Avengers: Age of Ultron commentary and reviews

This article deals with major spoilers for Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Throughout the last few years, Marvel’s movies have repeatedly teased the existence of mysterious jewels called the Infinity Stones, and Avengers: Age of Ultron contains the biggest clue yet — Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has a vision of the gems, their destruction, and the power they are capable of producing. Plus those who stayed to watch the film’s mid-credits scene saw Thanos vow to procure the stones himself.

Live fast, die young.

That’s the life of almost every Marvel villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Over the past seven years, we’ve watched Marvel develop the Avengers from the ground up. It’s been like seeing a game of chess play out on the silver screen. Their evolution began in 2008 with Tony Stark, whose story became a gateway to introduce us to Black Widow, and then S.H.I.E.L.D. Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, and the Hulk soon joined the fray. And in 2012, this chess game saw its first giant move when the Avengers finally came together on screen.

Sleeping through The Incredible Hulk is an incredibly difficult task.

It’s a terrible movie. The whole point is to show how Edward Norton’s Bruce Banner does not want to get excited. So we watch him breathe. We watch him look at 2008’s version of a Fitbit. We watch him actively not seduce Liv Tyler’s Betty Ross and not get angry.

In theaters around the world, a robot named Ultron is trying to destroy humanity. He’s the star of Avengers: Age of Ultron and the apocalyptic embodiment of the singularity — the moment when artificial intelligence exceeds human intelligence.

Today’s Ultron is undoubtedly influenced by the intellectual outlook of people like Ray Kurzweil, the biggest living popularizer of the concept (which, in turn, came after a 1993 Vernor Vinge lecture that used the term). Kurzweil and many other contemporary philosophers probably led to the Ultron we see on screen.

The Avengers have assembled.

Cinematic behemoth Avengers: Age of Ultron is upon us, box office records at its feet. It’s the culmination of seven years of Marvel movies, a risky cinematic strategy, and, actually, a bit of misfortune.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is one weird, sad, dark movie. It’s about the limits of control, what it’s like to live under an occupying force, and how hard it can be to relinquish power.

As with any shift in focus, growing pains are to be expected, and growing pains are certainly present in Age of Ultron. Yet in spite of those growing pains, this is a deeply felt, often very moving film — and one that seems incredibly personal to its creator, which is new territory for Marvel.

Born during the Cold War, sprinkled with daddy issues, and blessed with an unquenchable megalomania, Ultron, a robot created by the most troubled Avenger in history, has been one of the great Avengers villains for 46 years. Now, he will play the main baddie in the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron, wreaking havoc on Earth’s mightiest franchise.

Ultron’s staying power is a sterling example of how the comic book industry has continually held a mirror up to society. The Ultron story has tracked fears of communism, of nuclear war, and now of artificial intelligence. But he began with a scheme that redefined comic book evil.

In Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Avengers will take on one of the most powerful beings the Marvel universe has ever seen. This being has decimated supergroups, wiped out wide populations of people, and, in some circles, is one of the most hated characters ever created. And this individual has, in the comic books, the power to cause utter devastation.

We’re not talking about Ultron.

The definitive answer came on Sunday night, when a brief clip from the movie debuted at the MTV Movie Awards. It’s because of the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). Have a look:

“You listening to me? That little witch is messing with your mind.” Tony Stark says. “You’re better than her. You’re stronger than her. You’re Bruce Banner.”

In a movie that promises a sentient, malicious robot who amasses an army; a demigod who rips open the sky to call down lightning; a genius whose anger turns him into a green, invulnerable monster; two master assassins; a genetically enhanced super-soldier; twins blessed with the powers of super speed and magic; and a man who created armor that can fly, it’s hard to stand out.

Yet one character in Avengers: Age of Ultron has managed to do just that. He has only recently been revealed in full, piquing the interest of comic book readers and mainstream fans alike. His name is the Vision.

On Wednesday, Marvel released the third trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron. Making good on its promise of an “epic” reveal, the studio showed some absolutely awesome new scenes and even a new character. Marvel somehow managed to turn the excitement for the movie up another level.

