Movie Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Hello, movie fans!

Are any of you in the mood to talk about superhero movies? I always am, so today I am continuing my goal of reviewing as many Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films as I can in 2021!

Time sure moves quickly. While I wasn’t part of the fandom for the MCU yet, I remember when this movie came out. Now that was 6 years ago!

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning. This review is completely spoiler free for this film and for all others in the franchise. Because it is such a complicated “universe” of films and so much happens, I will be more vague with each coming review. I want you to experience all the twists and turns for yourself without worry that I’m telling you too much!

I’m here to help you get the best experience, so do as I say and not as I do. With so many movies there has to be a way to organize them, right? Well, there is! There are two ways in fact of watching. They are:

In the order which they were made:

Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Thor: Dark World (2013), Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 (2014), Avengers: The Age of Ultron (2015), Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Dr. Strange (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Spider-man: Homecoming (2017), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), Avengers: Endgame (2019), & Spider-man: Far From Home (2019).

Or chronological order:

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Captain Marvel (2019), Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), The Incredible Hulk (2008), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Thor: Dark World (2013), Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: The Age of Ultron (2015), Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Black Panther (2018), Spider-man: Homecoming (2017), Dr. Strange (2016), Thor: Ragnorok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), & Spider-man: Far From Home (2019).

If you have never seen a Marvel movie, then this one probably isn’t the best to start with. At the very least it is best to see The Avengers (2012) first, as this is the second on in that series. It isn’t vital, but nice addition to that to know some backstory from characters that I listed above. Enjoy!

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015):

Based on: The Avengers comics - by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

“No matter who wins or loses, trouble always comes around.”

The Avengers have stepped into a rhythm of keeping the earth save. On one mission they run into a strange duo: a boy breaking the possibilities of speed and a girl who’s strange power puts foreboding thoughts into ones mind. Or are they visions of the future? Scared, one of the Avengers decides to build peace keeping technology that would work as a shield around the entire world, named Ultron. With something of that big a magnitude, something is likely to go wrong. This protector revolts, becoming a weapon with a mind of its own. The Avengers face a never before seen threat: a robot that can replicate itself, move around the globe in seconds, and wants to destroy the world instead of saving it. Ultron joins up with the super siblings and each Avenger has nightmares put in their heads from the girl and are now afraid of losing everything. How will they beat this trio in addition to the hundreds of new robots Ultron created? Will making a new piece of technology strengthen their chances or only weaken them?

‘“No way we all get through this...”

“I got no plans tomorrow night.”’

Genres: Superhero, Action, Science-Fiction.

Length: approx. 141 minutes.

Script: 7. There is an amount of swearing and name calling. But, I am a lot like Captain America who is always telling everyone not to swear. It backfires a few times which is funny. I appreciate the effort of course!

“Whoa ho ho! You kiss your mother with that mouth?”

Crew: Directed by: Josh Whedon. Written by: Josh Whedon.

Starring:

I’m not going to tell you everyone who is starring in this movie because there are so many spoilers. I’ll only name a few and you’ll have to guess the rest by pictures and be surprised by others.

James Spader as Ultron. “It is fortunate because I am mighty.”

Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Pietro Maximoff.

Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff.

Paul Bettany as J.A.R.V.I.S..

Linda Cardellini as Laura.

Claudia Kim as Helen Cho.

Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue.

Idris Elba as Heimdall.

Stellan Skarsgård as Erik Selvig.

Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill.

Costumes: 8. Average, I would say. Nothing bad and people have really cool costumes/suits that go with their capabilities as superheroes.

Cinematography: 8. I get a little annoyed with how much CGI there is, but that is a minor quibble when there are so many neat things! I especially like how the scenes with the Maximoffs are done.

Cinematography by: Ben Davis.

Music: 8. It has the classic Avengers theme, of course, which makes me very happy whenever I hear it. The rest seems more dramatic than dynamic, but that’s no a bad thing.

Music by: Brian Tyler and Danny Elfman.

Notes: A fun fact is that this is the second most expensive film ever made! The production cost clocked in around 365 million dollars.

Quotability: 9. No one can deny Marvel’s knack for amazing lines! There is so much I quote from this movie especially that I could write a whole post about everything that Clint ever says.

