Mad Max: Fury Road

May 18, 2015 Jason Murphy

It's been 45 years since the collapse of civilization, and resources such as water, food and oil are scarce. Survivors cling to life at 'the Citadel, a fortress controlled by the tyrannical 'Immortan Joe'. When Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) leads a band of rebels on a daring escape through the wasteland, she forges and alliance with haunted loner 'Max Rockatansky' (Tom Hardy). Together, they embark on a high-speed race through the desert, pursued relentlessly by the gangs of the apocalypse.

The Summer movie season is just getting started which means I get to shove popcorn in my face hole! Age of Ultron opened earlier this month and now were graced with the further adventures of Australian post apocalyptic wanderer 'Max Rockatansky'. The movie stars Tom Hardy as 'Max', Charlize Theron as 'Imperator Furiosa', Nicholas Hoult as 'War boy Nux' and Hugh Keays-Byrne as "Immortan Joe'. Fresh off a $44.4 million weekend, Mad Max wasn't able to top Pitch Perfect 2, and I am honestly confused as to why. 'Fury Road' has continued to score amazingly well on Rotten Tomatoes with a 98% critic and 94% user scores, and all for good reason while Pitch Perfect 2 stars Rebel Wilson...blecgh. George Miller has been able to create an amazingly stunning movie that's utterly non stop from start to finish. One of the highlights of 'Fury Road' is that even 30 years after the last installment (Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome) the newest offering still feels 100% like what we'd expect from a Mad Max film. With the exception of the replacement of Mel Gibson with Tom Hardy as "Max" this film feels as if the series picked up exactly where it left off and only got better. Hardy does a stellar job as 'Max'. One may regard his performance as scarce and lacking in dialogue (you can fit all his lines on the back of a bottle of Imodium AD) but if anyone ever watched a 'Mad Max' film you'd know that Hardy's 'Max' representation is 100% spot on. 95%?........ok 90%.........85%?.... shit. fine.. 82%. Often silent and complacent, or talking in small sentences and a series or grunts and moans, fans of the series will feel right at home with the new portrayal of Max. It just goes to show you how good of an actor Hardy can be. With an utter lack of dialogue, Hardy can pull of a 35 year old character to a 'T'. The sad part of this is you feel Gibson himself is playing the role, and keep getting confused when you realize it's in fact Hardy. Its SO good you sort of want Gibson to have reprised his role seeing as you think its him anyway. Its such a phenomenal ride, visually and artistically , I can't see anyone walking away disappointing.

Lets look at 4 outstanding aspects of Mad Max: Fury Road...

4. The Visuals of Fury Road

Ill guarantee you one thing, you've never seen a movie so chaotic and so beautiful at the same time. George Miller seemed to have improved in every incarnation of his vision. The cinematography in this movie is by far the best I have seen to date. Every single shot was utterly masterful and spectacular in every way possible. I can't stress this enough. If you've seen the trailers and been in awe of what they managed to put together for 1-2 minutes, imagine that for 2 hours!. This movie is literally the best parts of every trailer in history for 2 solid hours. The movie is almost entirely shown through visuals to force the viewer to simply piece it together themselves as to what is transpiring. We get most of the dialogue from Furiosa to help set up story or scene transitions, but the movie is heavily left up to its action and on screen appeal to tell its story. If your eyes could orgasm, this is basically what would make them do it.

Scroll through the gallery below for some excellent shots that made Fury Road so stunningly beautiful.

mad-max-fury-road-first-look-comic-con-trailer-still-6.jpg

3. The Characters of Fury Road

George Miller really knows how to create interesting characters. We saw it all through the first three movies in the saga, and it only continues in Fury Road. From Max... to Furiosa and her hydraulic arm... to Immortan Joe and his sinister breathing apparatus, every single character is extremely interesting and a masterpiece to watch. Some great movies are made solely on great writing and great storyline. One can argue you cant have a great movie unless the writing and dialogue have purpose. Well Fury Road is here to punch you in the face with a spiked sledgehammer on fire and tell you "you're absolutely wrong". The entire movie is based on one singular plot point..."escape". The movie is a 2 hour chase scene filled with amazing character after amazing character, along with insane vehicle after insane vehicle with little dialogue to overshadow the action. On paper it sounds like it might fail. In practice it works amazingly well.

