100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 53: Avengers: Age of Ultron

Director: Joss Whedon

Genre: Action/ Science Fiction/ Adventure

Runtime: 141 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans,Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johannson, Jeremy Renner, James SPader, Samuel L. Jackson, Coby Smulders, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Stellan Skarsgard, Claudia Kim, Thomas Kretschmann, Andy Serkis, Linda Cardellini

Description: When Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and it is up to the Avengers to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plans.

Review: “The Avengers” was a huge success. A grand, funny, lively superhero movie with colorful characters. It was unique and exciting to see all those larger-than-life characters together in one film. And now they are back in “Avengers: Age of Ultron”, to save the world again. Will Joss Whedon succeed again? In two words: hell yeah!

We get the same ingredients: Tony Stark/ Iron Man makes sharp remarks, Steve Rogers/ Captain America tries to do everything by the book, Thor is the macho who as a God feels more majestic then the rest, Bruce Banner/ Hulk tries to control his anger and Natasha Romanoff/ Black Widow is the kick-ass chick of the group. A well-known formula with the perfect actors to play the roles. The action is out of control: fighting, flying, demolishing, lots of spectacular action scenes. The opening scene was so amazing, you are right in the middle of it all. And that action is combined very well with comedy.

The introduction of the villain, the titular Ultron voiced by James Spader, is fascinating. He is a pretty scary villain and powerful. Spader does a great job voicing the character.

Joss Whedon gave some of the characters, that don’t have standalone films yet, a bigger role then the first movie. We get to know Clint Barton/ Hawkeye a bit better and he also has some good one-liners. Black Widow doesn’t only get more physical scenes, but also gets more depth. Her connection with Bruce Banner also gets more depth. Do we need a love arch in this action packed movie? Why not, it’s only minor.

New characters Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch add, besides new cool superpowers, also an interesting dramatic and moral component to the story. They could have used a bit more depth.

With this many characters in one movie, it’s a challenge to not make it superficial or let one character overshadow another character. Whedon managed to give each character a development, more depth or a memorable moment.

“Avengers”Age of Ultron” is highly enjoyable movie. A perfect cast, a huge amount of action, fun humor. I could think of a lot of worse thing to do in 141 minutes.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 63: Godzilla

Director: Gareth Edwards

Genre: Action/ Science Fiction/ Adventure

Runtime: 123 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Elisabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, David Straitharn, Richard T. Jones

Description: The world's most famous monster is pitted against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity's scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.

Review: The Japanese movie monster is already sixty-years old. His debut in 1954 is one of the highlights in cinema history. In 1998 the Americans made a movie about this beast, but it wasn’t very memorable. A reboot was very welcome.

Director Gareth Edwards made such an impression with his low-budget “Monsters”, that they trusted him with this task as well. By adding names like Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston and Juliette Binoche to the castlist, the expectations were high. But in a movie called “Godzilla” there is only one star.

While a gigantic fossil is found in the Philippines, a nuclear reactor in Japan is damaged by unknown causes. This leads to a disaster for scientist Joe Brody and his family. Fifteen years later Joe is still trying to explain the happening and asks his son Ford for help. What they discover next is unexpected.

After an engrossing opening, where Bryan Cranston steals the show, director Gareth Edwards intentionally stalls the big entrance of the main star. It’s a risky strategy, but totally worth the wait. When we finally get to see Godzilla, it’s just jawdropping. This is definitely a movie that you experience better and to the fullest while watching it on the big screen. The climax and final fight scene is the absolute highlight of the film. I almost started clapping, that’s how amazed I was. I also liked the role they gave Godzilla in the film, as the protector of mankind. That’s how you can see Edwards is a fan of the original. He stays very close to that story.

“Godzilla” is a treat and finally gets the movie it deserves. Everything shows that Edwards made this movie with a lot of love for the original. I absolutely loved this movie!

Rating: 4,5 / 5