AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON: SPOILER-FREE REVIEW:

So you produced one of the biggest films of all time. A film so big that it broke every conceivable record there was to break, earned over $1 and half billion worldwide, and suddenly made that guy who created Buffy a relevant name again. So where do you go from there, especially when the studio you work for, Marvel, have become almost a law unto themselves? You go bigger, darker, and explodier, but does that make a better film?

Avengers Age Of Ultron is the 11th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a franchise so big a powerful it has topped Bond, Potter, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars in earnings and all the the span of seven years. Coming off the success of the first film that truly felt like a comic book come to life and in the aftermath of the brilliant Captain America The Winter Soldier we find the Avengers in a world without S.H.I.E.L.D. and with an ever increasing need to be everywhere and save everybody. Billionaire, playboy and let’s face it, narcissistic sociopath Tony Stark awakens a long dormant project that was intended to save the world, but unfortunately creates an eight foot tall robot with the voice of James Spader and a severe Pinocchio-complex who has decided to destroy the world because, well the script demanded it.

So let’s start off with the good: One of my favourite things about the film is how much time is devoted to Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye. His absence from Phase 2 and limited runtime in the first Avengers is more than made up for in Age of Ultron, sure he’s just a guy with a bow and arrow amongst Gods, super-soldiers and roided-up rage monsters, but he’s still a bad-ass. The reveal of Paul Bettany’s Vision is a thing of beauty, it’s eerie and hypnotic at the same time. The other great thing about this film is that it’s funny, really really funny. That’s not really been highlighted in the promotion of the film but the quips come thick and fast consistently throughout. There are some jokes might go over people’s head, for example, Tony Stark makes references to a playwright born in the 1800’s, but the majority of jokes do hit. The film is filled with “Whedonisms” and depending on whether that’s your thing you will either be in nerd-heaven, or groaning and rolling your eyes more than once.

The film is structured fairly well, but when compared to the first Avengers movie, or The Winter Soldier, there are one or two scenes that feel a little sluggish. Then there are some points throughout the film where it feels like we’ve missed a chunk of the film, like there are one or two scenes where you stop and think, did I miss something? This might have been to cut down the runtime but it’s only a little jarring. However Whedon has done a great job of balancing such a large story with so many characters. One character in particular, Ultron, is good thanks to James Spader’s buttery delivery, but I honestly don’t feel he’s great as a villain, especially when compared to the likes of Loki. 

The climax of the film does suffer from the usual issues that have plagued Marvel movies for a while now, and that is the fact that there is no real drama or peril with the characters, mostly because we know they all have at least three more films in their contracts, but also they swat the supposedly highly dangerous Ultronbots away like small rabid chihuahuas and throw quips at each other like this is just another random Tuesday. Sure a character dies, but it lacks impact due to the character that bites the big one. Even though it sounds like I’m complaining a lot, the film more than makes up for any of these short comings with some amazing action sequences and just jaw-dropping moments. If you think the trailer spoiled all the action from the Hulkbuster fight, trust me, you haven’t seen half of it. There’s some surprise cameos, the return of fan-favourite Marvel “things” (to say anymore would be spoiling it) and the set up for the future Marvel movies gave me chills in the best way possible.

Overall, this is just a fun film that will entertain the general audience but really satisfy the comic fans with lots of great moments. The Russo Brothers shall be helming the next set of Avengers films and to be honest, I’m looking forward to that, but if this is going to be Whedon’s last Avengers film, then he’s going out on a high note.

Avengers Age of Ultron gets Four out of Five Hulkbusting fingers to the face!  

Netflix Daredevil: Spoiler-Free Review:

In twelve years time, Charlie Cox is going to make a fantastic Batman. If Ben Affleck's Daredevil is the cinematic equivalent of Batman and Robin then Netflix Daredevil, the first in a series of Marvel and Netflix joint ventures, is the television equivalent of Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins with that gorgeous cinematic sheen.

Charile Cox plays Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer by day and a vigilante by night, who uses his other four enhanced senses to make himself a nightmare for the criminals of Hell’s Kitchen and an absolute migraine for the Kingpin of the crime world, Wilson Fisk, played by veteran actor Vincent D’Onofrio. Darker than anything   has done before with the bloody and bone-breaking fight scenes, but it still keeps the comedic beats and rhythm of the cinematic universe with banter you’ve come to expect from Marvel coming thick and fast from the key cast.

