Showing posts with label Robert Downey Jr.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robert Downey Jr.. Show all posts

Friday, May 1, 2015

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) - Review

Avengers Age of Ultron movie review recap poster image wallpaper picture robert downey jr marvel cinematic universe

This post contains spoilers. Readers who wish to avoid plot points/details are recommended to skip the review.

Joss Whedon is back to direct this sequel to the global blockbuster The Avengers (2012).

The movie opens with our team of heroes taking down a Hydra stronghold somewhere in Europe. We meet two new super-powered individuals, the twins: Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson).

Scarlet Witch can play tricks with people's minds and Quicksilver can run really fast. They seem to have been granted their powers through experimentation by Hydra agents led by Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann).

The siblings have a grudge against Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). Wanda puts a spell on Tony who gets to work right away and with the help of fellow scientist Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), creates Ultron (voiced by James Spader).


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Tony intends Ultron to be the saviour of Earth. Ultron has plans of his own and overcomes Jarvis (Paul Bettany) and takes the physical form of a muscular robot. With the help of the Maximoff twins, Ultron unleashes havoc on the Avengers.

Fights ensue, alliances are forged and the Avengers save the day.

The most noticeable aspect of the movie is the sheer number of characters present it features. In addition to the titular heroes and the twins, we have a new android The Vision (again played by Paul Bettany). Then there are the supporting players: Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), James Rhodes / War Machine (Don Cheadle) and Sam Wilson / The Falcon (Anthony Mackie)

To top it off, we have cameos by Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Heimdall (Idris Elba) and Erik Selvig (Stellan SkarsgĂ„rd) and of course Stan Lee.

On the side of the bad guys, in addition to the main baddie Ultron, we have Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis). Granted that Ulysses is on-screen for a few minutes and will probably be seen again in the upcoming Black Panther movie. Which brings us to the next point....


Ulysses Klaw Klaue Andy Serkis Avengers Age of Ultron

This movie serves the same purposes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as Iron Man 2 - as a setup for the next slate of movies. And it suffers from the same drawbacks as the second Iron Man movie did. The plot takes a backseat to a number of characters and events that do not add any value to this movie, but will make sense in Phase 3 of MCU movies.

A good example being Andy Serkis' character, Ulysses Klaw (pronounced Ulysses Klaue in the movie). As comic book fans know, Klaw is an antagonist of Black Panther, the superhero who is debuting in Captain America: Civil War (2016) and also has a solo movie due in 2018. Similar to the comics, Klaue loses his hand but due to the yet-to-debut Black Panther, but at the hands of Ultron.

On the acting front, Chris Hemsworth has a lot of fun as Thor. He gets to add some humor to the proceedings. The sequence involving his hallucinations however leave a lot to be desired. Perhaps, the director's cut will have the necessary scenes for it to make sense.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Godzilla) continues to turn in yet another bland performance. His Quicksilver is nowhere as charismatic as the one superbly portrayed by Evan Peters in X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. can play these roles in their sleep and they fit the parts as expected.


The Vision Avengers Age of Ultron Paul Bettany JARVIS

After voicing Tony Stark's AI J.A.R.V.I.S. for the past several years, Paul Bettany finally gets some screentime as the android, Vision. His physical appearance though looks quite absurd with the yellow cape. I can understand the underlying intention to stay true to the comics, but a little bit of rework would have done wonders.

The interesting character developments are reserved for Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and  Bruce Banner/The Hulk. The budding romance between Black Widow and The Hulk looks forced and ends as abruptly as it begins. Hawkeye gets a family, but these scenes come off as corny.

Joss Whedon repeats many of the plot elements from the first movie:
1. McGuffin – Tesseract and now Loki’s scepter
2. Mind control - Loki and now Scarlet Witch
3. Resulting infighting among team members - Last time, it was Iron Man vs Thor. This time, Iron Man faces off against The Hulk
4. Enemy of alien nature – Loki and Chitauri army then; Ultron and his army of robots now
5. Similar climax - Avengers fighting a vast army of faceless enemies in a city environment.
6. Mid-credits scene - Like the first movie, this time too Thanos appears and reminds us that he is the main villain in the MCU.