Immortan Joe..FUN FACT. Joe is played by Hugh Keays-Byrne who ALSO played "Toecutter" the main villain in the original Mad Max. Immortan Joe is , however, a different character.

the Doof Warrior, though simply a background character is easily one of greatest surprise standouts in the movie. Miller continues to throw in over the top, nonsensical characters or vehicles, that don't need to make sense in the least, to be entertaining.

2. The Vehicles of Fury Road

Let's be honest, a Mad Max movie isn't a Mad Max movie without bad-ass, post apocalyptic vehicles from Hell. Lets take a look at them courtesy of "Car and Driver". Id write something more but why the hell bother. Car and Driver took care of that. Thanks Car and Driver.

The Big Foot

It’s a monster truck shoved under the sheetmetal of what appears to be a 1940 Fargo pickup. Riding on 66-inch-tall Goodyear tires and featuring four feet of suspension travel, powered by a supercharged V-8 turning a Turbo 400 automatic transmission. And the name of the character who drives this is “Rictus Erectus.”

Buggy #9

Sydney-based company called Custom Performance Modification decided to plant a copy of the C3 Corvette’s fiberglass body atop the chassis of a Holden one-ton truck.Buggy #9 was created as sort of a last-days-of-disco-era Vette running through misery while chewing on a fistful of meth.

FDK

FDK is a blown, V-8–powered contraption to which the filleted body of a Volkswagen Beetle is tack-welded. In the story it acts as part of a convoy guard that throws off flames with fuel from barrels integrated into its structure. In sum, it’s a perversion of everything the original Beetle was supposed to be.

The Gigahorse

Take one 1959 Cadillac Coupe DeVille body and split it open down the middle. Then insert another Coupe DeVille body into the first one and weld like mad. Finally, all that is mounted to a huge truck chassis and powered by two turbocharged V-8 engines mounted alongside each other. It’s the most audacious and fascinating vehicle in Fury Road.

Interceptor

Mad Max's classic 1974 Ford XB Falcon is back—as it has been for every film in the series. But it’s been beat up, sandblasted, rusted, and left to rot in the most gloriously cinematic of ways. “A legend spotted in the gutter,” explains designer Colin Gibson, “rusted through and rattling with too many repairs and far too few original parts.” Still, the supercharger is intact and it is the last of the V-8 Interceptors. It wouldn’t be a Mad Max movie without it.

Mack

In The Road Warrior, it’s an R-series tractor-tanker that is at the center of much of the action. In Fury Road there’s “Mack,” an R-series wrecker tasked with trailing the action and scavenging the battlefield for precious scrap and equipment. It’s an homage of sorts and its own beastly thing.

The Nux Car

The Nux Car is a ’34 model Chevrolet. It feature a turbocharged V-8 that, at least according to the press materials, also huffs in a steady diet of nitrous oxide. And, apparent in the photos, the fabricated chassis includes a beefy-looking independent front suspension. However, the exhaust system routed across the doors does mean the driver has to get in through the roof.

Peacemaker

The 1971–78 Chrysler Valiant Charger is something of a companion to Ford’s XB Falcon that plays so prominently in the Mad Max mythology. So in Fury Road there are at least two Valiant Chargers featured. This one, called Peacemaker,it's classic sheetmetal stretched out over a U.S.-made Ripsaw light-tank chassis. In the film, it’s piloted by a character called The Bullet Farmer and is used in several socially malevolent ways.

Plymouth Rock

Built around the desiccated remains of what appears to be a 1937 Plymouth sedan, this metallic hyena’s mission is to scrounge the wasteland looking for carrion to consume and repurpose. The spikes were not part of Plymouth’s original design.