“You didn’t see that coming?”

Content: 7. There is violent fighting, with people getting hurt and killed. In addition to that there is one or two fairly suggestive lines. I didn’t appreciate one comment about “multiplying faster that a Catholic rabbit”, but that’s just me. Ultron feels like he is a “god” so there is a lot of discussion around that. It really depends on the day how I feel about that. Sometimes I feel that it’s well done when with others I think it’s overdone. It has great messages, I just want you guys to be aware of that stuff.

“You get hurt, hurt 'em back. You get killed... walk it off.”

Originality: 10. Fighting robots is classic sci-fi, but this took it up a level! I love the introduction of new characters as well as the simple camaraderie between the avengers. This movie is an excellent example of character driven stories! Everything is fueled by the characters. They make mistakes then try to fix them. It’s the human condition and it’s what I love to see!

Good For: Anyone who loves characters with fantastic arcs, anyone who likes superhero movies, anyone who likes found families, anyone who loves stories where characters sacrifice a lot.

Age Range: This is PG-13 and I agree with that. It is very intense with the fighting, but I would actually say it isn’t as extreme as others because it is fighting against robots and not humans. This could be fine for kids younger than that because of how it’s all handled, though the machines themselves are terrifying. It all depends on the tolerability of the person watching.

Overall Score: 8!

Worth watching?: Yes! These characters mean so much to me and this is a fabulous step in all of their arcs. It gives such a dark view of humanity from Ultron’s perspective but our brave heroes fight against it showing how much people matter. I love it! The first time I watched it I was recovering from having my wisdom teeth pulled and it was perfect to captivate me.

Will I watch again?: Yes, yes, yes! Watching Marvel movies is a big commitment because once you see one you want to watch all other 22, but regardless of knowing that I want to see this again soon. I always get something new out of it.

Bonus thoughts:

“Already tried the mind-control thing. Not a fan.”

This movie somehow takes something seemingly ridiculous and makes it a complex problem to solve. This is said to be one of the least liked films in the franchise, yet the majority of people I talk to about it love it. Why? Because you are so attached to the characters. Each has morals, goals, while fighting fears--even about themselves--and you want them to win so badly. Do they? You’ll have to find out for yourself. Granted, it took a twist with a character that no one was prepared for. Some people don't like it, and I don't blame them as I was surprised, but it's my favorite character so I can't bring myself to have any problems with it. In hindsight it was a brilliant addition!

I am a sucker for sacrifice for the sake of a cause or person, so this film has some of my favorite moments in the universe. It’s obviously not for everyone, but I would say it’s well worth a chance.

Thanks for reading, everyone! Tell me where you are on the spectrum of liking this movie? Let’s talk about all things Marvel! I have a lot of posts planned for the end of this month, participating in several blog parties, so stay tuned for that!

MovieCritic

Movie Review: Solo: A STAR WARS Story (2018)

 May the fourth be with you!

All my fellow STAR WARS fans know what today is! The day to celebrate one of my favorite film franchises! For anyone who hasn’t seen STAR WARS and is confused, let me explain it to you. In STAR WARS a common saying is, “May the force be with you”, and since today is May 4th, you get the gist.

What are all of my fellow fans doing today? I’ve been busy all day admiring my STAR WARS gear, watching one of the films, and drinking chocolate milk. Right now after all that I’m reviewing one of the spin-off movies for you! Before I get started, know this:

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning. This is spoiler free!

Interested in the other movies? I highly recommend watching them in the following order (with links to my reviews):

IV: A New Hope (1977), V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), VI: The Return of the Jedi (1982), I: The Phantom Menace (1999), II: Attack of the Clones (2002), III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), VII: The Force Awakens (2015), VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), & IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).

Watch them in that order, ignoring those pesky numbers and all of the surprises will be intact!

If you want to watch the first spin-off, Rogue One (2016), then you can watch it any time, really, but in the timeline it goes between what happens in III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) and IV: A New Hope (1977).

