Avengers: Age of Ultron Movie Review

It has been 25 days in release and the Avengers: Age of Ultron film has gross $1.277 billion dollars. Amazingly, many would consider this a weaker performance in comparison tp the first Avenger's Movie. Some may reason that the Manny Pacquaio v Mayweather fight took away a chunk of the Avenger's earnings. More Surprisingly, many slated that this would be the top dog for 2015 in terms of highest grossing film. And yet it is still close to 300 million dollars shy from what Furious 7 made this year.

Large consensus felt that the movie did not make a significant impact compared to its first movie but was it truly bad? Does it really deserve a mere "mehhh" in its entirety?

Being the crazy Marvel Fan I am, I will try as much to put as little bias in this review and shed some light as to what I think about the film. To begin (SPOILER ALERT), I shall give a summary of the film's plot.

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So after a whole bunch of movies showing our Main Heroes (Iron Man, Thor and Captain America) doing their own thing. Each of the movies lead to the the Avengers uniting once more. The movie begins with the team shutting the last remnant stronghold of HYDRA to obtain Scepter that was given to LOKI by Thanos.

In the battle where the Avengers are assaulting Hydra, we are made aware that the world has changed quite a bit, there are growing presence of enhanced humans that the Avengers know and have dealt before. Upon acquiring the scepter, Tony Stark discovers with Dr. Banner that the scepter contains a Mind Construct that could be the final key to initiate the Ultron Program which was intended to protect the Earth from an Alien Invasion. Consequentially, The Ultron AI is created but does not turn out the way Stark and Banner foresees it to be. Ultron enters the physical world and is bent on causing the extinction of the Human Race as he sees that the only way to protect the human race is for them to evolve or die. He recruits Hydra's greatest enhanced humans (Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver aka The Twins) to aid in his plans of stopping the Avengers.

The Avengers assemble to fight with Ultron and the Twins but are beaten promptly as Scarlet Witch manipulate their minds with visions of fear. It rattles the team and makes them disunited. Subsequently, Ultron uses the "cradle" to create what he deems as a perfect physical form in which he aims to upload his conscience into. The Twins realize Ultron's plan for human extinction and turn on him. The Rag Tack Avengers come back to stop Ultron from fully uploading his conscience into the body inside the cradle. Upon taking the cradle from Ultron, Stark decided to upload JARVIS conscience which he discovers was fighting Ultron online. Captain America and the Twins opposes this but after the Avengers tussle, Vision is born from the cradle. The Avengers are uncertain of his loyalties until Vision is able to lift Thor's hammer.

Ultimately, we see uncover Ultron's plan to lift the city of Sokovia and send it crashing down like an asteroid, plunging the human race into extinction. The Avengers with the addition of Vision and the Twins make their final showdown in stopping Ultron and wins. The whole film serves as a prelude to many things that each hero must answer for on their own. Scarlet Witch's vision that she had given to each of the hero serves as foreshadowing for what they must discover in their own movies.

And that, boys and girls is the summary of what is the basic plot of the show.

Having seen the show a number of times and hearing as to the various critics of the shows, I have come up with a few good and bad points.

For starters, I shall start on the bad points of the show:

1. Got a Little Draggy at some points:

Fans and non-fans alike highlighted that there were some parts that got a little draggy and I ahve to admit that that was true. There were moments in the show where you realize that the pace of the film slowed to a stuttering speed which could have made weary audiences dozing off. One of which was Hawkeye's safehouse scene. I can understand that Joss Whedon wanted to add more depth to Hawkeye's character but it was something that really got quite draggy for a bit. Pacing was a little lacking compared to the first Avengers.

2. Ultron. WHY YOU NO BADASS?

There were many fans who felt that Ultron's cavalier and candid demeanor made him less sinister than he was suppose to be. His occasional humor added to him being less scary than many of the Marvel fans know him to be.  Furthermore, with all the powers of being Ultron, a supremely powerful A.I, he was not very smart in wrecking more CHAOS. Aside from attempting to hack nuclear codes, he could have disrupt many network functions that could have brought the World tp its knees. (Loki's wet dreams if he were ruler of Earth) Or should we just presume that JARVIS got the whole cyber highway protected and if a battered JARVIS could do that, that makes Ultron look even crappier as a Villain.