The War Rig

A six-wheel-drive Tatra semi powered by two supercharged V-8s. It’s a tanker that shuttles precious fluids from Fiefdom to Sinecure and back again only makes it more mysterious and sinister. Well, that plus all the skulls serving as decoration. The semi cab seems to have been extended with the rear half of a late-1940s Chevrolet sedan.

The Doof Mobile

The Doof Mobile is a repurposed missile transport truck than now carries speakers and 'The Doof Warrior' instead of warheads. 'The Doof Warrior' swings from bungee cords whailing on his flamethrower guitar as he leads troops into battle

The Doof Mobile

The Doof Mobile is a repurposed missile transport truck than now carries speakers and 'The Doof Warrior' instead of warheads. 'The Doof Warrior' swings from bungee cords whaling on his flamethrower guitar as he leads troops into battle

1. The Women of Fury Road

If you've been following the mess regarding Joss Whedon and the 'supposed' misogyny controversy surrounding Age of Ultron, you'll be happy to know not a single person can bitch and complain about a lack of feminism here. While it's sad to see so many people deduce incorrect speculations regarding how Joss Whedon writes female characters, it is an extreme blessing to see how George Miller tackles the same thing. Nobody can make the same claims here. Miller has basically turned a "Mad Max" movie into a "Furiosa" movie. The women in this film simply steal the show. The Feminism is apparent everywhere you look and it makes for great ride. From the sheer Alpha female prowess of Furiosa, to the literal "escape from misogyny" entirely, is fantastic.

Spoiler Alert: One single shot seems to sum up all of this... Furiosa helps the slave wives of Immortan Joe escape a life of misery. (They are simply slaves used to breed.) When out of danger, the wives remove spiked chastity belts in a visual show of force that screams "these women will no longer be owned". It shows where they were coming from and where they are going to...all in one frame. More use of visuals to tell a story and it works wonders. Miller manages to use "sex" to sell the movie, but in the opposite way from what horny perverted men are used to. Sure it still does the same exact thing, turns guys on, but its underlying message is the opposite of typical "sex" stereotypes. "Look, were friggen hot, but you can't touch dis... dun dundundun...dun dun....dun dun... cant touch this.... STOP Hammer Time."

Toward the movie's climax, we also learn of a rebel group of marauders who turn out to be society's last hope... and they're ALL women, from young to old. You truly get a feeling that women really do rule in this movie when you see a bunch of grandmothers riding dirt bikes and shooting shotguns. While man is seen as vicious, wild, and controlling. The Women in the film are depicted as bold, sensible, tough, and not to be crossed. They are the film's true hero while Max is simply along for the ride. Think of it this way. Max needs two arms to be the bad-ass that he is. Furiosa manages to do it with just one.

5 out of 5 Doof Warriors

Captain America: Civil War set photos

May 16, 2015 Jason Murphy

Set photos are popping up of Captain America, Falcon, Black Widow and Crossbones from the set of Captain America: Civil War

#4- Anthony Mackie reprises his role as 'Falcon

#3- Frank Grillo as 'Crossbones'

#2- Scar Jo as Black Widow/Natasha Romanov

#1- Chris Evans in yet another redesigned Capt. America uniform

Double Superhero Duty

May 15, 2015 Jason Murphy

With the Legends of Tomorrow trailer dropping yesterday, we saw more of Brandon Routh as 'the Atom'. This isnt his first time stepping into the shoes of a comic book superhero. We also know him as Clark Kent/Superman in 2006's 'Superman Returns'. Lets a take a look at the top 4 actors to take on Double Superhero Duty.