What about this one? If you want to watch this movie then you can once again watch it without previous experience, but you’ll get a lot more of the references if you’ve seen the original trilogy (episodes IV-VI) because that is where they drew inspiration even though in the timeline this comes around the same time as Rogue One (2016). Warning, if you have seen the prequels (episodes I-III) but haven’t seen the TV series STAR WARS: Clone Wars, then something near the end will really confuse you. My sister and I were bewildered and didn’t understand what happened because it wasn’t consistent with the rest of the series. That is, until a friend who had seen Clone Wars explained it to her.

Now, what we’ve all been waiting for, the review!

Solo: A STAR WARS Story (2018):

The orphan Han manages to get off the planet Corellia, escaping from a gang. Time passes and he has gone through several army positions until he gets thrown in jail. There he meets a new friend and later runs in to some smugglers. Working together they want to steal coaxium, a valuable fuel. When plans fall through they have to work specially for Dryden Vos of the Crimson Dawn where they strike a new difficult deal to make up for a mistake: Make a Kessel Run to get unprocessed coaxium. What with faces from Han’s past as well as new shifty accomplices, whom can he trust?

Genres: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure.

Length: approx. 135 minutes.

Script: 8. A smattering of mild common swearing, but not too bad.

Crew: Directed by: Ron Howard. Written by: Jonathan Kasdan, Lawrence Kasdan, based on characters by George Lucas.

Starring:

Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo.

‘“Sorry I punched your face.”

“Happens more often than you think.”’

Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca.

Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian.

Emilia Clarke as Qi'ra.

Woody Harrelson as Tobias Beckett.

Paul Bettany as Dryden Vos.

Erin Kellyman as Enfys Nest.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge as L3-37.

Thandie Newton as Val.

Jon Favreau as the voice of Rio Durant.

Linda Hunt as the voice of Lady Proxima.

Ian Kenny as Rebolt.

John Tui as Korso.

Charlotte Louise as Margo.

Sema-Tawi Smart as Chanteuse.

Clint Howard as Ralakili.

Dee Tails as Quay Tolsite.

Attila Vajda as Sagwa.

Anthony Daniels as Tak.

Kiran Shah as Karjj.

Lily Newmark as Lexi.

Samantha Colley as Ottilie.

Costumes: 8. For some reason today anything I put here seems like it would be weird. Don’t know what that’s about. I don’t have anything bad to say about any of the outfits, I thought they were cool!

Cinematography: 7. Typical for an action movie. Lots of CGI with the space travel which was overdone in a few places but other than that fine.

Cinematography by: Bradford Young.

Music: 8. I don’t love it like I do the original, but I still like it! It was distinctly its own thing yet as the movie went on started using more STAR WARS themes which was very cool. I especially like the track for the Marauders.

Music by: John Powell with a few contributions by John Williams.

Quotability: 5. Has a surprisingly low score for a STAR WARS movie, I know. I haven’t even considered quoting it at all since I watched it, and neither has my sister. But there were some decent lines that I found.

“I admire anyone who can crawl their way out of a sewer.”

Content: 7. There is death, killing, and one or two suggestive lines. There are some scary things like creatures and powers that people have, but it didn’t bother me excessively.

Originality: 9. It was much more original than I expected! It took an idea and expanded on it, adding fun characters. I was impressed!

Good For: STAR WARS fans.

Age Range: It is rated PG-13 because of the violence and that’s not far off. I can see younger kids liking this a lot, but it would depend on what they personally like already. That’s me stating the obvious, sorry!

Overall Score: 7.5.

Worth watching?: Yeah, I’m glad to finally know what all of the hype is about.

Will I watch again?: Well...when I first started this review I was sure that the answer was no, but thinking about it this much has made me want to try it again.

Bonus thoughts:

Here’s what you guys have been wondering the whole time: Did I like it? Some of you might have guessed my feelings, but I assure you that there is more to it!

The story was fun, the design of the movie was rad, the characters were well constructed, and it was a neat journey.

Just one big problem:

It wasn’t Han Solo.

Before you turn on me know that I liked it quite a bit! The thing is, I would be very engaged then I would think, “Wait, this is Han?” It would completely throw me off track because it. isn’t. him. Han is a mysterious character whom we first see in A New Hope. I don’t need a backstory made up for him. Alden Ehrenreich was trying his best, so I don’t blame him in any way as he was great to watch, but I prefer to think of him as a whole new character in the fabulous STAR WARS universe.