3. Bad Russian Accents from the Twins
 
This doesn't even need elaboration. It was just cringe-worthy and cheesy to hear the generic Russian Accent coming out of Aaron Taylor Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen.

4. Scarlet Witch Costume Reveal for her as one of the new Avengers was weird.

During the end scene where the new Avengers' Team was revealed, Scarlet Witch looked more like a teen popper singer than a hero ready to fight some bad guys. The well permed hairdo and swanky costume just made me feel a lil weird.


5. Old Tricks don't always get the same response

There were several scenes that you could identify that were very similar to the first Avenger film. And while it still give a wow factor, it didn't cause as great an impact as the first show, but that's an issue all sequels struggle with.

However, despite these pertinent factors that made the show less than legendary, the sequel was still a good sequel. Joss Whedon did not pull a Matrix Revolution on this movie and there are great factor that makes this film score a distinction. Here are the Good points about the film

1. Took everything good in the original Avenger and use it again.

This was kind of a double edge sword but you got to give it to Joss Whedon for taking everything that's right and putting it in. Many of the Humorous scenes were based on critics and fans that pointed out that were funny about each of the characters/heroes. Furthermore, the battle sequences were still pretty epic. I guess there is quite some worth in the "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" phrase in this show.

2. Death of a Hero!

At least for now. I guess we have all been taking pokes at Marvel for resurrecting every damn hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but with the death of Quicksilver in protecting Hawkeye. This would be Marvel's first time in killing off a hero. I am quite sure it is also an indirect flip of a bird to FOX as Quicksilver is also related to the X-Men. By giving Quicksilver a death. it could perhaps leave less room for FOX to develop on the character.

3. More depth in Characters that the audiences are less familiar with

While some may disagree, I feel it was great to focus more on the characters that did not have a solo film. The focus on Hawkeye and his relevancy in the team was a realistic one and it was something that needed to be dug into. The Black Widow and Hulk romance got a lil awkward at times but it still did give audiences more insight on Bruce Banner's and Natasha Romanov's character.

4. Hulkbuster vs The Hulk

Enough said. Fans wanted it. Non-fans loved it. The Veronica Protocol beats the House Party Protocol anytime.

5. Vision

We have seen him as Jarvis. it is great to see Paul Bettany rise up as Vision. I like the way how Vision is fascinated with humanity. I like that even though he agrees with Ultron that the humans are flawed and are most certainly doomed that there is beauty in their failings and that he is proud to be with them despite not being Human himself.

6. Great Humor

While being over-marketed, the "Lifting Thor's Hammer" scene was a real wise-cracker. Hawkeye lines gave me a great laugh too. Especially the part where he wanted to aim an arrow at Quicksilver while saying "Noone would know..." And these are but one of the many lines that brought life to the film.

All in all, it is a great show. it ain't the first, but I honestly feel that it isn't one of those sequels that should not have been made. Could they have done it better? Perhaps. But I feel that the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe has matured quite a bit with this Phase Two Avengers and while it may not have killed 2015 box office. It's in a strong number two and I am confident that Marvel as a whole is going in the right direction.

And the movie also serves as an influence to consumers to get Marvel Franchised Products.

Speaking of which, below are the HOT TOYS Avengers: Age of Ultron lineup so far. Of which, I am getting Ultron, Hulkbuster and probably Vision. (Updated: Hot Toys have also released the Iron Legion and War Machine figures)

These stuff are real blood suckers.. but I guess I can't help it. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has unleashed the old Marvel Fan Boy I was. For all you Hot Toys collectors out there, Do you think they would be releasing Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch characters for the Avengers: Age of Ultron Movie?

And other than that, do leave a comment on what is your take on the movie?

Till then, toodle loo!

Good Day 2015! Avengers (Hot Toys) Assemble!

Wow, Time has eluded us big time for the year 2015, but with so many big things happening or going to happen for Nerds all over, you can't help that we are entranced by things to come.

From Game of Thrones Season 5, House of Cards Season 3, Daredevil to the Epic Release of The Avengers 2 and the recent Trailer of Star Wars: The Force Reawaken, it is yet another great year to geek and nerd out.

So how appropriate it would be for Toyconstruct to start this year by featuring my Avengers Assembled on the release day of The Avengers: Age of Ultron!

Enough said! Let the Pictures do the talking!

 It's time for the Avengers to Assemble!

