Avengers: Age of Ultron [DVD]

This is a good movie, but not a great one. All of the elements are there for it to be great in terms of plot, yet somehow it doesn't quite execute. I think perhaps it never gives the viewers a sense of impending doom and without more drama it's tough to get emotionally invested in what's happening. This is still a solid effort with great action, acting, and characters. The action may tie that of the first film, but I don't think it tops it. As a film I give this 3.5 to 4 stars. The blu-ray presentation is solid, but not as good as the first film. Specifically, I found the use of 3D in this movie to be underwhelming. The effects were minimal and sometimes it didn't even look like 3D. Considering how good the 3D was in the first film, I was very surprised that it wasn't better here. Maybe it isn't fair to judge them against each other, but it is difficult not too and the first movie set a very high bar. I would also give the 3D presentation 3.5 stars and 2d gets 5 stars. So the question you're probably asking is how I give an overall rating of 5 stars when I've rated the individual parts lower. Simple: this movie is priced to be an INCREDIBLE VALUE! A 3D collection for less than $30 on release day is unheard of! I've been buying 3D movies for 4 years and this one cost the least by far. At $20 it is a no brainer and worth every penny. It's almost like Disney understands the small shortcomings in the film and went overboard by pricing it accordingly. This is a good movie and a great value! I would encourage anyone that likes action or superhero films to pick it up. It makes for a great evening of movie watching and the price is right!

Another notch for Marvel Cinematic Universe Success. Avengers Age of Ultron continues to spread forth an amazing collection of actors together in a phenomenal sequel to the Avengers. Joss Whedon does a marvelous job not just once but twice. After the Captain America 2 Winter Soldier and Agents of SHIELD Season 1 in which the offshoot Nazi Terrorist group HYDRA is still in existence, promoting terrorism into the 21st century and using SHIELD and the governments of the world to in order to rule the world. Avengers 2 Age of Ultron brings the Avengers to destroy HYDRA, but they are manipulated into creating a peace keeping initiative that blows up in their faces. Ultron, the artificial intelligence created by Tony Stark to prevent alien threats like Avengers or world threats like Captain America 2 turns on them and intends to destroy. This is more than just an action movie for the sake of action, but brings to mind the importance of fighting the good fight and the limits of power. Its nice to know more things about the Avengers as they develop in the face of their new enemies and their own demons. Its nice to know that a few years living in the 21st century that Steve Rogers still misses his dreams of a normal life, or how Natasha Romanov was trained as an assassin and robbed of a life she still wants, don't get me started on Clint Barton and of course Tony Stark's ambitions. They are friends but they have a chance to be a family and more as they fight to save the world. All this and more is just amazing. Nice to welcome back the old but also some new faces. As well as see plenty of great action. Some people complain about some stuff. The movie isn't as fresh as there is a feeling of 'sequelitis' as there is feeling to make the movie relevant. I won't go into specifics but I do believe its a little exaggerated. Joss Whedon also has said that he wanted to do more, bring more heroes and continue to develop things well into the next couple of films. Both of course didn't happen. Still this movie is really good and well worthy of a Blu-ray and Digital Copy.

FORMAT: Blu-Ray UPC: 7-86936-84671-3 RELEASED: 2015-10-02 TITLE: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) • PG-13 • 2:21:19 Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson Joss Whedon (Director) Joss Whedon does it again: If you liked the first Avengers movie, then you will probably like this one. The plot in a nutshell: Bad Guys, AGAIN, do bad things (on a large scale); Good Guys (and Gals), yet AGAIN, try to stop said Bad Guys — and, AGAIN, fun (mostly) ensues! See the other reviews on this page for more detail and/or other opinions regarding the plot of the movie. VIDEO: 2.39:1 • Color • 1080p • MPEG-4 AVC (29.9 Mbps) The movie's image is reasonably sharp (without any obvious edge-enhancement), has very good contrast and has decent shadow detail (as seen in the dark and shadowy areas, such as in the dark scenes located in the Hydra Research Base at the beginning of the movie). Also, fine detail is frequently (though not always) evident in the brighter scenes and in many close-ups. Lastly, there are no obvious artifacts such as banding, specks, white dots, hair-lines or color fluctuations. Overall, this movie's presentation on blu-ray has very good picture quality, and should satisfy the vast majority of viewers. AUDIO: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 The sound quality of the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack for this disc, while very good, is NOT amongst the best examples of the art. Although dialog is clear and well placed, and the rear and side channels are somewhat active and fairly directional; It still never gave me that deeply moving 'you-are-there' feeling that I frequently get when listening to movies with reference-quality soundtracks (e.g.— John Wick , Pacific Rim , X-men: Days Of Future Past ). Don't get me wrong: this soundtrack is very good, but it definitely could have been better! EXTRAS: Director's commentary Several 'Making Of' videos Several Deleted and Extended Scenes Gag Reel None of the extras were reviewed.