Charlie Cox is the perfect balance of Matt Murdock's charm and Daredevil's raw aggression whilst Vincent D'Ofrino is channelling Marlon Brando as he brings a subtext of anger in every line that leaves his mouth. He has the ability to show the tenderness of Tony Soprano but also show that uncontrollable rage that made James Gandolfini’s character so memorable and this brutally is clearly shown through the slamming of a car door in episode four - truly inspired casting for the two leads. The show does well to show the dichotomy between the two characters as both want to save the city but have different views on how this should be done.

A show with the grit of The Wire, the intensity of The Sopranos, pinches of Law and Order but a personality unlike any of the other superhero TV shows. Agents of SHIELD, Arrow and The Flash are good for TV shows but Daredevil transcends TV standards and hits that cinematic standard with confident cinematography, complex fight choreography and brooding lighting and colour palettes that are only enhanced by the character development that can only be achieved in the time allowed in a TV series. The sound design really works for this series - they use heartbeats to present a characters state of mind and often use ambient sound to transition from one scene into the next.

Each episode stands on its own, the pacing is solid throughout with smaller story arcs threaded throughout that keep the whole story interesting without slowing down the momentum of the overall series.

For me, this is the definitive take on Daredevil and throughout the series I was trying to find fault and could not. Of course that doesn’t mean that faults won’t be there for others, but hopefully this is just nitpicking from hardcore fans. I can just hear them now saying things like:
“The Kingpin isn’t big enough, why doesn’t The Owl have a costume? Where’s Elektra? It’s too much like Batman! That character doesn’t die in the comics! There’s too much origin story! Why is it not exactly like the Frank Miller story? It’s not enough like Batman! Why doesn’t Tony Stark show up? Why isn’t Daredevil in the red costume from the beginning? There’s not enough origin story!"

Nagging from any hardcore fans aside, this is a great series with moments that will make you recoil in your seat because this is bloodier than any other Marvel venture. The fights pull no punches with the cracking sounds and blood splatters taking center stage. Daredevil gets Five out of Five stars (which is Four and a half more stars than Ben Affleck’s version originally got)

FAST & FURIOUS 7: SPOILER-FREE REVIEW:

It’s car-porn in its most unashamed form.

However, this film should come with a warning that says “you must be this brain-dead to enjoy this film" 

... but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The film kicks off the blockbuster season of 2015 and it kicks it off in a big way. The previous movies have riffed on Ocean’s Eleven, spy-films and now they’re going full-blown Avengers with some of the biggest and most creative stunts seen on film. With a growing cast of characters including some more interchangeable tough-girl actors, we find the gang being hunted down by the bigger, badder big brother of Luke Evans character from the last film, and he’s an unstoppable Terminator-like character.

Jason Statham is an excellent addition to the series but just seems to show up without any real explanation other than to serve as additional drama to any given situation. The thing is he looks like an angry constipated potato the whole film, whilst Vin Diesel looks like a sagging potato and The Rock looks like a genetically enhanced oiled-up potato. The veteran actor getting in the middle of this potato-salad is Kurt Russell as super secret agent Nick Fury... I mean Mr. Nobody (seriously, that’s what he’s credited as) and he helps round up the Vin Diesel crew in a S.H.I.E.L.D. like super-team.

The elephant in the room, Paul Walker’s death, is handled very well. It is not laboured throughout the film but the ending is a very touching and incredibly fitting send off both to the character and Paul Walker.   

There’s the normal things you expect to see in this series: the party sequences look like a Pitbull video clip, the illegal street-racing is ridiculously well organised and looks more like an extended Red Bull racing commercial and Corona, lots and lots of Corona.

Ultimately this is a fun film with expertly executed action sequences thanks to Saw director James Wan and you’ll really enjoy yourself, as long as you don’t think about.... ANYTHING! Seriously, just watch the action and don’t think about little things like physics, body trauma from vehicular accidents, civilian casualties from all the destruction, how people can know the sex of their unborn child before the 14th week of pregnancy, how people survive car crashes, explosions, five story falls with almost no injuries - literally most people just walk away from head-on crashes that seem to not include airbags (because let’s face it - airbags are for pussies) without a scratch, they just crack their necks and keep on fighting. However, definitely, definitely do not think about how when CPR fails you can just talk a person back to life with some kind words.

This is not my type of film, but I’m not the target audience. The target audience though will get everything they ever wanted from the movie and if you’re happy to switch your brain off then you’re really going to enjoy yourself.

Fast & Furious 7 gets Four out of Five oiled-up indestructible potatoes.