Here are all the new bits of information from the latest trailer.

On Wednesday, Marvel released the latest trailer for the blockbuster sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Scarlet Witch’s mind games. Ultron’s background. A Hulk-Black Widow romance. There’s a lot of new stuff there. Not to mention, the first look at Vision:

Because of deals hammered out by Marvel in the ‘90s, Marvel Studios doesn’t possess the film rights to all of its characters. Spider-Man and his universe went to Sony, while The X-Men, the Fantastic Four and their respective worlds went to Fox.

In the comic books, these characters all mingle with one another and cross over into each other’s stories all the time. But in the movies it’s largely been thought that seeing a crossover between these sets of characters was a pipe dream because of the way the rights were divided.

The Avengers sequel, Age of Ultron, opens in theaters today. In preparation for the movie, here’s a look at all the clues from the the bevy of trailers Marvel has released for this cinematic event:

The second trailer for Marvel’s hotly-anticipated Avengers: Age of Ultron dropped on Monday. The trailer was brimming with mysteries, new characters, and even more footage of what looks to be a glorious fight scene between the Hulk and Iron Man.

But it also left a lot of burning questions. Who is the weird bearded man who looks like Gollum? What, exactly, is going on with that mysterious lady in the cavern?

The new footage show the Avengers at war with each other, and when they’re not at war with each other, staring sadly, hopelessly into the distance. Like Captain America here:

And Bruce Banner doesn’t look like he’s in the best of moods either:

On Wednesday, Marvel released an “extended” trailer for its upcoming blockbuster, Avengers: Age of Ultron — the second “extended” spot in a month. Though the trailers are largely similar, Marvel is actually giving viewers some good teases, teases you might miss if you blink.

Here are the two biggest scenes of the new trailer, and the main differences from its predecessors:

On Tuesday, Marvel released an extended trailer of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Because of a leak last week, the company was prompted to release its trailer earlier than its expected date of October 28 (last night), and this extended trailer seems to be a way for Marvel to live up to its trailer promises:

The main difference between the two trailers is an extra 54 seconds or so, largely comprised of the heroes hanging out at Tony Stark’s house, drinking and trying to lift Thor’s hammer Mjolnir. According to legend, only someone “worthy” can lift Thor’s hammer. Almost all the Avengers take a turn. Hilarity ensues.

But to someone who doesn’t have their nose buried in a comic book, it might be a little hard to understand what, exactly, is going on in this trailer and why comics fans are freaking out so much over, among other things, something called “Hulkbuster armor.” Here, then, is a brief guide to what comic book fans are so excited about in the Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer.

Ultron, in the comics, is a robot sporting an advanced, evolving AI, who eventually becomes one of the Avengers’ most vicious, cruel and powerful foes. He is a nerd’s worst fears about the singularity come to life, or at least to ink. In the comic book series Age of Ultron, written by creator Brian Michael Bendis, he’s taken over the world, turned it into a dystopian wasteland, and made superheroes inconsequential:

The two-minute trailer is set to an macabre rendition of Pinnochio’s “I have no strings” — a play on the idea of Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) creating Ultron (voiced by James Spader), a being he can’t control. Cut against shots of Tony Stark looking sad, even defeated, Ultron unleashing a rampage, and this pan of Captain America’s broken shield …

…it all works.

Just like the first movie, this sequel is already rife with rumors. From new heroes to deaths to the possibility of Ryan Gosling, here is a quick primer and a truthiness gauge of the rumors surrounding Avengers: Age of Ultron. Possible spoilers follow, so observe caution if you want to know nothing.

This is the newest rumor to attach to the film. It came during a week when Warner Bros. announced its upcoming lineup of DC Comics films, including such superheroes as Wonder Woman and Green Lantern starring in films through 2020.

Warning, there are spoilers about Marvel’s Civil War comic book event here. These spoilers could also be spoilers about the next Captain America movie. Proceed at your own risk.

A lot of that might look like a nerdy word potpourri of sorts. But don’t fret. Here is a basic guide to the Civil War story arc from the comics.