The most believable character of the ones we are familiar with was Donald Glover’s Lando. He was very charismatic yet without a lot of maturity. I love Lando so I highly approve. I think of this movie as Lando with a bunch of new never-before-seen characters.

My favorite part of all of this had to be Dryden Vos. Paul Bettany rocked acting him! He was so creepy with a spoilt elegance. It was revoltingly awesome. He was an epic villain.

I have to say that I didn’t like L3-37, but that’s just me. Qi’ra was a fascinating character whom I want to know more about!

I liked a ton of concepts here. The Marauders, the Crimson Dawn (such a neat name! Every organization needs to have such an incredible name), and Enfys Nest and crew! It had great potential.

This film was definitely an ordeal to make! They went through several directors before landing on Ron Howard as well as some change of cast and crew involving several reshoots. Knowing this beforehand I thought that it would be easy to spot where things got changed around, but I was wrong and didn’t notice.

The climax was one of the craziest that I’ve ever seen! I was getting whiplash from everything that was happening so quickly! At first I was just stunned (and a little irritated) but thinking about it now, it was really cool. Probably my second favorite part of the movie after Dryden Vos. If, like me, you are a hardcore STAR WARS fan yet are wary of trying this then I would say it is worth a shot! You don’t have to believe that everything is cannon and just enjoy it as something completely different like me, or if you enjoy it as it is then I’ll be happy for you!

Well, there’s the scoop from me. Thanks for reading this! Tell me if you’ve seen this and what you think of my thoughts! Was anyone else unsure of this film? Was it better or worse than you expected? Let’s just talk all things STAR WARS! Who else likes Dryden Vos as much as I do?

May the fourth be with you, and Godspeed rebels.

MovieCritic

Movie Review: The Avengers (2012)

Hello and happy March!

I’m back with my goal of reviewing as many Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies that I can in 2021! This particular film is one of the biggest and most famous. 

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning. Because of this I will be vague in a few places to not give away things from earlier movies. This is absolutely spoiler-free! You will still get all of the surprises from watching the movie even after you’ve read this review.

If you've read my other Marvel reviews then you know the drill: you have to watch them in a certain way. This is one of those “do what I say, donʼt do what I do” because I watched them in the most random order, but I want you to get a good experience out of it.

There are two recommended ways for watching Marvel movies. They are:

In the order which they were made:

Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Thor: Dark World (2013), Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 (2014), Avengers: The Age of Ultron (2015), Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Dr. Strange (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Spider-man: Homecoming (2017), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), Avengers: Endgame (2019), & Spider-man: Far From Home (2019).

Or chronological order:

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Captain Marvel (2019), Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), The Incredible Hulk (2008), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Thor: Dark World (2013), Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: The Age of Ultron (2015), Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Black Panther (2018), Spider-man: Homecoming (2017), Dr. Strange (2016), Thor: Ragnorok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), & Spider-man: Far From Home (2019).

If you've never seen a Marvel movie before but want to try it, then this is a great film for that! In fact, I'd say that most fans started with this one (not me, I do everything backwards). If you haven't seen Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) or Thor (2011) then you might be confused in a few spots, but it will be cleared up pretty soon.

The Avengers (2012):

Based on: The Avengers comics - by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
The Tesseract, a powerful tool that no one knows how to control, has been taken by force from S.H.E.I.L.D. headquarters. Nick Fury goes into action along with Agent Coulson who start to assemble a team to fight off these otherworldly threats. Good people are working against them, though, under the power of mind control. The chosen group has many skills and weapons to bring to the table, but disagree on many things and are just as likely to turn against each other. They each have a past that haunts them, so will they be able to forget that and focus on the future? Will this team break apart before they are fully formed? How can so few hope to beat one with mischief in his veins and in control of an army?

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

Genres: Superhero, Action, Science-Fiction.
Length: approx. 143 minutes.
Script: 7. The script itself is genius (I’ll talk about that more in a minute) but there is a smattering of bad words. Not the worst that I’ve heard, I’m just a little annoyed with it because it is unnecessary.

‘“Is everything a joke to you?”