4. Brandon Routh -Superman/The Atom (DC)

Brandon Routh got his superhero start playing 'the man of steel' in 2006's 'Superman Returns' While I found it to be a decent film, many critics trashed the movie blaming Routh's acting chops and boring demeanor as the cause. I'm not sure if any of them know this but Clark Kent is a 'mild mannered reporter' and Superman is basically an adult boy scout in the comics, so I found Routh to be a perfect fit. Not to mention he looks like a younger, more fit Christopher Reeves. Routh now suits up as 'The Atom' in the DC television universe, making appearances on 'Arrow', 'the Flash' and starring in the upcoming "DC's Legends of Tomorrow"

-(lets not forget Routh also played Todd Ingram, 'League of Evil Exes, Evil Ex #3" in 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World")

3. Chris Evans -The Human Torch/Captain America (Marvel)

Chris Evans appeared in 2 'Fantastic Four' films as Johnny Storm aka 'the Human Torch'. Evan's cocky, hunkish personality fit the role perfectly in my opinion. Chasing women, posing for paparazzi, and cashing in on his superpowers was exactly what fans were expecting and it worked, Unfortunately the films didn't make as much money as hoped. Evens was then cast as Steve Rogers aka 'Captain America' in the new Marvel Cinematic universe. He first starred in 'Captain America: The First Avenger', then reprising his role in 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier', 'Marvel's The Avengers' and 'Marvel's The Avengers: Age of Ultron'. He's set to keep the role alive in 'Civil War' and Infinity Wars 1 and 2. That's a crapload of movies now that I think of it.

-(Evans also joined Routh in 'Scott Pilgrim.." as Lucas Lee, Evil Ex #2 in the 'League of Evil Exes".. he ALSO played 'Curtis', the protagonist in 2013's 'Snowpiercer', a film based off a French graphic novel AND played superpower wielding 'Nick Grant' in 2009's 'Push' which was not based off a comic, however, had a comic made as a prequel to it after its film's release.. one could argue he's played 5 characters total... why isnt he #1?.. well I'm not counting those since none are Marvel or DC properties)

2. Ryan Reynolds -Deadpool/Green Lantern/Deadpool (Marvel/DC/Marvel)

You'll remember Reynolds being PERFECTLY cast as Wade Wilson in 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine, only to have the character of Deadpool completely ruined in the end of the film. He then took on the role of Hal Jordan in 2011's 'Green Lantern'. The film was seen as a major flop. Fans then went online to petition for a TRUE Deadpool movie to be made and insisted Reynolds keep the Wilson role seeing as he makes a much better Deadpool than Green Lantern.. Reynolds personality seemed a perfect fit for 'the Merc with a Mouth' and everyone agreed. The best thing is this NEW Deadpool has nothing to do with the OLD Deadpool ...THANK GOD. This being the case, one can argue Reynolds has played 2.5 Superheroes.

1. Ben Affleck- Daredevil/George Reeves as 'Superman'/Batman (Marvel/DC/DC)

Hometown homeboy, Ben Affleck is no stranger to superhero roles. Affleck got his superhero start in 2003's 'Daredevil' playing Hell's Kitchen's blind Lawyer 'Matt Murdock', who took justice into his owns hands as the 'the man without fear'...'Daredevil'. The film was not received well, however I for one am a huge Daredevil fan in general, and enjoyed the Affleck film.

What some forget to remember is that Affleck then took on the role of 'George Reeves' in 2006's 'Hollywoodland' . George Reeves was one of the earliest actors to take on the role of Superman in the 1950's television show by the same name. So in a way, Affleck was also Superman in a "meta" sort of way......And we all know Affleck will next be on screen as billionaire 'Bruce Wayne'/'Batman' in Zack Snyder's 2016 film 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'. Can we count this as 3 Superheroes? The Trifecta!

DC's Legends of Tomorrow

May 14, 2015 Jason Murphy

On the heels of Marvel's high budget Avengers movie extravaganza, DC is looking to cash in in a similar fashion......only in a lower budget, televised way (along with the addition of the possessive "DC's" added to the title, similar to "Marvel's The Avengers" or "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD"). The CW is currently home to 'Arrow' and 'The Flash' (and previously 'Smallville'), DC's televised universe, which is in no way connected to the DC cinematic universe. While Marvel ties their film and television offerings together, Warner Brothers has decided to keep things separate here. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Well, we know their movies are high budget, and their T.V shows are generally regarded as mid-low budget. Most likely considering that they air on the CW which is not as big of an entity as ABC (owned by Disney). This is turn forces Warner Brothers to cut the fat so to speak. I wouldn't call 'Arrow' and 'The Flash' bad shows at all. I enjoy both of them to an extent. But they straddle the line between action and teenage drama.