I guess Marvel's motto is: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

This is Whedon's swan song in the MCU. The Russo brothers (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) will be directing the next Captain America movie and the two Avengers sequels (Avengers: Infinity War - Part I, Avengers: Infinity War - Part II).


Iron Man Hulkbuster armor Hulk fight in Avengers Age of Ultron

Joss scores points for the Iron Man-Hulk face off. Personally speaking, this is undoubtedly the highlight of the movie. This is an instant classic and will be remembered for quite some time.

If only he had put more efforts into the plot. But then, the Disney-Marvel movie factory probably proved too much even for a director of the caliber of Joss Whedon.

Marvel/Avengers fans will lap this one up. Casual movie goers will probably enjoy this as well, depending on their ability to leave their brains at the door.


Ultron Scarlet Witch Quicksilver Avengers Age of Ultron

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Image Source: Marvel Studios 

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron - Trailer

Avengers Age of Ultron Marvel movie poster image wallpaper picture robert downey jr marvel cinematic universe

The trailer for the upcoming movie, Avengers: Age of Ultron starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man is out. The ensemble cast includes Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Mark Ruffalo as  Bruce Banner/The Hulk and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. 

Joining the regular cast are James Spader (as the voice of Ultron), Elizabeth Olsen (as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (as Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver).

This trailer hits the same notes as the trailer for the first Avengers movie: A young blonde lady looking out through the glass, followed by scenes of mass destruction and people running around in fear and of course the heroes coming to the rescue. There is even the shot of the lead characters banded together in the middle fighting a much larger group of enemies in a city environment.

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I guess Marvel's motto is: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

The only interesting aspect in the trailer is character of The Vision introduced at the end of the trailer. As readers might be aware, The Vision is an android and a member of The Avengers group. He will be played by Paul Bettany in the movie.

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Image Source: Wikipedia 

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Friday, October 24, 2014

Marvel's "Avengers: Age of Ultron" - Teaser Trailer


Avengers Age of Ultron movie sequel poster image wallpaper picture robert downey jr iron man sequel marvel cinematic universe

The trailer for the upcoming movie, Avengers: Age of Ultron starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man is out. The ensemble cast includes Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Mark Ruffalo as  Bruce Banner/The Hulk and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. 

Joining the regular cast are James Spader (as the voice of Ultron), Elizabeth Olsen (as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (as Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver).

Andy Serkis is also seen in the trailer, but it is not clear what character he is playing in the movie. 


As fans of Marvel Comics will know, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are the children of Magneto. This is interesting as Quicksilver was recently portrayed by Evan Peters in X-Men: Days of Future Past. I am curious to see if Aaron proves to be a better impersonator than Peters, whose turn I enjoyed very much.

It seems that Tony Stark has created a robot that goes against his maker and it is upto The Avengers to stop it. We can also see The Hulkbuster in action. Thor also manhandles Stark in the trailer.

I have read on the web that Iron Man will be the main antagonist in Captain America 3, which is reportedly based on the popular Marvel Comics storyline, “Civil War”. In that story, Captain America and Iron Man find themselves on the opposite sides of a Superhero Registration Act. The trailer strongly indicates to these turn of events.

Tony Stark also speaks the line: This is the end... The end of the path I started...” and Natasha replies: Nothing lasts forever”.

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Robert Downey Jr. has been earning hefty paychecks and it is not much of a stretch to imagine that Marvel Studios would like to cut down on their expenses. This probably explains why Chris Evans is featured more prominently than Robert Downey Jr. in the trailer. 

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Image Source: Wikipedia 

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 Ant Man (2015) - Review
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Sunday, May 5, 2013

Movie Review: Iron Man 3 (2013)


Iron Man 3 Movie Review Robert Downey Jr.


This review contains minor spoilers. Readers who wish to avoid any kind of plot related details/information are recommended to skip this review.