“Funny things are.”’

(aka, my reaction to everything)

Crew: Directed by: Joss Whedon. Written by: Joss Whedon & Zak Penn.
Starring: (I have been thinking lately about changing up my system for saying who is in a movie. Sometimes, especially with the Marvel movies, knowing the characters in each film are major spoilers! For right now I’m only going to list the ten most important characters, like I do for TV shows. What do you think of this? Any suggestions?)
1. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark.

‘“Stark, we need a plan of attack!”

“I have a plan: attack!”’

2. Chris Evans as Steve Rogers.

3. Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner.

4. Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff.

5. Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton.

6. Chris Hemsworth as Thor.

7. Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.
8. Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson.
9. Tom Hiddleston as Loki.
10. Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill.
Costumes: 7. There’s a scene where someone isn’t wearing anything, but the audience doesn’t see any of that. Each character's suits are fitting to their abilities!
Cinematography: 9. I didn’t notice it until it was pointed out to me, but there is one scene that is truly a masterpiece with constantly changing angles to reflect how everyone is feeling. It’s an action movie so there are a lot of fight scenes which are well choreographed. I absolutely love all of what is done with Hawkeye’s weapon, a bow and arrows!

Cinematography by: Seamus McGarvey.
Music: 10. I’ve been listening to the score while I write this and it is just epic all around!
Music by: Alan Silvestri.
Notes: Be on the look out for a cameo from Stan Lee, and don’t forget about the post credits scenes! There are also a lot of references to other things, to which we all do this:

Quotability: 10. Everything that comes out of these characters’ mouths are iconic! Tony Stark’s nicknames for everyone are hilarious. The context behind this had a great build-up!:

‘“I thought we were having a moment.”

“I was having 12% of a moment.”’

Content: 6. This has a lot of fighting which includes physical violence, explosions, and killing. Briefly, there are a few suggestive lines and a mention of attempted suicide. There is also the fact that there are “gods” in here. I don’t believe in those myths at all, but I accept it here as fantasy. Plus, as Captain America says:

“There's only one God, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that.”

Originality: 9. Movies where a team has to come together are really awesome, and this is one of the best! All of the dynamics and problems are extremely original and creative. All of the elements and powers merge together so well!

Good For: My first response to this category is usually to say fans of the genre, but as a really insightful post of Sam’s (read it HERE, but be warned that there are spoilers for Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)) pointed out, you don’t have to be a fan of action to love this! It has a compelling story about bravery, sacrifice, and friendship. The characters are amazing and unique! Tony Stark can be hard to like for some, but that is who he is. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good story filled with depth!
Age Range: This is PG-13 for all of the violence and scary things, and I would agree with that. BUT, it all depends on each individual’s tolerance level! I know I would’ve been fine with seeing this when I was 10, but others might be more comfortable around it at 15. Don’t let that worry you too much, and focus on the core of the story and not what is happening on the surface.
Overall Score: 8.5!

Worth watching?: Sure thing! The amount of detail and subtlety in here went past me the first time I watched it. I can’t believe that I thought, “That was cool.” and just moved on! It is so much more than “cool”!
Will I watch again?: Is this even a question? Yes! The last time I watched it I did an exercise routine, so anytime certain characters say particular phrases then I had to do an assigned exercise. It was fun, but exhausting and I’m looking forward to being able to watch it without all of that.
Bonus thoughts:
I feel like I’ve been so ecstatic in this whole review, so there’s not much to add! This movie broke records and changed the way that we saw superhero films. It is a valuable part of the MCU!



Thank you for reading! Let’s chat and you can tell me what you love about this movie if you’ve seen it before. If you haven’t, then tell me if you would now be interested in doing so! Who else loves Hawkeye in this because he is the best ever? Who gets annoyed with Tony here and who (aka me) really thinks that he is awesome? Have a good day!

MovieCritic

Movie Trilogy Review: Iron Man

Hello, readers!

It is time for my first review of 2021, and you will be getting three of them. Weʼre starting off with a bang! That is almost literal, too, because all of these movies have explosions.