I attribute this to a lower budget, others may not. It may be artistic difference but when you watch a DC (or Marvel) movie and watch DC television, the differences are apparent. This doesn't change with the first trailer for DC's Legends of Tomorrow. DC's televised version of 'The Avengers' .Basically a spin off of Arrow AND The Flash. 'LoT' features some familiar faces:

Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer/The Atom (DC's version of Ant Man)
Wentworth Miller as Leonard Snart/Captain Cold
Dominic Purcell as Mick Rory/Heat Wave
Victor Garber as Martin Stein/ Firestorm
Ciara Renee as Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl
Caity Lotz as Sara Lance/ White Canary
Arthur Darvill as Rip Hunter.

If you watch 'Arrow' or 'The Flash' you're already familiar with almost all of these characters. Rip Hunter has yet to make appearance but will in the May 19th episode of The Flash.

With the first trailer of the new show being released I took it upon my anal self to break down 4 problems I wish they'd address

1. The Atom-

Like Ive been saying, DC television is primarily mid budget. This translates to sub par special effects. I can understand not throwing gobs of money into TV seeing as you have to produce a new episode every week, rather than one 2 hour movie, but this also means sub par costumes, mainly The Atom. The suit has already been seen, and continues to look terrible in the new show in my opinion. Its a mix of Iron Man and Ant Man both in ability and appearance. They could have went in a different direction than plastic body armor and chintzy ray guns. I was hoping for an upgrade but the budget just couldn't abide. It just looks overly clunky and confusing. the Original Atom didn't have robotic laser shooting armor, so I'm not sure why DC went full bore in this direction. It looks like 'Hiro' from "Big Hero 6" or an even worse version of Netflix's 'Daredevil' outfit.

2. Captain Cold and Heatwave-

You may remember Captain Cold (great name) and Heatwave from their other TV show.. 'Prison Break'. Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell have already portrayed on television together in the aforementioned show, so all I can think of is this being a Prison Break sequel even though it is not. Two escape criminals teaming up?.. feels like typecasting a bit. It may just be me, but its like casting "bumbling besties Gilligan and the Skipper" on a completely different show where they're "bumbling besties Steve and Fred". It just feels odd. I put up with it on the Flash, but not sure how it will work on a weekly basis. Add in that their only powers are a freeze gun and a heat gun and it STILL feels boring.

3. Heatwave AND Firestorm-

This is just personal preference but they have two stars with the same ability so to speak. Both fight with fire. Yes one actually has 'powers' and shoots fire and the other is just a regular dude with a flame thrower gun. It seems like duplication of effort. Why have an inferior version when you have Firestorm?! I suppose they'll take turns setting stuff on fire when fire is called for. It just feels completely redundant.

4. The CW Recipe-

Look, I enjoy the Flash... I do, but it has one major flaw. It follows the same exact recipe as 'Smallville' did. Each week, a DC hero battles a new villain. This recipe has started to become stale. 'Week 1= fight villain #1, week 2= fight villain #2, week 3=fight villain #3, week 4= fight villain #4' Its extremely repetitive and feels lazy. I am glad the Flash throws in some side story and lore along with its obligatory story lines. The Harrison Wells arc has been a Godsend in the Flash series and does a good job of giving us something different for a change. I can only hope Legends of Tomorrow doesn't use the same basic episode recipe show after show after show. And if it does, which I'm sure it will anyway, give us some Harrison Wells/Reverse Flash type action PLEASE!

