romanov. That didn’t feel right to me at all. I also have to complain because it shows that Betty Ross has faded into obscurity because Marvel Entertainment has done nothing to advance her story.
Ross is crucial to the development of Hulk’s personal storyline.
Watching Avengers: Age of Ultron made me realize that Marvel is will dominate over DC when it comes to the silver screen. I need not be reminded that DC Entertainment has planned film releases in the next few years, but they don’t feel connected like the MCU.
Marvel Comics’ plan is synergy by creating the MCU as the cinematic version of the comic universe.
You have the films, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Marvel’s Agent Carter, and Marvel’s Daredevil (available on Netflix). It is obvious that Marvel Studios has a grand vision, where it thoroughly planned and carefully built the MCU.
The partnership with Sony Entertainment Pictures is a game changer because it allows Marvel to bring Spider-Man into the MCU. It couldn’t before because Spider-Man’s live-action film and TV rights still belong to Sony.
I strongly feel that Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox need to rebuild their bridge. If they can reach a similar partnership, then Marvel can bring Wolverine and Deadpool into the MCU. It would be a cinematic game changer for the MCU if Wolverine and Deadpool could be included.
Fans of the comics know that they are important figures.
James “Logan” Howlett aka Wolverine has history with Rogers and Romanova. He also has an interesting history with The Hand and H.Y.D.R.A.
Avengers: Age of Ultron shows the synergy of the MCU, but it serves as a double-edged sword because it requires viewers to watch Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and the Netflix-exclusive Marvel series see the bigger picture.
I give Avengers: Age of Ultron a grade of A.