When crafting a sequel to any movie, the goal is usually to make it bigger while still retaining the qualities that made people fall in love with the first one. On that alone, AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON succeeds marvelously. While the action in THE AVENGERS was mostly confined to New York (at least the climax), ULTRON is more of a globe-hopping adventure. The banter between the team members is as funny as ever and, without the need to bring the team together this time, there was more time allotted to character development, particularly Hawkeye and Black Widow, who haven't had so much to do in the Marvel movies up to this point. Of course, with this expansion comes a handful of new characters to add to all the ones we're familiar with (and most of whom at least make a cameo). Chief among these is Ultron, a sneering villain whose personality is directly based on Stark's. There are also the twins, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, who have a particular connection with Stark that sees them initially aligned with Ultron against the Avengers. To sum up all that's good with the film is quite easy: it's frickin' cool. A slightly more polished way to put this is that it delivers on the all of the witty repartee and CGI-enhanced action that we've come to expect from the MCU. However, there are a few points where it doesn't quite live up to its predecessor. First, the novelty of having the team together has worn off a bit. Second, while the increase in locations is appreciated, the narrative is somewhat more splintered and unwieldy than it possibly should have been. A lot of this has to do with some scenes which are setting up future adventures. Another big part of this has to do with the final action set-piece basically being a redux of the Battle of New York from the first AVENGERS. And, while Ultron is great as the villain always ready with a quip, his motivation remained as opaque and vague as Scarlet Witch's powers (summed up as "weird"). It boils down to not being as streamlined nor as unique as what came before it. Still, none of this really negatively impacted my enjoyment. I was as eager to return to this world as anyone, and Joss Whedon surely didn't disappoint me.

What can I say? I really really enjoyed this vid! You know, it's kinda weird, I was not a comic book fan and I was never that crazy about the whole Marvel-Saturday-morning thing either...BUT, then the Iron Man movies came out and BAM, I'm a fan. The Thor series was pretty cool as well. I wasn't that impressed with the Spider Man, nor the Superman remakes; but Captain America, was way better than I thought...Okay, do you see the pattern forming there? Subconsciously I was becoming a fan. I had favorites (Iron Man) I had favorite villains, for instance (think Willam Dafoe as The Goblin, fantastic!) And then the Avengers came out. Once again, fantastic!!!! Yes, four exclamation points worth of "YAY". The first one was great, this new one, Age of Ultron was just as good, if not better because this vid (in my humble opinion) did not rely so much on CGI. This one was more about the PEOPLE. The "Supers" if you will. Hawkeye has a wife and kids. Bruce Banner gets to show how brilliant he is, how cool he is, as scientist. Yes, The Hulk was pivotal in the fight against Ultron and his Robo-Soldiers, but at least Banner got some air time without being green. And The Black Widow; the terrible things she endured as a child to become an elite assassin was shocking, even by today's standards. Besides.(Scarlett Johansson is such a hottie, I mean..well, never mind) ANYWAY, the point IS: This is good stuff. If you've not seen this vid (geeky Comic-Con dude, or dudess, or just a new fan like me) you're going to love it! My wife even liked it! That's a miracle in and of itself! Seriously, she hates my action and horror tastes, and I don't like her fairytale oversexed vampire thing...different strokes I guess. But my point is simple: you'll love it.

