Movie Review: MARVEL's Avengers: Age of Ultron Exceeds Expectations

**   Warning Spoilers -  I attended an advance screening of MARVEL's #Avengers #AgeofUltron courtesty of Walt Disney Pictures prior to the film's release  **

A huge fist bump to MARVEL for doing an amazing job with Avengers: Age of Ultron.  The first movie, 2012's The Avengers incorporated a large number of characters and plots into one film incredibly well, featured great chemistry amongst the actors, and was full of wonderful humorous lines and physical comedy.  Often times sequels just can't live up to the expectations following an original's success so I entered the movie cautious of what I may see.  Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron exceeded my expectations.  I enjoyed this sequel better than the first movie...and I really liked The Avengers!

This movie adds even more characters and plots to the mix than The Avengers did yet everything is intertwined together so that Avengers: Age of Ultron is well paced and doesn't feel dragged down by all of the various aspects incorporated into its story.  It is really remarkable how so many different characters can share screen time without turning the movie into an overly long dragged out wreck but director Joss Whedon accomplishes this task making the film last just the perfect amount of time to keep the audience thrilled rather than bored.  Whedon also does a great job of incorporating humorous elements into the film that aren't too goofy but do keep the audience chuckling throughout the movie and give it an air of a light hearted adventure rather than a dark and brooding journey.  Avengers: Age of Ultron both jokes about and honors its heritage and reminded me of as a fifth grader how I was always so excited to pick up and read a new issue of The Avengers comic book each month.  I felt that same thrill and excitement watching this movie!

Avengers: Age of Ultron picks up after the events of Captain America: Winter Soldier and if you were to watch any of the solo movies (Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Captain America 2) that came out between The Avengers and this sequel that would be the one I'd recommend you make sure to have seen.  Thor has found out that the subversive group dedicated to world wide domination known as Hydra (which happened to take down S.H.I.E.L.D. in Captain America 2: Winter Soldier and the Agents of Shield television series) has gathered some of the alien vehicles and technology the bad guys used in The Avengers during the alien attack on New York City, including Loki's mystical staff.  Thor wants that staff back and joins the Avengers in attacking a secret Hydra base to retrieve it to start off the movie.

During the attack on the Hydra hideout the Avengers discover that the alien technology has been used to create humans with super powers.  Hydra wants to create its own team of super humans that can fight the Avengers and anyone else who doesn't Hail Hydra.  The successful super powered humans created by Hydra are orphaned twins that become known as the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.  The movie does a really nice job developing these characters as we find out they were recruited by Hydra because these kids wanted the means to be able to destroy Tony Stark who they have a passionate hatred for.  Turns out the twins' parents were killed and they were trapped in a demolished apartment building for days by artillery shells fired into civilian neighborhoods during a civil war in their country that were labeled with Stark Industries on their side.  Remember the first Iron Man movie began with Tony Stark as an international arms dealer and this plot ties back to that.  The Avengers are able to recover Loki's staff but the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver escape to fight another day.

Thor plans to take the magical staff back to Asgard, but Tony Stark ( aka Iron Man ) talks the God of Thunder into allowing him to have three days to study the device.  During that time, Stark and Bruce Banner find embedded into the staff's power crystal what appears to be the elements of an advanced computer code.  They attempt to use what they've found to create an advanced artificial intelligence that can control an army of robot Iron Men that can protect the Earth so the planet doesn't need to depend on the Avengers to protect it from terrestrial or extraterrestrial threats.  Unfortunately, Stark and Banner's plan goes awry when the artificial intelligence, known as Ultron, decides the best way to protect the Earth is the extinction of humanity.  This is where the movie's adventure and battles really take off and I'll leave it to you to see the movie rather than spoil for you how it ends.

Elizabeth Olsen, sister of the Olsen twins from the Full House television sitcom,  proves to be an incredible addition to the cast in this movie as Scarlet Witch.  The Scarlet Witch provides a strong female character that can rival any of the major players with the Avengers or any villain they may encounter and will most likely have a big presence in the future within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  I thoroughly enjoyed Olsen's performance and will look forward to seeing her in future films.  I also appreciate that she joins the Black Widow so that girls like my daughter can see that there are some gals who are just as important as the guys when it comes to being super heroes.

Two of my favorite comic book Avengers characters growing up were Captain America and Hawkeye.  I have to say one of my disappointments in the first Avengers movie was how lackluster they were portrayed.  Joss Whedon corrected that in Avengers: Age of Ultron.  Captain America has some really kick ass scenes in the movie and really shows off the benefits of the super soldier serum that make him a hero and important member of the Avengers.  Hawkeye doesn't have the super powers of the other members of the team but it turns out he becomes the lynchpin that holds the Avengers together.  In this film, Hawkeye is the character that average dads like myself will want to root for because he is the down to earth guy who humbly uses the abilities he does have to save the day.