 The Hammer and the Spider

 Stark on Point

 Face off

 Strength, Intelligence and Agility in one frame

 The Leader

 The Heroes' Sacrifice

And there you have it! As some of you may know, I have not done a featurette on the Hulk, Iron Man Mk VII and Hawkeye. But I will be sure to show them soon enough! And many more from my Hot Toys' Stash to come!

For more photoes on My Hot Toy Avengers, you can check them out on our Facebook page here.

Stay tune for more posts, more reviews and a new shake up on our page and more! 

Be sure to watch The Avengers: Age of Ultron!

Toyconstruct goes to NYCC 2014! Part 2

Hi Guys,

It's been a while!! And in the blink of an eye, the year 2014 begins to set on us!

Oh but what a year it has been. As Josh has given a great detailed account on what New York Comic has been, I shall add my perspective onto his post on how NYCC has blown my mind.

For starters, the genre of cosplayers is way more expansive then what I get in Conventions back in Singapore. The diversity of cosplaying spans beyond just anime (as predictably seen in STGCC).

The picture above says it all, it's a guy dressed up as Sharknado... I mean noone, I literally mean noone would get it or even think of dressing up as this in Singapore. The Coolest thing about NYCC is that not dressing up... makes you stand out. Like these two friends of ours

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To add on, Josh had the chance to come across fellow Battlestar Galactica cosplayers. They started chatting with him and even asked him to join a Colonial Day event. HOW COOL IS THAT? The whole atmosphere was friendly and embracing. It is just so great to see people casually chatting up to strangers to take pics and commend on each others costumes.

It's Tyrion Lannister! The IMP 

 Josh taking a swing at the Black Knight from Monty Python's The Holy Grail

In our adventure exploring the layout of NYCC, I came across two entertaining encounters of my own. One was with the Black Knight. He was showing some concern by asking if I was alright as I was on a crutch (due to a rather nasty knee injury).

To that, I replied, "Just a flesh wound" which immediately made him laugh and add, "Dude, you made my day."

Another encounter was when Josh and I were walking out of the Artist Alley. We cross paths with Batman from the Dark Knight film.

To which I shouted "WHEREEE IS SHEEEE?" in my best Dark Knight Guttural Voice.

To which he replied,"I DUNNOOO" in the same guttural voice. Passers-by could not help but laugh at the commotion.

Taking a hit from Wolverine...

Deadpool Nation is strong.

Among the crowd of Superheros and Anime cosplayers, I happen to stumble upon a group of Deadpools up to their usual "deadpoolish" antics. Can't have a legitimate comic con without the Deadpool Nation..

And here, I bring you a few more collectibles on top of the ones shown by Josh.

Our friend mucking around in the background behind this awesome statue of Thranduil done by Weta Workshop

Play Arts Kai - Rorschach from the Watchmen

Really Cool Figures of Daft Punk by Bandai. (Considering getting this for myself)

"I am the Law" Judge Dredd

While both Josh and I have featured numerous figures and statues, NYCC had more to offer than that. In actuality, a good half of the exhibition hall featured comics old and new. I have a feeling that compared to San Diego Comic Con (SDCC), NYCC has a bigger focus on comics (which is a great thing).

The Nerd Crew NYCC 2014

 Photo Op session with none other than Karl Urban, aka Judge Dredd, Eomer and Dr. Leonard Mccoy

Love it or Hate it, these celebrity photo op session thingies are big money for the companies who organize it. Furthermore, what other appropriate place can you do a photo-op then put it in Comic Con. While the photo session was brisk, fast and guarantees that you will have a photo taken of you and the celebrity, the cost can be staggering especially if the star is a A-Lister. Regardless, I think it is a necessary evil business model that satisfy the fans on getting their pic taken with their celebrity without having to wait half a day at some place and missing out all the other attractions in the Comic Convention. The convenience and the guarantee of snapping a picture with your favorite star is quite a compelling pull factor to part with your money. And that's my 2 cents worth.

 Awesome Mass Effect Weapon Props, with an awesomely heavy price to pay. :p

Before we knew it, time passed deftly quick and day 1 of NYCC ended for us on a real high note. Having an early night, Josh and I prepare to go back for Round two on Sunday. Without a moment to lose, we proceeded to the Artist Alley of NYCC, and boy was a blown away by the artworks there.