The planet saving heroics of Avengers has left Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) a broken man. Tortured and paranoid, Tony is hell bent on building the best possible weapons and suit. Jarvis (voiced by Paul Bettany) advises Tony to allocate more time for Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).

Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian in Iron Man 3
Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian 
Pepper finds herself the object of attention of Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce). Aldrich has been working on Extremis technology and is trying to strike a deal with Stark Industries, now that Pepper is the CEO. Previously, Tony had rejected his proposal.

The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) is issuing terrorist threats to the US President Ellis (William Sadler) and masterminding some deadly explosions. Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) is left seriously injured in one such incident. This makes things personal for Tony and he issues a direct challenge to the Mandarin.

Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin in Iron Man 3
Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin
Tony's Malibu residence comes under heavy attack by Mandarin's henchmen. Jarvis pilots Tony out of the scene of action to Tennessee. Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) becomes Iron Patriot and is on the Mandarin's trail.

Tony befriends a youngster, Harley Keener (Ty Simpkins) and starts his campaign against the Mandarin. The enemy is not slagging off either. Couple of Mandarin's agents, Savin (James Badge Dale) and Brandt (Stephanie Szostak) attack Tony. Separated from his Iron Man armor, Tony turns to his brains and outsmarts his pursuers.

Tony tracks down the Mandarin and is in for a major surprise. Revealing any more details will be spoiling the fun.

Don Cheadle as Colonel James Rhodes Iron Patriot in Iron Man 3
Don Cheadle as Colonel James Rhodes/Iron Patriot
Pepper gets kidnapped and the Mandarin is gunning for the President's life. Tony has to save his girl and the President and teams up with his buddy, Rhodes for an all-out climactic confrontation.

Robert Downey Jr. returns in the role that turned around his acting career and made him a bonafide movie star. RDJ spends a considerable amount of time in the movie outside the Iron Man suit. Interestingly, RDJ looked bored and his zingers lacked the usual verve. Doing the same role in 4 movies in 5 years (5 movies, if his cameo in The Incredible Hulk is also considered) seems to have sapped his passion. I am curious to see his performance in the Avengers sequel slated to be released in 2015.

Ben Kingsley and Guy Pearce walk away with the acting honors. Both of them have a blast playing the baddies.

Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen in Iron Man 3
Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen
Rebecca Hall is criminally underused as Maya Hansen, Tony's old flame and presently working for Aldrich. With minor changes to the script, her character could have been totally written out and the movie would not have been impacted in the least.

Don Cheadle, Stephanie Szostak and James Badge Dale make good use of their screentime. I have never taken to Gwyneth's performance as Pepper and this movie does not help her case either.

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There are a number of action sequences in the movie and almost all of them deliver the goods. I especially enjoyed the helicopter attack on Tony Stark's residence and an indoor action sequence with Tony acquiring the Iron Man armor in bits and pieces as the fight goes along. 

Mandarin's attack on Iron Man/Tony Stark's Malibu residence in Iron Man 3
Iron Man confronts Mandarin's henchmen
Shane Black has done a solid job with the writing. There are a number of twists and turns that will delight the audience. Dialogues are his forte and Iron Man 3 is no exception.

Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts in Iron Man 3
Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts
Recommended to Marvel and RDJ fans, who will undoubtedly enjoy this movie.

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Image Sources: Marvel Studios, Paramount Pictures, Screencrush

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 Ant Man (2015) - Review
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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Trailer: Robert Downey Jr. in Call of Duty Black Ops 2




I am not much of a gamer and most probably will not be playing/purchasing this game.

The ad caught my attention due to the fact that it has been directed by Guy Ritchie who also worked with Robert Downey Jr. in Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Hope they start working on the third Sherlock Holmes movie soon...

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Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Trailer: Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man 3


Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark Iron Man in Iron Man 3

The trailer for the upcoming movie, Iron Man 3 starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man is out.



Joining the regular cast Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle and Jon Favreau are Sir Ben Kingsley and Guy Pearce. Ben Kingsley plays The Mandarin, the archenemy of Iron Man. I think he will make a great villain and seems a very inspired casting choice.
Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin in Iron Man 3
Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin

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Image Source: IGN