So, I just went and watched Avengers: Age of Ultron. Now, I like the MCU and related TV series', hell, I nearly wrote a review of Daredevil as I thought it was so great, but I'm not a comic book reader. I have enough hobbies I feel plus a job and stuff, so I'll happily watch the shows and movies but don't mistake me for a comic-buff. I'm not having a go at comic readers, more power to you, it's just not something I do (also, it seems really expensive). What I was getting to with this is that I don't really know these story lines going in, nor what these more minor characters can do. Sure, I'd heard of Scarlet Witch and 'The Vision' before, but I didn't know if they were goodies, baddies, what their deal was etc. This is leading nowhere really, I'm just trying to say don't expect any big analysis here.
My main concern is there was too many fight scenes. Sure, I know that's kind of one of he main deals with these films, but if I wanted to watch hours of cgi, I'd go and watch a Michael Bay movie, but I don't, so I wont. I also didn't like how it started in the middle of action, I never like it when films start like that, at least have a brief description of whats going on first. Sure, you find out quick enough that they're trying to get Loki's staff, but it seemed a cheap way of opening the movie when they just basically wished they could've opened with Stark making Ultron. Which leads to my other problem of James Spader voicing him. I'm terrible for associating actors with one role for the rest of their lives, Patrick Stewart may be a Shakespearean actor but to me he'll always be Jean Luc Picard. Simon Pegg is in everything now, but He's Tim Bisley. Kelsey Grammar - Frasier Crane. Karen Gillan - Amy Pond. Steve Coogan - Alan Partridge, Jermey Clarkson - A Cunt (oh wait, that one's accurate). Point is, for me, hearing James Spader over and over just made me think of Robert California, the ott character he played in the U.S Office. I can't take him seriously as a villain while thinking of that. I couldn't get that image out of my head though. I kept expecting him to pass blame on others or make offensive insults based of the Hulks size. Didn't happen though which was disappointing. And yes I know James Spader has actually had a big acing career before that, but it's the thing I remember him best from.
I did actually quite like a lot of it though so I don't want to be too critical. Hawkeye is actually a character now. Scarlet witch was interesting, though mostly towards the end. There were some fun jokes and a nice nod to agent Carter (the best of the Marvel TV shows so far, imo). The story was pretty good overall and it was just generally fun. The biggest problem though is that it was just filler content while waiting for the civil war in the next Captain America movie. When Avengers Assemble came out it felt like all the movies before that had been setting up for this epic team up. Since then it seem like Captain America the Winter Soldier was more important than this film as it had more of an affect on the MCU and it looks like the next 'cap' film will also have an affect whereas this film can just be essentially forgotten, based on the assumption that they go back on the ending like I suspect they will.
Btw, a good video game concept for the MCU would be a beat em up with all the characters from the films and TV shows useable, from Ironman to Skye, Groot to Red Skull. Sure, there's already a marvel vs. capcom fighting game series, but scrap that (they're full of X-men that they're not allowed in their films anyway), put them in their more realistic film/ TV costumes (maybe the traditional costumes could be unlockable? (not paid DLC though!)) and make it more gritty. This was kind of already done with DC's Injustice- Gods among us, but this would be tied in to a film universe, so it's sort of not the same, yeah?
Another thing I've done this week is started watching Star Trek Voyager. There's only 178 episodes, how long can it take? Well, I watched the first season (albeit only a shorter 16 episode one) in 3 days, so maybe not all that long. It's the only one of the more recent Star trek series I've never watched through (yes, that does mean I've never sat down and watched TOS (or TAS)), even though I've caught many episodes in the past when I was younger and they were on TV. I mean, I know who all the characters are and that they're trapped in the delta quadrant and that it's tough to integrate a Maquis and Federation crew together and that Tom Paris is Jeremy Clarkson in space, but I've never watched it properly through. Sure, with Star Trek series' as a whole they're more episodic, so it doesn't mean that you have to have seen them in order, or all of them to consider yourself a fan, but I went for it anyway.
You know what, it's not too bad. It's certainly better than the first season of TNG, which was terrible (it did get awesome though (note, if you turn on a random episode of TNG and Riker isn't fat, turn it off and don't bother)). There's some good set up for the future (though I know where it mostly leads) and they actually talk about problems like that they're running out of food and power and they actually try and do something about it. Sure, when they go to do something about it they wind up going down a tangent and that winds up just being the set up for an episode, so I'm still not sure if they've actually gotten any dylithium yet, but at least they're talking about it.
In the past I've talked about how Star Trek paints a too altruistic view of the future, and DS9 did well to get some of that away, although mainly through alien races while humans stayed whiter than white. While the same applies on Voyager it is nice to see some friction within the ship and not that every member of a federation crew is perfect.
Don't get me wrong, there's problems. Not every episode is a hit, there's many episodes where not a lot happens, a common issue amongst all Star Trek series. There's been no Borg or Q yet, despite the fact I know they're yet to come and the Doctor, who becomes one of the main characters isn't really introduced as well as I'd hoped, he's just kind of turned on and left to it when the actual doctor, and ALL of the other medical staff dies. That's a pretty unfortunate situation to be in, good job Star fleet though ahead there, I hope if all the transporter chiefs had died there would be a holographic Miles O'Brien ready to step in.
I'm happy to keep watching it though, I did after all watch twelve episodes of it yesterday, even though I hear it does the reverse of all the other Star Trek series and Peaks early, where the others all start lame but get awesome. We'll see
The main other thing I did was dust off my Xbox 360 and start Borderlands: The Pre-sequel, named as such as it's set between Borderlands 1 and 2. I could've bought it for the new consoles as it has been re-released, but I'd already had it for Xmas and hadn't bothered yet, so I figured why waste my money (plus more importantly, CEX round the corner from me didn't have it in stock). My issue is I can't get in to it. I don't know if it's because I'd had enough of it with the first 2 games, whether it's because it's a spin off/ placeholder game put out to keep the series relevant while a real sequel is being made, or if it's simply because I went back to my 360 and my mind is now set on me not needing it anymore. I'm sure I'd happily go back and relive some classics on it, but to play a new game on it now feels weird. I suspect it's a bit of all 3 really. I turn it on for half hour, then get bored, I just can't get in to it. Maybe it's cause I know there's so many good games coming soon, starting with The Witcher, and this is jut passing time while waiting, but this seemed like the perfect game for such an issue, but I guess it's not
There may very well be more on Voyager and Borderlands over the next few weeks while I have nothing to write about, after all, I can't spend my whole time talking about how I saw Villa beat Liverpool at Wembley to get to the FA Cup final, although it was pretty fucking awesome. UTV!
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