In 2020 my goal on this blog was to review more Foreign films, and while it didnʼt happen as much as I wanted, I did talk about 6! They were: January: La Belle et la Bête [Beauty and the Beast] (1946) [French film]. March: Waking Ned Devine (1998), The Secret of Kells (2009), and Shergar (1999) [all Irish films]. May: Okkoʼs Inn (2018) [Japanese film]. October: Spirited Away (2001) [Japanese film].

I had a request for more silent films, and while I only got one reviewed, 7th Heaven (1927), I hope to do more of that.

My 2021 goal for this blog is to review as many Marvel movies as I can! In the last few years I've been trying to watch all of them and a few days ago I finally completed that task! I reviewed one in 2020, Black Panther (2018), but youʼll see more this year.

Iʼm not done talking yet because when it comes to Marvel movies, you have to watch them in a certain way. This is one of those “do what I say, donʼt do what I do” because I watched them in the most random order, but I want you to get a good experience out of it.

There are two recommended ways for watching Marvel movies. They are:

In the order which they were made:

Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Thor: Dark World (2014), Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 (2014), Avengers: The Age of Ultron (2015), Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Dr. Strange (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Spider-man: Homecoming (2017), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), Avengers: Endgame (2019), & Spider-man: Far From Home (2019).

Or chronological order:

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Captain Marvel (2019), Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), The Incredible Hulk (2008), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Thor: Dark World (2014), Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: The Age of Ultron (2015), Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Black Panther (2018), Spider-man: Homecoming (2017), Dr. Strange (2016), Thor: Ragnorok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), & Spider-man: Far From Home (2019).

 If you have never seen a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie, but want to, then this trilogy is the perfect place to start! You can watch the first and second movies with no prior experience of the films. You could watch the third one as well, but you might be confused because it talks about The Avengers (2012) a lot.

I think that Iʼve explained as much as any of you wanted. Before we get further in, Iʼm going to mention one last thing:

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning. This is spoiler free! On all of these reviews there are no spoilers for that particular film, or for any other films in the MCU.

I, myself, am wary for reading reviews for movies in a series, because they usually give things away! This review is going to be different. When talking about the second and third movies Iʼm going to be vague to not spoil anything in them or the first movie, but I will be listing any content concerns you may have.

Iron Man (2008):

Based on: The comics by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck, & Jack Kirby.

Tony Stark is a billionaire whose family made its fortune by selling weapons. He doesnʼt care about people and wants to have a good time, though he is a technological genius himself. After a demonstration for Stark technology he is kidnapped and ordered to make that same weapon that he had been showing off. Tony was injured and saved by a doctor who is a prisoner, too. Together they plan to make a suit of armor instead to bust them out of there. If they get out of there, will Tony be able to stop the terrorist attacks? How soon will the shrapnel in his chest reach his heart? How will he make the most of his life?

ʻ“I shouldn't do anything. They could kill you, they're gonna kill me, either way, and even if they don't, I'll probably be dead in a week.”

“Then this is a very important week for you, isn't it?”ʼ

Genre: Superhero, Action, Science Fiction.

Length: approx. 126 minutes.

Script: 7, there are some swear words, name calling, and names taken in vain, but not the worst that Iʼve ever heard.

Crew: Directed by: Jon Favreau. Written by: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, & Matt Holloway.

Starring:

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. “So you're a man who has everything... and nothing.” 

Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts.

Terrence Howard as Rhodey.

Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane.

Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan.

Shaun Toub as Ho Yinsen.

Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson.

Faran Tahir as Raza.

Paul Bettany as the voice of JARVIS.

Leslie Bibb as Christine Everhart.

Gerard Sanders as Howard Stark.

Peter Billingsley as William Ginter Riva.

Cameos: There are cameos from several famous people, but the most notable is Stan Lee because it is the start of a Marvel tradition. We also see Samuel L. Jackson.

Costumes: 8, the Iron Man suit is an iconic look, so points there. There are a few times when people are not wearing a lot of clothing.

“Iron Man. That's kind of catchy. It's got a nice ring to it. I mean it's not technically accurate. The suit's a gold titanium alloy, but it's kind of provocative, the imagery anyway.”

Cinematography: 9, I like the way that we start with a scene then flashback to see what lead up to that point.

Cinematography by: Matthew Libatique.