When the first Avengers was released the bar for super-hero movies had been set higher than ever before. Not since the first Superman flick was released with Chris Reeve had this type of movie so hit it out of the park. It's a delicate thing to bring comic book heros to the big screen. It requires the creative team behind it have a respect for and at least some idea of the spirit behind the characters. In phase one we were introduced to and came to know these characters so that when they were brought together in Avengers the chemistry between them worked well. When changes are made from the source material it can work as long as it is not to great a change and stays with the spirit of the original stories. Most of the negative reviews for Age of Ultron seem to be about too much action, too many explosions, too much CGI etc. At least this makes better sense than re-hashing the origin stories all over again (Spider-man, Fantastic Four). People were also somehow offended by the romance building between Black Widow and Bruce Banner. I must admit that to some degree I found the action a little bit overloaded. But I expect that when I watch this again in the future I will catch items that I may have missed the first time through. As for Natasha and Banner, it allows us to see the humanity and pain of these characters and that is deeper and more revealing that the Hulk just joyfully smashing and Black Widow shooting. As a man with a potentially dangerous affliction must avoid getting too close to anyone and Black Widow was trained to be a killer from childhood. As the Marvel Universe continues to widen we will see more amazing characters like Thanos.

Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron is a stunning continuation of the beloved superhero franchise. Packed with action, humor, and heart, this film keeps viewers on the edge of their seats from start to finish. The chemistry between the all-star cast is electric, with each character getting their moment to shine. The visual effects are jaw-dropping, bringing Ultron and his army of robots to life in a truly epic fashion. Director Joss Whedon once again proves why he is a master of the comic book genre, delivering a film that is both exciting and emotionally resonant. Whether you're a devoted fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or just looking for a fun and thrilling movie experience, Avengers: Age of Ultron is a must-see.

