Tag: Avengers

Avengers: Age of Ultron is the most underrated film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and we should appreciate it more

Avengers: Age of Ultron has a bad reputation, but we should really appreciate it more

There, I said it. I’ve been sitting on this take for years and have finally gotten permission to get it off my chest.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has captured our imaginations in three different decades across 30 movies with a revolving door of hundreds of characters who cycle in and out for one another.

We’ve seen the best of the best from it like Avengers: Endgame, the Black Panther saga and Thor: Ragnarok. We’ve also seen some of the absolute worst like Iron Man 2, pretty much every other Thor movie and *sigh* The Eternals. 

Somewhere in the middle of all those highs and lows lies Joss Whedon’s Avengers: The Age of Ultron.

Not only is this movie the most maligned Avengers title — which makes sense considering its counterparts — it’s also constantly downplayed in the grand scale of the MCU. It’s one of the movies people love to hate. It’s currently ranked 26th out of the 30 MCU movies on Rotten Tomatoes.

Of course, this film definitely has its warts. But was it really that bad? I have my theories as to why people are so turned off by it.

Some critiques are reasonable. What Joss Whedon did with Natasha Romanov’s character in the film is unforgivable. The Black Widow went from the team’s top spy to… Bruce Banner’s caretaker? That didn’t make a ton of sense. Plus, the romance on top of that felt forced.

Also, why was this movie so funny? Don’t get me wrong — one of the best parts of the MCU is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. We like the jokes and the light humor from our heroes. But in a movie like this where the stakes are so high and the end of the human race is a potential risk, maybe fewer Ultron quips would’ve given more weight to the movie.

The death of Quicksilver is also inexplicable. He’s the fastest man alive and has been running circles around everyone the whole time, but couldn’t dodge bullets while saving a life? FOX’s Quicksilver was better.

But, those critiques alone shouldn’t be enough to cause people to turn so quickly on this film. There are other MCU films with far worse plot points and less interesting characters.

My other theory here is that this movie is just the middle child of the MCU. And you know how things get for the middle child.

It doesn’t give people the nostalgic feeling Phase 1 did because it’s not the beginning of it all. It isn’t as precious as Phase 3, which unequivocally has the best MCU content to date. Heavy hitters like Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, and both of the final Avengers movies were part of this phase. Oh, and did I forget to mention that they introduced Spider-Man to the MCU here? Phase 3 is absolutely the pinnacle of the MCU. It’s a slam dunk.

However, to get to that slam dunk, somebody had to throw the lob, right? That’s where the Age of Ultron comes in. People complained about how much content Whedon stuffed in this film, but the ripple effects from it all are still reverberating throughout the MCU.

This was our introduction to both Vision and Wanda Maximoff, who has officially become the Scarlet Witch. Those two are the stars of Phase 4 — there’s no question about it.

From Sokovia’s destruction, we got both the Sokovia Accords and Baron Zemo at the center of Captain America: Civil War. Because we got that, we also got an amazing introduction to Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther which has been a bellwether franchise for the MCU. Speaking of Black Panther, Ulysses Klaue also made his debut in this film.

If you’re a fan of Thor: Ragnarok — which, pretty much every MCU fan is — you need to be grateful for Age of Ultron, too. Without Hulk leaving on that Quinjet at the end of the film, he never makes it to Sakaar and we never get that movie. We also don’t get his son, Skaar, in She-Hulk which means we probably wouldn’t be inching closer to the World War Hulk plotline everyone seems to be so desperate for.

I say all this to say, yes, this movie absolutely had its warts. And some of them are ugly warts. But as time has passed, it’s become pretty clear that Age of Ultron is still a foundational piece in the MCU’s canon and it’s going to be for quite some time.

It deserves credit for that. Let’s give this movie its flowers.

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9 of the best ‘but it came out in 2007’ memes taking over the Internet

Prepare for Linkin Park’s “What I’ve Done” to get stuck in your head.

August is a pretty brutal time for moviegoers.

Summer blockbuster season is all but over. The likes of Top Gun: Maverick and Thor: Love & Thunder are getting ready to exit theaters and there isn’t much to get excited for until the holidays roll around.

Fortunately, the Internet has found a hilariously brilliant way to make new content out of old films—by editing Linkin Park’s “What I’ve Done” over scenes and cutting straight to the credits.