Street Fighter Head Portraits by David Yardin

The Talent Pool of Artists here was huge. I am so overwhelm by all the awesome artwork that I immediately felt quite depress on my artwork capabilities.  To draw/colour half as good as these guys would make me so happy and contented.

It is at this moment where Josh and I went on a spending spree. It is safe to say that my expenditure in Comic Con trumps all other activities I have done in New York. On top of buying several printed edition artworks for various artists, Josh and I were determine to get at least one original artwork. Josh got the Street Fighter Cammie Original Portrait Art Piece by David Yardin which quite honestly was a freaking amazing work of art. The Colouring by Yardin was flawless.

As for me, I got a Galactus original warm up sketch by Freddie E.Williams II. I love the vantage point and angle that Freddie drew Galactus. You feel the "Massiveness" of Galactus oozing out of the page as his hand is put forth to the foreground.

Galactus by Freddie E. Williams II

More Amazing Pieces of Work

One of the talented Artists focusing on doing Commission Work.

All in all, it was a great event and an experience I would not forget ever. NYCC has been increasingly gaining more traction and popularity. In fact, this year's NYCC 2014 can't really be classified as the lesser brother of SDCC. There were many interesting panels and a considerable amount of big stars that appeared for NYCC. Back to the Artist Alley experience, one of the regrets I have was that I should have gone earlier so that I could place a Commission Artwork to be done for me.

Nevertheless, with this much spoils from my nerdy adventure, I can't really say I am discontented.

It has been so great to meet up with Josh after being apart for quite awhile. And nothing is more appropriate than the Toyconstruct team exploring NYCC 2014 together. Best Bromance experience!

Be sure to check out Josh Album on NYCC 2014 Part 1 here.

And my album on NYCC 2014 Part 2 here.

Till the next post,

I have only this to say: Winter is coming... and so is Christmas, Brace thyself!

Toyconstruct Goes to NYCC 2014!

Hey Everyone

It's been awhile since we last updated as things have gotten busy...on the nerdy side :) JQ and I (along with some friends from home) were finally able to make our way to the New York Comic Con 2014, and boy did we have a blast! I think we still have the NYCC vibes going strong in us...

For the NYCC, JQ and I will be writing up 2 separate posts to show the best of our photos together on this blog. Be sure to look around for JQ's post that'll come later!

And your esteemed authors did dress up for NYCC: JQ as Finn from Adventure Time and I pulled out my Anovos BSG Raptor jacket. JQ and I geeked out with fellow nerds, stood amazed by fantastic cosplayers, oogled over miniatures, rubbed shoulders with a Hollywood actor (some $$$ involved - I'll leave that to JQ to spin a tale about it), and even lightened our wallets at the Artists's Gallery. If you're a nerd, you owe it to yourself to make it to the NYCC (or SDCC) at least once in your life!

*Nerdgasm*

We only spent Saturday and Sunday at NYCC and one thing for sure...it was always packed when we were there. When we first entered, we were nearly flattened by how many people crowded into the Jarvits Center, and NYCC must be making a killing with the admission fees! Even though our entrance was the first moment of our NYCC experience, we already spied some really cool cosplaying going on...especially the MarioKart one.

This is awesome cosplay. I love the spirit!

The passion is strong in this group...

Lots of time and effort must have gone into these costumes.

"Make way for the Dark Lord Sauron!" - actual words from an escort.

First, we grabbed a quick bite and proceeded first to the main floor to check out the assorted booths of dealers and merchandise. Lots of comic books (even some renowned classics), miniatures, collectibles, statues, and clothing were all up for sale. Interestingly, the main floor even had a booth that allowed you to draw and clip it up to showcase your artistic talents, and some of them were really good.

Sometimes you wonder if the comic con is an arena for comic book stores...

The world-famous Action Comics #1: rated a 6-ish but still commands a hefty fee I wager.

J Scott Campbell's Gwen Stacy - a lovely piece.

Sideshow's Chewbacca Premium Format Figure - easily out of my range...for a long time.

Over 9000!!!

A showcase of artistic talent among the visitors - some are pretty impressive!

Although we only had our minds set on spending in the Artists's Gallery, we did see some awesome collectibles. We saw a good variety of models/prototypes, such as Machinen Krieger, Megaman, TMNT (by James Jean which looks way cooler than Bay's), and Attack on Titan (I'm told that this is a kick-ass Anime line). We saw more comic book shops than manufacturers displaying their wares, I wonder if SDCC would have more toylines...or it's entirely possible that we missed displays too.