Overall the trailer looks ok. It doesn't look spectacular, doesn't look terrible. It looks like the CW through and through. That's what we've come to expect with DC television I guess. Makes you think how DC television would look on a different station. Gripes aside, I'm looking forward to Legends of Tomorrow, especially with the addition of 'Doctor Who' famed actor Artur Darvill as 'Rip Hunter'.
I hope they do a good job and it doesn't look too cheesy. Only time will tell. If it sucks? ...well...then we have the upcoming Justice League on the big screen to make up for it.

Marvel's "The Avengers: Age of Ultron"

May 3, 2015 Jason Murphy

Want 4 reasons to see Age of Ultron? You got it slim....but first the annoying stuff

Age of Ultron opened last weekend and while it didn't top it's freshman outing in box office opening totals it did have the 2nd biggest opening ever. Not too bad I guess, right? You've probably already heard a slurry of early reviews and naysayers exclaiming the second outing isn't nearly as good as the first. However, I'm one of the few that look past politics and psychology and can tell you that the sequel is a better film. Sure its not without its faults, but what it does possess , or better yet what it 'lacks' is the "urgency" for an Avengers movie. Marvel studios was trying so hard to push out the first Avengers movie, I think it fell flat in assembling the proper entertainment and story that it deserved. It was a good film but I think it could have been better. With Ultron, Marvel was able to make an Avengers movie that felt more like it was a 'Marvel's Avengers' movie (e.g a comic book movie) and less like a frenzied introduction (the first flick)

There have been stories EVERYWHERE that Whedon and Marvel did not see eye to eye on parts of the movie, but overall, the outcome was fantastic. There were however some plot points I would like to get out there that could have been better and would have made it an even better outing.

Be warned... there will be some spoilers, but nothing you probably didn't already know, I hope

GRIPES!

Ultron-

While James Spader did a fantastic job voicing Ultron, but the actual character felt a bit missed in origins. Comic fans have come to know Ultron as a creation of Hank Pym (the original Ant-Man), while movie goers will have to accept that Ultron was a creation of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. It's a history change that at first glance seems necessary (as a story arc that makes Stark ultimately responsible for the death and destruction unleashed by Ultron) but seeing as Ant-Man IS coming as well this Summer it would have been nice to see Hank Pym have a role in creating Ultron. We still may see this happen based on my next point.....we don't know HOW Ultron came into being. Stark stumbled upon and Alien A.I lifeforce and it was just what he needed to create 'Ultron'. A theory he had been working on that could control all of his Iron Legion (currently helmed by J.A.R.V.I.S) He talked Bruce Banner into helping him with trying to extract the A.I into becoming a "new" J.A.R.V.I.S. that would ultimately safeguard the planet. We can only 'guess' that this created Ultron but as they were unsuccessful and had yet to properly begin Ultron's creation, Ultron could not yet have came into being. Ultron simply 'came online' suddenly despite failed previous attempts. Stark at one point left it to JARVIS to continue working on Ultron as he couldn't seem to "crack the code". In the next scene hear dialogue of Ultron w'waking up' and as he did JARVIS was also confused as to "what triggered" his creation. If JARVIS was left to run tests and HE didnt even know how Ultron became Ultron, I can only deduce that 'assuming' JARVIS or Stark ultimately did it, would be premature and incorrect. I felt like I missed something when in fact I didn't. It may still possibly be that Hank Pym secretly had a hand in Ultron's creation but I would have liked to see this in the movie. I mean, most movie goers will get the 'gist' of how he was created, or just assume it was Stark or JARVIS but following the dialogue we learn that nobody knows. Its just a mystery that doesn't feel like one. It feels like a bad edit or major secret. I could just be over thinking it and "Ultron was so smart, he simply created himself before Stark could", but that seems a bit too out there for a movie like this. Its a comic book movie, Not "Momento". What we do know is hes a robot and his mouth emotes flawlessly with his words. How or why this is? I don't know. Dumb aesthetics I guess, which I could have done without but not a deal breaker. (I blame LOST for forcing me to seek out answers to every unanswered question)

