The following are reviews of the movies released in May 2015. Enjoy!
*Previews of these movies and all the ones I haven't had a chance to see yet can be
found here.
May 1st
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Opening Weekend: $191.3 million
Rotten Tomatoes: 74%
Review: The first
Avengers film was an epochal moment in cinematic history, assembling characters from independent films together in a way never done before and setting incredible box office records. It was also a ton of fun, but the well-known tendency for sequels to fall far below expectations set by their predecessors seemed inevitable for a second
Avengers, even if both were directed by genre-master
Joss Whedon (
Firefly). Some critics and fanboys alike have proclaimed this to have come true yet again; I disagree. While not more entertaining than the first movie,
Avengers: AoU is not also not less so, providing audiences with more visually-fantastic superhero brawls, an interesting villain, and engaging character development that pushes the
Marvel franchise forward. Yes, that push is a not always graceful inclusion and can feel more like a forced shove than a natural propulsion, but the construction of an inter-connected universe is what I find most fun about Marvel productions; if you're less interested in that, I can understand greater a greater frustration with the ever-growing cast of characters (though I would never understand if anyone didn't like the new character, Scarlet Witch, played by
Elizabeth Olsen). Ultimately,
Avengers AoU may be a bit overstuffed, but I'm not one to complain too much about an abundance of satisfying comic-book riches and I'm more excited than ever to see this franchise continue to evolve.
The Final Word: 3.5/4 - Go buy a ticket.
