“The Avengers: Age of Ultron” is NOT the best superhero movie ever. It’s the fourth best superhero movie ever.
The best superhero movie ever is The Dark Knight, followed by The Avengers, after that it’s Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2, THEN Age of Ultron.
Now don’t try to explain to me that I am incorrect here, because I am not. I know there are plenty of you that think that Green Lantern or Spawn may be better than Superbabies, but you’d be wrong. I’ve done the math and 85% of the time I am correct, 70% of the time I am wrong, 35% of the time you are correct, 60% of the time you don’t care what I think, and 75% I don’t care what you think… Which adds up to 100% of the time I am correct.
See, it’s simple math.
The reasoning behind my rating it the fourth best superhero film is simple. The Dark Knight was a perfectly written, directed, and acted film. (It also had one of the best performances ever by Heath Ledger). The original Avengers was a well crafted film that meshed iconic characters seamlessly, without any of them stepping on the others toes. And Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 was instrumental in getting the voices of our short, wobbly, drooling friends out there to the masses. (Plus, anything with Scott Baio in it has gotta be good.)
Which brings us to the fourth best superhero movie ever: Age of Ultron.
Straight up, I give this film 4 out of 5 Giant Noses. (That’s how good it was.)
I loved it. The story was well written. The acting was very good, (but not the best). And you know me and special effects. I love em! They were awesome in this film. I say, “CGI everything!”
I can’t stress enough how much I liked this film, but since I don’t want to spoil it for you, I’m going to refrain from telling you its story. (Well, besides the fact that it’s a bunch of superheroes out to save the world.)
What I will tell you is that James Spader is the best part of the film. What he brings to the table as Ultron (the character) is nothing short of frightening. His delivery of his lines is magical. He runs a chill up your spine with his voice alone. And the way he hits his marks is creepy. That’s what you want in a villain. You want an actor who can deliver a sinister response to an otherwise ordinary line… I loved this character. (And the CGI of Ultron was fantastic too.)
Another new standout for me was Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch. The back story for this character could stand alone in it’s own film. Scarlet Witch, (along with her twin brother, Quicksilver, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) seem to have a very interesting story line before they enter into this film. I wouldn’t mind seeing a film on those two siblings.
It was also fun to see Don Cheadle back again as War Machine and Anthony Mackie as The Falcon.
Oh, and one more thing… Paul Bettany as Vision was a delight to see. The director, (Joss Whedon) could’ve taken the superficial route and cast Vision with a very different, more buff actor and had Paul Bettany voice over the character, but instead he took the correct road and gave the (visual) role to Bettany. I liked this because I truly believe Paul Bettany deserved the role. He’s been involved with the Marvel Universe ever since the first Iron-Man movie, and it would’ve been a shame to see him tossed to the curb just because he didn’t have the “right look.”
I believe in loyalty to your actors, and Whedon delivered by giving him this role.
(Note: I’m not even sure if there was ever a debate for Bettany getting the role here… I’m just one lunatic thinking out loud in front of his computer.)
One reason this film didn’t get the perfect 5 Giant Nose rating was that, as much as I loved all the returning characters, (and I did love them) they didn’t have that same fluent chemistry that came with the original. Don’t get me wrong, they were great, but as funny as Iron-Man was with Captain America, it just didn’t seem as organic as before. (Actually, a couple of scenes about “cussing” seemed pretty organic.)
I also liked that there is a love connection going on between Black Widow and Hulk… But come on, gimme something I can use! I mean, the love may have been there, but I just didn’t feel it. (And I’m like Forrest Gump, “I may not be smart, but I know what love is.”)
So, after proof reading my article, I’ve come to the conclusion that I thought this film was great because of the NEW characters introduced to us.
I’ve also come to the conclusion that loyalty to your actors is a great thing for Hollywood. (Note: Christopher Nolan should’ve kept Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight.)
And finally, I’ve come to the conclusion that Superbabies: Baby Genuises 2 is the best “baby related” superhero movie EVER.
And you can take that one to the crib and sleep on it!
Matty W. Kelley, reporting
mattywkelley.com