MARVEL's Avengers: Age of Ultron is rated PG-13.  While there is a lot of fighting and violence in the movie there aren't any gruesome scenes to be wary of , though an Avenger does die and most likely won't be brought back like S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson was, and in my opinion it would probably be fine to bring a child that is ten years old or so to see it.  There isn't any sexual or mature content that would cause me concern as a parent and cursing really wasn't an issue either though there is a running joke throughout the movie about the characters "watching their language."  This is one of those film's that parents will have to make the choice on what they are comfortable with when it comes to younger kids going to see the film, but I really believe this is a suitable film for a family outing to the movie theater unless you have toddlers and preschoolers you want to cart along.

Because this is a film that can be enjoyed by both die hard comic book fans and people who have never read a comic book before in their life, MARVEL's Avengers: Age of Ultron gets A Geek Daddy nod of approval.  This is one of 2015's blockbuster movie's that you won't want to miss! MARVEL's Avengers: Age of Ultrons begins its theatrical run at theaters on May 1, 2015.

Images provided courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures for promotional use of the film only

MARVEL's The Avengers: Age of Ultron Twitter Party - Friday, May 1, 2015 ( 1 to 2pm EST )

Avengers Assemble! Join A GEEK DADDY BLOG on Friday, May 1, 2015 @ 1pm EST as we co-host with SoFab Chats a Twitter Party celebrating the theatrical release of MARVEL's The Avengers: Age of Ultron.  We'll be giving out $500+ in gift cards while talking about the new movie, discussing who our favorite Avengers are, and exploring Walmart's new Super Heroes Assemble augmented reality app.

To participate RSVP with SoFab Chats and use the hashtag #AvengersUniteSweeps on Twitter between 1 and 2 pm EST.  Please follow @Geekdad248, @KellysLuckyYou, @blm03, @MudpiesandTiara during the party on Twitter.  To be eligible for prizes you must RSVP and participate in the party replying to questions from the hosts using the hashtag #AvengersUnitedSweeps.  Join in on the fun, it should be a smashing good time!

I have been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser to serve as a co-host and promote the #AvengersUnitedSweeps Twitter Party.

Super Heroes Assemble App Lets You Turn Your Next Visit to Walmart into a MARVEL-ous Adventure

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #AvengersUnite #CollectiveBias

Unleash the power of MARVEL's The Avengers through your smart phone with Walmart's Super Heroes Assemble app available on Google Play and through the App Store.  This augmented reality app lets you engage in photo ops with characters from MARVEL's The Avengers: Age of Ultron movie, explore their world from a 360 degree perspective, and even suit up to transform yourself into one of your favorite heroes like Hulk, Iron Man or Thor.  The powers of the Super Heroes Assemble app are unlocked when you use it to scan special images located on posters and products at your local Walmart store.   After downloading the app for my iPhone, my daughter and I headed to Walmart for a scavenger hunt to test out the augmented reality capabilities of Super Heroes Assemble.

Our first find was a poster in the toy department. Each of the locked powers for the app has an Avengers character associated with it that when you click on their face it shows you an image of the poster or product that needs to be scanned to make the feature accessible.  The app automatically opens your smart phone's camera so all you have to do is point your device so that the virtual image displayed on its screen overlaps with the real world one.  When we scanned this poster a giant Hulk Buster Iron Man appeared to take a photo with my lil Thor.

Searching through the aisles at Walmart we found specially marked Doritos, Dr. Pepper, Kellog's Fruit Snacks, and Cheez-It baked snack crackers products and displays with special images for us to scan.  Scanning these images as we found them around the store unlocked access to 360 degree interactive experiences, for example you can run the Mark 44 Iron Man armor through its paces and see what it is capable of through the Hulk Buster Testing Facility,  opened access to various character abilities that let you suit up as a favorite Avenger in photographs you take, and others created in-store Avengers photo ops like our picture with Hulk Buster Iron Man.

While the Photo Op feature only works specifically when you are scanning the special images, the Suit Up functions will work anytime after you have scanned the images that unlocks one of the eight featured characters which are Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Hulk Buster Iron Man, and Ultron.  We had a lot of fun playing around with the Suit Up features around the house and at the playground after we had unlocked all the characters during our Walmart scavenger hunt.

Here's a HINT, if you can't find all the special images while at Walmart they also have them displayed online and you can scan them off the screen from the store's special MARVEL's The Avengers: Age of Ultron web site section by looking for the "unlock more epic content" banner. 