TruForce's Megaman: a project that may end up on Kickstarter.

Sentinel's Ma.K Fliege - the baddies's first response to the Firefly suit of the good guys.

Sentinel's Ma.K Kauz in White - the later version that replaced the Fliege.

Good Smile Company's TMNT: Uber Cool!

Good Smile Company's Titan: Repulsive yet strangely alluring...

Somehow by accident, we managed to catch the end of the Street Fighter: Assasin's Fist panel. If you haven't known yet, it's a new live-action web-series based on Street Fighter that have received great reviews. It's about Ryu and Ken uncovering their master's (Gouken) past and learning more about the dark art of ansatsuken ("assassination fist"). We managed to chit-chat with some of the actors, and managed to get a photo with Akira Koieyama aka Gouken.

Scoring a massive nerd-doken by chilling with Akira Koieyama!

Weta Workshop had a tremendous presence at NYCC. It goes without saying that they set the standard for props and miniatures, and best known for their excellent work with Peter Jackson's LOTR/Hobbit movies. They went to town with their displays,with a huge statue of Azog from the Hobbit, and the humongous dragon head even served as a landmark for us! It was incredible to look through their workmanship and wonder at the great amount of talent involved.

The Infamous Azog - hot damn.

Three Words: Parenting Done Right.

It's easy to hear Cumberbatch's voice in my head now...

Bard - definitely a big role in the coming (and thankfully last) Hobbit movie.

The Gate to Erebor - a forlorn reminder of the past glory of the dwarves.

The NYCC also featured a display of various Batman costumes used in the various movies. It was kinda hard to take photos of them since the crowd was considerable and the glass panels (though necessary) reflected lots of light/images back. It was really cool to stand close to the costumes we only saw on the screen, not to forget the "nipple Batman!"

The Sonar Suit - Batman Forever.

It should be noted that nipples didn't destroy Clooney's career.

I'm still wondering how his back was fixed.

It goes without saying that the cosplayers are "heartbeat" of NYCC. These guys and gals have our utmost admiration, for their passion and time-investment in making costumes that are awesome to behold, and their patience and enthusiasm in welcoming us taking photos of them. We saw some really awesome ones, and some of them even talked in character! We had an awesome moment with a guy dressed as the Black Knight - but I'll leave that to JQ to regale the tale to you all since he was in the middle of it!

Khal Drogo graced us with his biceps.

Black Cat: Mrrrreeeeeooow!

JQ and Cammy looking good!

Samwell Tarly! A true hero.

I think it's awesome when a whole family dresses up!

The tactical Robocop!

Kitty Pryde: I feel sorry she had to leave her lunch on the floor.

I can tell that this group is awesome.

The Arrow and Black Canary from the awesome series.

That's a power DC couple!

Jessica Rabbit and She-trooper - Girl Power!

Flame Con is planned to be the first LGBTQ Con - going on Kickstarter until Dec 4th
(https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/geeksout/flame-con-nycs-first-lgbtq-comic-con)

A comic con also needs to have art, lots of art. JQ and I made our way to Artists's Gallery, and we had a sensory overload. Rows upon rows of artists had displays up, and on our first trip we sampled and marked out artists we would like to buy from. We gave ourselves a day to deliberate over the art that caught our eye, and bought our art on the 2nd day. Needless to say, this was where most of our spending went to! (the day of waiting did not make us spend less unfortunately)

You just gotta love art - I try to avoid not to take in Artist's Gallery but some are just too good.

A fight that has certainly been a topic of many discussions.

The Product of an Inefficient Healthcare System - A Stellar Series.

If days were 48hrs long, I might have time to play this game!

One of the most memorable characters in video game history - The Illusive Man.

TURTLE POWER!

JQ and I certainly had an memorable time at NYCC, and as all good things go...they always have an end. However, getting a taste of the awesomeness of a "real" comic con, we foresee ourselves going to another in the future, even perhaps the fabled SDCC! For the future comic con, we plan to dress up once again (maybe a little more hardcore), maybe plan and catch a panel, and post about our exploits once again on this humble blog :)

The Teen Titans - and the end of our NYCC experience :(

Thanks for your support and continued readership. Geek on!

PS: Our Facebook page has more pictures - do check it out!