Overload-

Age of Ultron is PACKED with characters. More so than the first. It can make for a great movie but it can also make for a shitty movie if not done properly. Thankfully it is done well, for the most part. Unfortunately with a cast so large, you cant focus on everything you need to, so every single character loses something. It's evident with Thor and his 'small' sidestory. I wont get into it but it involves events leading to Thor's next solo film, 'Ragnarok' I'd assume. Its bits and pieces of partial dream sequences and a small side mission by Thor that were extremely cut down to fit more of everyone else into the movie. This may be due to overload, or the differences between Whedons vision and Marvel's. Its hard to stuff so much into one film and make it cohesive, and like the first Avengers, AoU has the same problem, only more so in this department. This also leads to overkill in fight scenes. See the still above/right? its loaded with visuals. You will have to dissect it for a while before you can grasp all its beauty, which is a terrific part of Comics. The pictures don't move, so throw as much as you want into it. Ill have all the time in the world to marvel at its greatness. As for FILM its a different story. With a group of Avengers, all fighting on screen at once, you miss SO MUCH of the action. You can only watch one section of a scene that features a SHIT TON of action and you end up missing everything else going on IN that scene. There are fight scenes that look almost exactly like the photo above but you'll have no idea whats going on because you cant follow all that moving crap all at the same time... then its gone... on to the next shot. This wouldnt so much be a gripe in regards to Age of Ultron abut simply more in regards to these ensemble action films we're getting as a whole. Id like to see more singularly focused cinematography so I can appreciate great fight scenes more. Otherwise these Avenger films are the type of films you'll have to see a few times to fully grasp/appreciate all its cinematography. I guess that's not too bad unless you're forking over $18 a pop for IMAX.

Those are the main petty complaints that struck the biggest chord, If I missed something and you find the answers, please feel free to let me know. Otherwise, I think the movie was done extremely well. It suffered some headaches (WHY Stark would create Ultron out of unknown alien A.I. in the first place) but I guess we wouldn't have a movie if he didn't. I can overlook that for now. This is a LARGE Marvel cinematic universe, so getting everything perfect just isnt going to be possible. If you can accept that, than you'll enjoy these movies just fine. As for 4 great parts of the film, see below....

4. Hulkmance

One pretty cool thing Whedon did in AuO was to throw in a love story. The film features a blossoming romance between Black Widow and Bruce Banner. Its apparent in the opening fight scene when we learn that Widow has learned to "lullaby" the Hulk back into Bruce Banner. With a few choice words ("Hey big guy....the suns getting real low") and a tender touch, Widow has found a way to safely get the Hulk to stabilize back into Banner. The intimate relationship between Black Widow and Hulk soon spreads over to Natasha and Banner with Nat explaining (in regards to finding a boyfriend) all her friends have been fighters...hes the only one who is...well...just a dork.

Some have shared their distaste for the addition of this story arc. The Interweb has gone batshit crazy, intending to ruin Joss Whedons life for portraying Black Widow as a typical "Damsel in distress"....calling him misogynistic and sexist. Its been SO BAD that Whedon quit social media entirely, thanks to thousands of angry Twitter followers, in search of attention from Joss Whedon as they throw absolutely disgusting comments at him through Twitter. Its sickening as to what the internet has done to some people. Its full of evil, vile trolls, only out to bash anything they feel offends them in the most mean spirited way possible in hopes to get attention from said entity. ....In any event, I for one embraced this addition to the movie. Its a fresh change.

Nobody said it better than Mark Rufalo himself when some troll tweeted to Whedon on Twitter.- "He turned natasha into nothing but a love interest who needed saving. hows that internalized misogyny?". Ruffalo repied- "Weird I thought he turned Banner into the love interest that needed saving". I couldn't have said it better myself. The entire romance between Banner and Nat doesn't play off like a sexist move to bash women to me whatsoever (people just need to find something to bitch about, they created this). I see it as Black Widow being the only one willing and who can help Banner. The Banner/Hulk relationship is so shrouded in chaos, Banner cannot save himself. But with the inclusion of this 'love' being harbored by Widow for Banner, its easily perceived that Natasha has become the Hulks one saving grace. She doesn't see Hulk as the weapon he is, but as Banner struggling to balance an unbalance-able force. For those who take this as the Hulk 'saving a damsel in distress' , I can only say 'you obviously didn't get it.'. Its the exact opposite and I thought it was great.