 The Walmart website also features some coloring pages you can print out for the kids to have some fun with in the MARVEL's The Avengers: Age of Ultron section including the one below.

Make your next visit to Walmart a MARVEL-ous adventure with the Super Heroes Assemble App.  Have some fun with your own scavenger hunt while you pick up all the fan essential toys, clothes and food items to get yourself ready to see MARVEL's The Avengers: Age of Ulton which arrives at movie theaters on May 1, 2015. We had some smashing good daddy-daughter time playing with this app (hey remember Avengers isn't just popular with the guys, girls are big fans too!) and I'd encourage you to check it out to avoid becoming green with envy that you missed out on the chance to suit up as one of your favorite Avengers.

So which member of the Avengers is your favorite?  Black Widow, Bruce Banner, Captain America, Hawkeye, Hulk, Iron Man, Quick Silver, Scarlet Witch, Thor, or Vision?  Iron Man has my vote while my daughter loves to role play as Thor while her twin brother pretends to be Captain America in their adventures at the park and in the backyard.

Tomorrowland is SciFi Flick You Won't Want to Miss

This year has quite a few selections to choose from at the movies for Science Fiction fans ranging from comic book fantasies like Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron and The Fantastic Four to the post-apocalyptic adventures of Mad Max: Fury Road and Terminator: Genisys to the space opera Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  If you are a fan of SciFi keep an eye out for Disney's Tomorrowland which while it hasn't had as much exposure as some of the other upcoming films that are hitting theaters appears to be an interesting movie in the genre.  So far Disney has been a bit mysterious about the plot and aspects of the film but is beginning to open up and promote it more as Tomorrowland's May 22, 2015 release date approaches.

In Disney’s riveting mystery adventure “Tomorrowland,” a jaded scientist and an optimistic teen embark on a danger-filled mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place somewhere in time and space.

Disney's Tomorrowland features a screenplay by “Lost” writer and co-creator Damon Lindelof and two-time Oscar® winner Brad Bird, from a story by Lindelof & Bird & Jeff Jensen and stars Academy Award® winner George Clooney. The plot of this SciFi mystery adventure seems interesting enough: Bound by a shared destiny, former boy-genius Frank (Clooney), jaded by disillusionment, and Casey (Britt Robertson), a bright, optimistic teen bursting with scientific curiosity, embark on a danger-filled mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place somewhere in time and space known only as “Tomorrowland.” What they must do there changes the world—and them—forever.

If Tomorrowland has peeked your interest, there will be an exclusive six minute trailer with an introduction by director Brad Bird which will screen exclusively in IMAX® theaters in the United States and in select international markets beginning May 1. This extended first look of Tomorrowland will screen directly prior to Marvel’s AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON and will play for the duration of that film’s run in IMAX.

For more information about #Tomorrowland you can also visit the film's website: 
www.Disney.com/Tomorrowland  This PG rated film looks to be a nice option for a family outing to the movies that I'll absolutely be considering going to with my wife and kids.

Marvel & Funko Join the Subscription Mystery Box Mailers Craze

Subscription mystery boxes where people sign-up to receive periodic shipments through the mail that are filled with goodies that fit into some sort of theme has become a hot new fad.  Services like Loot Crate, Nerd Block, and Hero Box surprise their subscribers with specially selected  t-shirts, toys, comic books, and other collectible, often times exclusive, items that provide a thrill to recipients when opening a new package each time one arrives because they don't specifically know what they are getting in advance.  Will the contents be awesome, will they be a disappointment, are they useful, or will they just be more clutter around the house?  You won't know til you rip open the box!

Now Marvel and Funko, who up to now had been supplying items for other mystery box services, are joining this trend themselves with the creation of the Marvel Collector Corps.  Starting in April 2015, people can subscribe to get a box delivered to them every other month that will have a theme based upon a Marvel Entertainment property.  Each mystery box will contain a t-shirt randomly selected from 4 choices in your designated size, a Funko stylized vinyl figurine, and 2 premium accessories that tie into the package's theme.  Marvel promises that for the $25 per box charge that subscribers will receive exclusive items that are exclusive to the Marvel Collector Corps.

To help promote this new service, Marvel Collector Corps is letting people know at least one item that will be in the first mystery box - an Iron Man Hulkbuster Funko vinyl figure!  Plus they have released the themes for the first two mystery boxes which tie into upcoming Marvel superhero movies: AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON for April and ANT-MAN in June.

Subscriptions for Marvel Collector Corps can be purchased for specific individual months or annually (6 boxes).  For more information, visit www.collectorcorps.com