The “[Insert Movie], but it came out in 2007” meme quickly caught on and, oh man, is there some good content out there.

Funny enough, even though the song came out in 2007, it was first used to take a movie’s final scene into the end credits by Michael Bay’s Transformers in 2009. It set the bar pretty high.

Let’s see how the Internet stacks up against the original.

Marvel boss Kevin Feige said clues point to Avengers’ next Thanos-level threat — here’s who is most likely

Who – or what – is up next for The Avengers after Thanos?

We’re officially closer to the end of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe than the beginning and if you still have a ton of questions, well, that may just be the point.

The transitionary period for the film franchise has seen us say goodbye to series stalwarts Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff and a few other fan favorites—or at least variations of those favorites. As Phase 4 continues exploring the multiverse, we’ve gotten a glimpse at what life could’ve been like had events played out a little differently.

But Phase 4 hasn’t brought us that much closer to another Thanos-level threat that requires a franchise-spanning team-up. Or maybe it has.

MCU mastermind Kevin Feige recently told Total Film the studio is closing in on its next phase and viewers should begin seeing some common threads develop:

“As we’re nearing the end of Phase 4, I think people will start to see where this next saga is going. I think there have been many clues already, that are at least apparent to me, of where this whole saga is going. But we’ll be a little more direct about that in the coming months, to set a plan, so audiences who want to see the bigger picture can see a tiny, tiny, tiny bit more of the roadmap.”

Obviously the first thread is already out there: The Multiverse.

That might just be a means to the next Big Bad, however, and not the MacGuffin the Infinity Stones were. So we put on our best, non-descriptive baseball hats and put together (entirely fictional) odds for who—or what—will cause the Avengers to assemble next.

With six films left on the Phase 4 docket, including Thor: Love and Thunder here’s a look at who’s most likely to rival Thanos’ arrival in the MCU.

Note: This list veers into some of the newer MCU projects, so if you aren’t caught up, read with caution. 

Seahawks RB Rashaad Penny responds to terrible movie take by DeeJay Dallas

Yikes.

It’s a quiet Sunday for Seahawks fans thanks to the NFL’s decision to move this week’s game back until Tuesday. We have spent the day watching football and scrolling Twitter searching for jokes we can’t repeat. That’s where Seattle RB/KR DeeJay Dallas caught our attention.

Dallas shared this whopper of a bad take on movies, claiming that the Transformers series is “highkey” better than the Avengers.

Yikes.

At least one Seahawks running back knows better. Rashad Penny responded with an appropriate reaction.

Penny is coming off a career-best game against the Texans, totaling 137 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Despite numerous injuries at the position, Dallas has mostly been relegated to special teams duties this season. He’s posted 637 yards on 28 kickoff returns and 80 yards on 19 carries.

Heading into Tuesday’s game against LA, Penny is expected to continue starting at running back – especially as Alex Collins is currently on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

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ESPN will have a Marvel-themed NBA broadcast and it sounds so absurd

Disney Space Jam for the win.

No, you’re not reading that incorrectly. ESPN and Marvel are combining forces to create the most ridiculous NBA basketball telecast we’ll ever see.

Honestly, this probably tops the absurdity of the NFL and Nickelodeon’s Spongebob simulcast. That’s how wild this thing sounds.

There’s a whole plot to this thing. Apparently, Marvel’s Avengers have received an “ominous threat” from an invading alien army that is coming to earth to take the planet over, per a release from Marvel.

The Black Panther and Iron Man realize that they’re going to need more help and have to expand the Avengers. So, naturally, they go scout…some NBA players?

They’ll be “scouting” players from the Warriors-Pelicans game including Stephen Curry and Zion Williamson, per The Athletic. Here’s how it works.

The players the Avengers will “scout” Curry, Williamson, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball. Players will gain “Marvel Hero” points for every point, rebound, assist, steal and block, losing points for missed field goals, free throws and turnovers. The player with the most “Marvel Hero” points on the winning team will be crowned Marvel Champion.

Look, I know it’s fun to play the game of “which player would you pick to defend the Earth against an alien invasion” game. But, uh, this might be taking it a bit too literally.

It’s like they took the plot of Space Jam, threw the Avengers in there and said “let’s do it, y’all.” Just absurd.

The reactions online were mixed.