**This review does not spoil the movie or tell you anything you wouldn't know by watching the trailer.** In the first Avengers film, the gang must learn to work together in order to overcome a familiar foe and stop an alien invasion from destroying New York City and the world. The second film begins with our heroes tying up the last loose end from the so-called Battle of New York, which is to secure Loki's scepter so it's mystical energies can be harassed for mass destruction. In Age of Ultron, we finally meet Wanda and Pietro, which are the "captives" seen in the post-credit sequence after Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Winter Soldier showed us that Hydra had been running SHIELD almost since it was the Selective Scientific Reserve and Baron von Strucker is one of Hydra's "top thugs." Having volunteered for Strucker's experiments on human subjects using Loki's scepter as a catalyst, Pietro has superhuman metabolism that allows him to run at speeds that render him a mere blur to the human eye while Wanda is granted the powers of telekinesis as well as mind control and presumably others that are pseudo-mystical in nature. In Age of Ultron, we see that Wanda and Pietro Maximoff (referred to by most others as "the twins") are being groomed to be big-hitters for Hydra. The Avengers have their first encounter with the twins and, though most come out relatively unharmed, consider the Maximoffs to be a major potential that. Having retrieved Loki's scepter and returned to Stark/Avengers Tower in NYC, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner decide to experiment in the jewel in the scepter before Thor returns to Asgard with the jewel in tow. On analysis, they realize that the jewel isn't a mere energy source like was previously thought, but that the jewel houses some sort of mystical artificial intelligence. This prompts them to discuss the Ultron initiative, which is their theoretical project that would put artificial intelligence into an army of Tony's suits so that the Avengers could essentially retire. However, with Jarvis being the most advanced AI available the concept had insofar been only theoretical or hypothetical. Tony convinces Bruce that this "vulnerable blue planet" is in dire need of Ultron, so the two begin trying to adapt the AI in the jewel into something that could run the "Iron Legion." Unsuccessful, they retire to a party the Avengers are hosting to celebrate the end of the search for Loki's scepter and the end of the threat of another alien invasion, at least in the way it had occurred previously. Meanwhile, as Jarvis runs simulations trying to figure out how to adapt the AI in the jewel into the Ultron program, suddenly the AI in the jewel invades Starks computer systems, destroys Jarvis, and attacks the Avengers before making off work the scepter. Arriving on the other side of the world, Ultron begins creating an army of his own with the goal being to rod the world of the Avengers and force humanity to "evolve." One of the things that I really liked about Marvel's The Avengers: Age of Ultron was that the major threat Ultron owed it's existence to the recklessness of an actual Avenger rather than being some third party with a grudge who decides to destroy the world. Instead, Tony Stark's brainchild, which was intended to be the final solution for world peace and safety, became the near-cause of humanity's destruction. Another thing I really liked about Age of Ultron was that it really highlighted the differences in the perspectives of Tony Stark and the other members of the team, especially Captain America, which most will know is central to the plot of the third Captain America film, subtitled Civil War. Tony Stark has always been a self-serving, egotistical and reckless genius who, over the course of the MCU to date, has taken baby-steps toward being somewhat more heroic. However, despite his growing concern for the safety of others he remains unable to assess certain situations objectively. In Age of Ultron, he foresaw that the other Avengers would be against trying to put the jewel's AI into suits of armor, but his pride resulting in his belittling that perspective and in not lending it any credence. As a result, he impulsively played with forces that he knowingly couldn't completely control and almost caused the destruction of the Avengers and the world. I also really loved some of the characters introduced in this film. More specifically, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff (Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver) as well as the Vision. In the case of the latter, Stark took the android body Ultron had intended for himself and instead put an "improved" version of Ultron's base AI into the suit after hybridizing it with Jarvis. The result was a new character that recognized that the situation isn't black and white, one side against the other; instead, the Vision is on the side of life and peace with his stance landing on the side that fights to protect those two things. Vision regrets having to kill Ultron because of Ultron's uniqueness, but resigns to Ultron's destruction since Ultron wants to destroy humanity. Unfortunately, Age of Ultron was slightly less well-received than the first Avengers film, which many still hail as one of the best superhero films ever made. In some ways, I can agree that the first film was better. However, I slightly prefer Age of Ultron to the first film since this one is a very organic and logical continuation of these characters' stories. Ultron was a very rich character who, despite being genocidal, still came off as having reached his destructive conclusions through logic, which is more effective than simply making a villain bloodthirsty for the sake of being bloodthirsty. Moreover, the characters introduced in this film--Scarlet Witch, the Vision, and Quicksilver particularly--could very well have major implications and play a huge part in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's almost a shame that Joss Whedon won't being making the two-part finale to the Avengers trilogy because he has really demonstrated a rich understanding of these characters, making them both heroic while also flawed, which is essential for realistic, dynamic characters.

