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Old 06-18-2015, 03:43 AM
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wei yau wei yau is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Northern Virginia
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Default Re: Movies that aren't really BAD -- but aren't very good, either

I had a bad feeling about Jurassic World for about a week so leading up to the premiere. Enough so that I ended up skipping the movie for Spy (which totally is a good movie and belongs in the other thread). I'm glad to see that I dodged a bullet there and didn't waste a date night on this movie.

So, for me, the summer movie that best fits in here is Avengers: Age of Ultron. I'll start with a general feeling of "I didn't like it" It's tough to pinpoint exactly why I didn't like it because it just wasn't good. And it's not like it wasn't good at one thing, it wasn't good at a bunch of things. Everywhere. All over the movie.

It starts off with a huge waste of potential. Captain America: Winter Soldier established the threat that is Hydra and how it has been here all along. How the only effective difference between Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. is choice of targets. Their methodology does not differ, only their ideology. I won't go into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. because I haven't watched it at all this season, but from what I hear, it doesn't exactly continue this premise.

Now we come to Age of Ultron, it starts off with the Avengers mopping up the last of the Hydra bases. Baron von Strucker is defeated, captured and then killed in a brusque manner that is unbefitting of a pretty big heavy bad guy. It's as if the Avengers needed to wipe the slate clean of Winter Soldier so that they can start telling their Ultron story.

I think this may be a flaw in having multiple directors across different movies. This is further evidence by Tony Stark. He seemingly quit after Iron Man 3. He had his arc reactor removed and had lost all his suits. He quit because of the need to deal with a pretty severe case of PTSD. And yet here is, in armor again. I assume this is because we need to sell toys. But, this betrays the character development he goes through in Iron Man 3 (such as it is).

But, even this doesn't really get to my reasons for disliking the movie. Rather it's the fact that I found myself focusing on these details or writing what I felt was a better version in my head or nitpicking myriad other plot details, characterizations and other bullshit I didn't like.

I only do this when a movie does not engage me and this movie did not engage me. Ultron felt like a toothless threat. Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver only worked because comic book fans could fill in the blank. Non-readers were probably bored and confused by these two. The set up for Civil War felt forced. Thor was pointless.

I wanted to like this more, I really wish I did.

On the plus side. I liked Black Widow and Hulk together. I thought Vision was awesome.
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