3. Comic relief

This movie is simply PACKED with comic relief. Everyone gets in on the action. I honesty have to say, I was laughing throughout the entire movie. Oh, don't worry... its action packed and serious, but Whedon knows how to throw in jokes when you wouldn't expect a joke and still keep the tone serious. It's all "tongue in cheek". If youve ever seen "Firefly" you know how good Whedon is with this. I'm not even sure why this isnt #1 because it was a major highlight of AoU, far more so than 'The Avengers". One of my favorite quotes comes from Hawkeye in the climax of the movie. While held up in a building with Scarlet witch, she exclaims her confusion to the entire situation while trying to grasp whats happening.. Hawkeye chimes in with "The city is flying! We're fighting an army of robots! And I have a bow and arrow! None of this makes sense!" That's just one of hundreds of great one liners packed into this movie. That's all I have to say about it oddly. um, yeah, so...............yeah

2. the Vision

The Vision was such a great addition to this movie. His origins are spot on. Ultron, in an attempt to create himself a more humanoid and improved body, creates the vision using a 3D skin graph machine and synthetic 'vibranium'. Ultron intended to inhabit this body himself but the avengers stole him and Stark managed to bring the Vision online using J.A.R.V.I.S, a little help from Thor (Frankenstein-esque) and the Infinity Stone that was left from Loki's scepter. Paul Bettany who voiced J.A.R.V.I.S now portrays the Vision excellently. Seeing as his base code 'IS' J.A.R.V.I.S it makes perfect sense that the Vision sound like him, so why not have Bettany portray both beings. The Vision is simply a joy to watch and has quite a few funny scenes to boot thanks to Whedon. I will admit I would have EXTREMELY liked the Vision to have been a total surprise in this film, but his addition was announced long ago along with photos so we kinda knew exactly what the deal was. Other than his tweaked color scheme, hes spot on. Blue and purple, green and yellow... its all good. He looks exactly like the Vision despite this change so I really can't complain.

1. Hulkbuster(Veronica) vs Hulk

What can I say but the Hulk vs Hulkbuster scene is hands down the best of this film. Even with a majority of it being released in promo before the films release, its still simply amazing to watch. the Hulk being bewitched by the Scarlet Witch translates pretty damn good thanks to ILM who did an amazing job making Hulk look (for lack of a better word) "drugged". He appears as if he was just pepper sprayed and it suits the scene well. This enchantment sends Hulk on a rampage that destroys part of Johannesburg. Iron Man, in an attempt to end his onslaught, calls in 'Veronica'. A flying mechanism launched from space, that contains an "emergency" suit created by Stark AND Banner. Known as "the Hulkbuster armor" Veronica" deploys from a satellite, finds Tony and encases him in Tony Stark's most advanced armor yet. From what we hear Stark and Banner discussing earlier in the film, the armor was developed by both of them as a back up plan to control the Hulk if the reason ever presented itself. Well....it presented itself. Banner didn't sound to happy with the project but it was obvious he was on board with why it was needed. The scene is simply one of the best fight scenes to grace a Marvel universe movie to date. so much so that after the movie I was contemplating writing to Marvel to have to make an ENTIRE movie dedicated to Iron Man's Hulkbuster Armor trying to stop Hulk on a rampage time and time again. I could simply watch what Whedon and Marvel came up with over and over. Like the Vision though, I only wish this scene was a total surprise as well. I guess in this day and age, we have to get used to most of the movies we see being spoiled before hand. Back in the day, all we had was one or maybe two trailers to get all the info we could about a movie. No Internet, No IMDB, no Twitter, no place for rumors to circulate, no place for concept art to pop up. I guess it comes with the times, and it may be the reason some people are simply never satisfied with what are amazing movies.