Als Filmfan, der zeitbedingt selbst noch kaum ins Kino kommt, aber das Glück hat, ein Heimkino sein Eigen zu nennen, bin ich bei Rezensionen zu Filmen weniger an der Geschichte bzw. dem Inhalt interessiert, den finde ich auf anderen Plattformen im Netz gut rezensiert bzw. kritisch gewürdigt, sondern eher an der technischen Umsetzung des Films, insbesondere was Bild und Ton angeht. Daher gehen meine kurzen Rezensionen nicht bzw. nur sehr selten auf den Inhalt ein, sondern geben kurz und knapp meine Wahrnehmung der Bild- und Tonqualität wieder; hier und da mit Blick auf Szenen oder Filmteile, die besonders imposant umgesetzt sind - hier bietet sich dann z.B. ein Vorführen des Heimkinos bzw. das Austesten von Lautsprecher oder Beamer an. Von daher sind meine Rezensionen alles andere als vollständig, geben dem ein oder anderen aber vielleicht genau den Tip, den sie oder er gerade sucht. Bildqualität: Avengers - Age of Ultron bietet, wie die meisten Marvel Produktionen eine technisch sehr hochwertige Umsetzung auf BluRay für den Konsumenten. In weiten Teilen des Films findet sich ein sehr farbfrohes Bild mit tollen Farbkontrasten und ordentlich visuellem Punch. Die Farbgebung ist Ausgestaltung ist weniger natürlich sondern eher etwas überzeichnet (kreischende Farben), ohne jedoch starke Filter oder sonstige Veränderungen aufzuweisen. Farben werden mit einer angenehmen, gefälligen Brillianz und Leuchtkraft dargestellt. Der Film bietet eine spektakuläre Bildschärfe, die auch bei dunklen Szenen und Kontrasten durchgehalten wird; Artefakte, Bildrauschen oder "Griseln" konnte ich beim Betrachten auf Leinwandgröße kaum ausmachen. Die Tiefenschärfe sowie Nahaufnahmen gelingen sehr ordentlich. Das Gesamtbild ist sehr gefällig, das Hinschauen macht Spaß und überfordert den Sehgenuß nicht. Tonqualität: Soundtechnisch kann der Film - ich beziehe mich auf die Englische Fassung in DTS 7.1 - absolut begeistern. Der Musicscore ist sehr gut abgemischt und in die sonstige Klang- und Effektkulisse sauber integriert. Die Stimmwiedergabe gut eingepegelt über den Center; die Dialoge setzen sich von der Gesamtsoundkulisse ab, könnten hier und da aber etwas mehr Feinschliff vertragen. Dennoch gehen die Stimmen in effektlastigen Szenen nicht unter. Hier wurde ordentlich gearbeitet. Sowohl bei 7.1 aber auch 5.1 Receivern bietet die Codierung einen sehr solide und sorgfältig abgemischten Ton. Insgesamt wird ein sehr breiter, angenehm von den Boxen abgelöster Klang erreicht; keine LS wirken aufdringlich oder in bestimmten Teilen des Films überbeansprucht. Die Surroundspeaker schaffen ein sehr räumliches Klangbild, das in vielen Szenen sinnvoll eingesetzt wird. Gerade in den actionlastigen Szenen wird von hohen bis tiefen Frequenzen jeder Lautsprecher gefordert und zur Leistung ermuntert. Gerade der Subwoofer liefert ordentlich Punch. So macht Heimkino Spaß. In der BluRay Fassung liegt eine sehr sorgfältige technische Umsetzung vor, die den Kauf der BluRay m.E. absolut rechtfertigt; hier erhält man einen Film mit hochwertiger technischer Umsetzunh, mit dem das Austesten bzw. Vorführen des eigenen Heimkinos sicherlich gelingt.

Excelente película, efectos increíbles y una historia que te atrapa (si eres fan de los cómics), esta segunda entrega con la unión de los superheroes, deja a cualquier fan satisfecho después de verla, las actuaciones son buenas sin ser sobre actuadas y te mantiene entretenido en todo momento, las secuencias de acción te dejan siempre pidiendo mas y la película te lo cumple con cada escena cargada con grandes momentos de adrenalina. Una entrega super recomendada para todas las edades.

great

Joss Whedon bows out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with an astonishing film. Age of Ultron's faults come from trying to cram in too much great material. The Blu-Ray only gives us a meagre portion of what had to be edited out. The film as released remains a flawed masterpiece. Emphasis on the masterpiece. Superhero movies don't come any better than Avengers 1 & 2. The Winter Soldier comes close, which means the series is probably in good hands. Time will tell!