Lots of people called it Disney Space Jam. Which…to be fair…it kind of is.

Yeah, this is totally wild. Will we all watch it? Probably so. But, I’ve got to be honest. Compared to this? An alien invasion doesn’t sound so bad. We’ll see how it goes though.

Watch the latest episode of our new sneaker unboxing show, Special Delivery

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFtlwTh8aXQ&t=36s

12 Seattle Seahawks reimagined as Avengers characters

Which Seattle Seahawk is your favorite superhero? Here’s a look at 12 Seattle Seahawks reimagined as Avengers characters.

In America, the National Football League is king when it comes to entertainment. It seems the only property which can even come close to competing are the routinely successful and popular Marvel superhero movies.

To many fans, their favorite NFL stars are practically like superheroes to them in a sense. We at SeahawksWire thought with the Seahawks back in action it would be interesting to meld reality with fiction for some kickoff fun.
Without further ado, here are 12 Seattle Seahawks re-imaged as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes . . . the Avengers!

LeSean McCoy says tweeting an Avengers spoiler was ‘the worst decision of my life’

“I didn’t know that people really got into them cartoons like that.”

Just over one year ago, veteran NFL running back LeSean McCoy committed a cardinal sin of social media and tweeted a key Avengers: Endgame plot point to his hundred of thousands of followers on opening day.

McCoy went to see the movie with his son, and before the vast majority of the world had the chance to get into the theater to complete the Marvel saga for themselves, McCoy tweeted “RIP” to Iron Man, who dies in the film. McCoy never deleted the tweet, interestingly, and it’s likely that the tweet spoiled the movie for thousands of his followers. Almost instantly, Marvel Twitter went into a full rage, and many called for McCoy to be banned from the NFL.

According to McCoy, the tweet was “the worst decision” of his life. McCoy explained what happened during an appearance on NFL Network’s GMFB, and said that he simply didn’t know that many people took the Marvel movies so seriously.

“I tweeted it, just having fun. But I didn’t know the reaction of the people! I didn’t know that. If I knew that, I would have never tweeted that. I didn’t know that people really got into them cartoons like that. I apologize. It was terrible.”

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Paul Rudd trash talks Chris Pratt into the ground (in fantasy football)

All bets are off when fantasy football is on the line.  

The internet’s new boyfriend Paul Rudd isn’t just the seemingly ageless star of everyone’s favorite new meme, he’s also an incredible trash talker.

As you may or may not be aware (depending on the depth of your football and/or Marvel fandom) a large swath of actors who’ve played superheroes in movies are in one, big, 14-person celebrity fantasy football league called the AGBO Superhero League.  The league gets its name from Avengers Endgame director Joe and Anthony Russo’s production company.

Paul Rudd, alongside other Marvel stars like Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Tom Holland and more, are competing not just for bragging rights but a hefty donation to the charity of their choice. Throughout the season, the stars have been going head-to-head in weekly match-ups and have turned out some delightful, profanity-laced trash-talking videos.

This week,  the Ant-Man star went up against the Star Lord himself, Chris Pratt and considerably raised the bar.  Both actors are playing for good causes –Pratt for The Brain Treatment Foundation in Seattle and Rudd for Big Slick Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City–but that’s no excuse to play nice.

Pratt weighed in pretty well with his own video, and leaned into the short jokes, but Rudd went next level. He grabbed his Peter Quill costume, got his friends from NFL Network’s Good Morning Football involved and found some visual aids. The end result is an entire segment devoted to trashing Pratt.

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Truly, there is much to appreciate here, but Rudd’s level of commitment stands above the rest.  Rudd starts off by referencing a favorite Avengers fan theory about Ant-Man flying up Thanos’ butt and goes from there.

“I have flown into Chris Pratt and destroyed him, just like I’m going to destroy his fantasy football team this Sunday.” Rudd said.

From there, it’s open season on Pratt’s acting resume and then comes this old, candid beach photo.

Chris Pratt
Chris Pratt

“Who would desecrate the American flag like that,” Rudd asks. “Betsy Ross is simultaneously rolling in her grave and throwing up in her mouth.”

Also, Pratt isn’t the only Chris that Rudd takes a shot at. He also goes after the God of Thunder, Chris Hemsworth, who is leading the league. Rudd has built his reputation as a nice guy, but apparently all bets are off when fantasy football is on the line.