Music: 8, itʼs a little intense for my personal taste, but it fits Tonyʼs vibe to a T.

Music by: Ramin Djawadi.

Quotability: 7, I donʼt quote it on a regular basis, but if I watched it more frequently Iʼm sure that I would.

“I'm sorry. This is the fun-vee. The hum-drum-vee is back there.”

Content: 7, there is some suggestive content here including a “bed room” scene, but is only there for a few seconds. I think this is the first movie that I watched that I didnʼt mind it and thought that it was necessary to the story because it highlights Tonyʼs character (You are never going to see me say these words again). It shows him as a “playboy” and shows you a starting point to be able to measure his journey in the end. There is fighting involving violence, and death by killing.

Notes: There is a post-credits scene, so be sure to watch that!

Originality: 9, as the beginning of an era of superhero movies, this one surely stands out! While the plot can be predictable in places, it matters so much to Tony and affects him that you are invested the whole time.

Good For: fans of superheroes, fans of the actors.

Age Range: This is rated PG-13 and I fully agree with that.

Overall Score: 8.5!

Worth watching?: Oh, yeah! It is one of the first Marvel movies that I saw and it explains so much about Tonyʼs backstory and life in general. It has good messages and a solid story.

Will I watch again?: Of all of the Marvel movies, this is one of the ones that I can see myself coming back the most frequently. It doesnʼt get old seeing Tony grow, evolve, and create. This is totally in my top ten Marvel movies! It is pretty awesome, and I recommend it.

&

Iron Man 2 (2010):

Based on: The comics by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck, & Jack Kirby.

Tony Stark is having to make a lot of decisions. The army and other companies want to buy his technology, but he knows that they will use it as a weapon instead of a peacekeeper. Nick Fury is examining Tony to see if he is fit for a plan that Nick has for a team of superheroes. Tonyʼs troubles arenʼt over, as a man starts designing similar tech in order to get revenge on Tonyʼs father. Tony feels himself growing weaker each day as his suit poisons him and he is scared. What will happen next?

“Contrary to popular belief, I know exactly what Iʼm doing.”

Genre: Superhero, Action, Science Fiction.

Length: approx. 125 minutes.

Script: 7, one word is beeped out, but beside that there is a handful of other swearing.

ʻ“Did you just make that?”

 “Yeah, where do you think Iʼve been for three hours?”ʼ

Crew: Directed by: Jon Favreau. Written by: Justin Theroux.

Starring:

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. “Not everyone runs on batteries, Tony.”

Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts.

Don Cheadle as Rhodey.

Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko.

Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer.

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushman.

Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson.

Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan.

John Slattery as Howard Stark.

Garry Shandling as Senator Stern.

Paul Bettany as the voice of JARVIS.

Leslie Bibb as Christine Everhart.

Eugene Lazarev as Anton Vanko.

Cameos: Once again, there are more cameos than you can count, but my favorite is Stan Lee!

Costumes: 7, there is some clothing that is short or low. But the armor is still cool! 

Cinematography: 7, I donʼt remember anything special about it that stuck out to me. 

Cinematography by: Matthew Libatique.

Music: 6, it has managed to be both more and less intense at the same time, but without the uniqueness that the first one has. Pretty forgettable.

Music by: John Debney.

Notes: There is an post-credits scene, so stay tuned for that!

Quotability: 8, my line that I quote to describe my life is when Tony says, “I think I did okay!” then there is an explosion.

Content: 7, there is violence, blood, and explosions caused by fighting. There is death, including suicide and killing. In addition to that there are a few suggestive comments and people getting intoxicated.

Originality: 8, it didnʼt make me think while watching it, “Iʼve never seen this before!”, but thinking about it afterwards it was pretty original.

Good For: fans of superheroes, fans of the actors, anyone who likes seeing good sequels.

Age Range: Itʼs rated PG-13, but I think that depending on the person it could be watched by a 10 year old and be fine.

Overall Score: 7.

Worth watching?: Yes. I liked seeing the characters, especially some that are introduced to the MCU for the first time in this movie. I know that a lot of people donʼt like this one, but I thought it was good! I would say that it isnʼt as resounding as the first movie, but I enjoyed how it took some “causes” from the first film and looked at the “effect”. To tell the truth, I kind of forgot what it was about, but the whole time watching it I enjoyed it.