Age of Ultron delivers. There are some, as always, who will compare this venture unfavorably to its predecessor. To do so is unfair however. While unquestionably a continuation of the themes brought forth in the first Avengers movie; A.O.U. brought a much darker fare to the big screen and for the sheer ambition of what it attempts and achieves, this Marvel epic simply nails it. A.O. U. is an evolution film-wise, not a rote retelling of the first adventure.I feel as a fan I have to address some of the negative that has been hurled this film's way - none of which will hurt its bottom line dollar wise, but still.... It seems to me as if fans of the genre are getting a bit jaded and unjustly so for all the incredible work delivered so far. In my mind, Marvel is annihilating the competition and setting up a universe...a universe that is linear, filled with excellent characterization, plots and a smashingly broad appeal. Marvel continues to do so without compromsing its sense of humor, ably demonstrated by the superb, quippy writing of Whedon. While the competition sets ups for payoffs on standalone films with delays and meandering, the MCU continues to develop, expand and honestly improve. C'mon, who would have thought "Guardians of the Galaxy" would be as formidable as it was? There is no more doubt because Marvel dares and that is that. There are already folks bitching about missteps before films are even being shot fer chrissakes. Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange? Hell yes. Paul Rudd as Antman, absolutely? Would these movies have been made 10 or even five years ago? Assuredly not, yet here we are with a broad pastiche culminating in inclusive, unifying films that will involve a goodly majority of the movieverse cast thus far, namely "Infinity War - parts I & II). If A.O.U. has any failing, it might be that it is trying to do too much in one film as this is Whedon's swansong for Avengers/Marvel. What he accomplishes with his "vision" incidentally is formibable. Now on to my review. The action in this film is rousing, starting off in a meteroic blaze as the Avengers acting as a strike team, taking out Hydra sites and making their way to its current head, Baron Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) to recapture Loki's scepter from the last film and determine their enemy's endgame. "The twins" offered at the end credit scene of Winter Soldier take centre stage in A.O.U. and their back story, powerfully altered from their book origin, has due emotional punch as their paths and Tony Stark's intersect tragically, informing their enmity. Elizabeth Olsen does an able job with her Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch. Here too there is a plot driving modification to her abilities which make her an even more powerful enemy. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays her brother Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver and brings a cockiness and hostility that could very much be ripped from the pages of his comic book history. The demonstration of their powers, mental maniplulation, telekenisis and superspeed respectively is very well depicted. In fact, all effects in this latest venture are epic. The battle scene with the Hulkbuster Iron Man and Hulk is just damn fantastic. The film is filled with a manic energy and urgency. James Spader's Ultron is a beautiful amalgm of zany and malevolent. The change to his origin as being the technogical peace keeping dream fulfillment of Stark and Banner works, giving this ubervillain far more depth than any depictions thus far have managed. He is not a rote villain. He is an angry offspring with an extinction event mindset tapered with instincts that prove all too human. I must also address complaints that Ultron is not as great a villain as the far more dramatic fan favorite Loki. That is because he is different and not meant to be the same character. Hiddleston killed it with his portrayal in the Avengers , subsequent cinematic forays and will unquestionably continue to do so in whichever film he is included in. This film however is not "Age of Loki" so folks should get over it and simply appreciate the great performance given by Spader who effortlessly makes the character his own. The mvps in this film, however, are Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo). Renner gets a much needed character development arc including a wonderfully kept secret that pays off dividends and strengthens his presence in Avengers lore. His actions against Wanda/Scarlet Witch is a perfect punctuation to his status in the first film under Loki's control and is perfectly delivered. The connection between the Widow and Banner occurs organically and allows for some beautiful moments, particularly as both commisserate after being manipulated by Wanda Maximoff. The big three are in a groove now. Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) convey a friendship and respect rightly earned as three men who have worked together to face powerful enemies and keep peace on a universal level. They are also funny as hell in their interactions. None of the riffing gets old -- ever. The "language" gag from point one carries through to the end with even Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) and Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson) getting in on the action. The playful ease between these characters adds to the believability that such a diverse group with amazingly different mindsets and backgrounds could co-exist so amicably. The "worthiness" gag starting at the party scene and stretching to the film's denouement is priceless. The coming together of the group is presented with due gravity as the world level threat increases. The payoff of Ultron's end game is meant for the big screen and I will say no more on the subject. As regards character development,however, top marks must be given to both Whedon and Paul Bettany for the natural progression of the Jarvis (voice-work) only to the final manifestation of his physical presence as a long time fan favorite. Bettany's performance is outstanding, bringing a quiet cerebral performance; elevating his character from a creation of pure evil and hubris to a messianic bridging of the gap between humans and artificial intelligence. There are still surprises in this second outing and duly unifying plot twists which prove this franchise is far from exhausted. There is just so much going on in this movie. I will be seeing it again to take it all in as I am certain that with a film of this level that I didn't catch everything. Age of Ultron opens the field to an even greater Marvel expansion and domination of the cinematic universe. A.O.U. is simply outstanding and well worth your time.