I’ll start by saying that I was generally wowed by the latest Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer. But y’all know me, I have just a few things to say. And to quote Star-Lord, “Something good, something bad… a bit of both,” as how I felt about the trailer.
Something good…
- Hulk versus Hulk-Buster. In the previous Age of Ultron trailer, this was the most riveting scene (save for seeing Captain America’s shield shattered) to me. Their fight raged on in this latest trailer. And it did not disappoint.
- Quicksilver versus Captain America. First he was choked out by Ultron in the previous trailer. Then his shield gets broken at the end of the teaser. And now he’s taking a wicked uppercut from Quicksilver in this one. Is Steve Rogers going to be the proverbial whipping boy in this movie?
- Introducing the Vision. I’ll just say this. Closing the trailer with a quick look at the Vision was definitely a “wow” moment. No words. No gimmicks. Just an ominous, life-like headshot of the latest badass to join the MCU.
Something bad…
- Bruce Banner and Black Widow. I will first admit that I am not big on heavy romantic injections into fantasy and sci-fi movies. I was like, “really?,” when I saw the scene of Dr. Banner and Ms. Romanova face-to-face. But maybe I need to lighten up. We’ll say how that plays out.
- Hawkeye. I’m not the hugest Hawkeye fan and nothing from his addition to the trailer got me any more excited to see him enter the fray. The only highlight of his screen time was the scene where he pulls out his arrows. For a second, a friend of mine had me thinking those were Wolverine’s claws. NOT!
- Ultron. Sometimes less is more. Think back to the sci-fi/horror classic Alien. What made the murderous monster in that film so eerie was the fact that you barely saw during the trailer or the film for that matter. Seeing more Ultron in this teaser, in the same way, was not necessarily a good thing to me.
A bit of both…
Overall, I rate the latest Age of Ultron trailer a B+. I found the previous one slightly better. But trust me, I am [insert the overused fantasy pun] geeked! So geeked, that I pre-ordered my ticket immediately after viewing the trailer.
I’m keeping an open mind with the romance angle. I admit, I’m a little apprehensive because Marvel has yet to show they can handle relationships effectively. With the exception of maybe Stark-Potts, they’ve been really bad.
The reason I’m (maybe unrealistically) of the mind it won’t suck is that they’re doing it with the two characters we know the LEAST about. Any way they can expand and shed some light on Banner and Romanoff has the potential to be interesting. I’m curious how Banner reconciles the risk of putting someone that close to the “Other Guy.” And I’m interested in what makes Natasha finally drop her guard and let someone in.
Good point about Potts and Stark. I will also admit that I was a tad thrown off by the “fake out” from Winter Soldier, where it look liked Rogers and Romanoff were headed towards some TLC…
Wholeheartedly agree with everything you wrote!! I liked the ominous, horror feel of the first teaser. This one had more of action adventure tone we have come to associate with the MCU. I feel this movie will be a subtle blend of a lot of genres. Whedon admitted as much in a recent interview when he said :
“To me, adventure film is the best way to put it,” he says. “Then science fiction, action, western, war, woman’s picture, horror movie … I’m not kidding; every single one of those things is in there”
Sounds like Whedon’s trying to tackle a lot with that statement. My prediction is that they will come close to meeting the expectations, which honestly, are likely unrealistic. Can’t wait.