Will I watch again?: I should because my memory is rusty! Maybe I wonʼt watch it as many times as the first one, but I will definitely see it again.

“No, itʼs your fault, I just wanted to say sorry.”

&

Iron Man 3 (2013):

Based on: The comics by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck, & Jack Kirby, and Extremis - by Warren Ellis & Adi Granov.

A new threat looms on the horizon with the Mandarin, a terrorist who releases violent videos of him killing people and making threats. When Tony Stark gets annoyed with it, he challenges the Mandarin to “come get him”, which leads to the belief that Tony is dead. Stuck in Tennessee, he works with a kid, Harley, to try to stop The Mandarin before any more harm is done. However, Tony is suffering from PTSD and anxiety attacks. Will he be able to overcome, or will they get the best of him? What will happen when he meets The Mandarin face-to-face?

“A famous man once said that we create our own demons...” 

Genre: Superhero, Action, Science Fiction.

Length: approx. 130 minutes.

Script: 7. Same as the other two in the series.

Crew: Directed by: Shane Black. Written by: Drew Pearce & Shane Black. 

Starring:

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark.

Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts.

Don Cheadle as Rhodey.

Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian.

Ty Simpkins as Harley Keener.

Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen.

Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin.

Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan.

Paul Bettany as the voice of JARVIS.

William Sadler as President Ellis.

Miguel Ferrer as Vice President Rodriguez.

Rockey Dickey Jr. as Rose Hill Deputy.

James Badge Dale as Savin.

Stephanie Szostak as Brandt.

Adam Pally as Gary the Cameraman.

Dale Dickey as Mrs. Davis.

Cameos: There are a multitude of them, but especially be on the look out for Stan Lee. 

Costumes: 6, in a couple scenes people arenʼt wearing a lot.

Cinematography: 7, nothing groundbreaking, but I liked elements that they worked in. Sure, some where kind of terrifying, but still.

Cinematography by: John Toll.

Music: 7, same as the others, yet verging on unremarkable.

Music by: Brian Tyler.

Notes: Donʼt skip the credits as there is a post-credits scene! Also, there is a reference to Downton Abbey which I thought was great.

Quotability: 6, I watched this for the first time fairly recently, so I could say N/A,

Content: 6, there is are some suggestive comments and actions (but only briefly), and violence involving lots of fighting and explosions. It includes some science fiction technology that is creepy because of what it does to humans.

Originality: 9, I was so invested the whole time! It kind of reminded me of something that you would see on Star Trek (who am I kidding, I never watch Star Trek), but I enjoyed it.

Good For: fans of superheroes, fans of the actors, anyone who likes seeing good sequels.

Age Range: This one is also rated PG-13, and I agree with that because there are some really scary parts. I know that it is CGI, but it still was startling, so you might not want to show this to someone younger than that.

Overall Score: 7.5!

Worth watching?: Yes! Tony and Harley working together was so cute! Tony is pretty rough, and him having a hard time is not a good excuse, but it is understandable.

Will I watch again?: You bet!

Overall Trilogy Review:

Isn't this post awesome?? (Source)

Script: 7. Costumes: 7. Cinematography: 8. Music: 7. Quotability: 7. Content: 7. Originality: 9.

Overall Score: 8!

Worth watching?: Certainly. I have so many reasons why listed above.

Will I watch again?: I will! It took me ages to be able to watch them all, so I don't know when my next opportunity will be, but one day.

Bonus thoughts:

This is a good example of a trilogy! It has the main character going through different situations and conflict each time while having a good beginning and ending. One of my favorite MCU trilogies!

For the blogathon:

There almost always is a method behind my madness! I'm reviewing this for ThunderbirdQueen and Miss Woodhouse's 23: An MCU Blogathon!

They are hosting it all month long, so go check out the other entries! This is the perfect opportunity for me to start reviewing all of the Marvel movies!

What do you guys think? Do you like the Iron Man trilogy? Is reviewing three movies all at once too much? Or do you like it? Thanks for reading!

MovieCritic