A comic-book artist's work is best complemented by an expert inker's hand. You proved that time and again, Mr. Sinnott, doing justice to the artistry of such titans as Jack Kirby, Gil Kane and John Romita Sr and Jr.
The magic that flowed from your hand can be found among such icons as the Fantastic Four; the Silver Surfer; Captain America; the Falcon; Black Bolt; the Avengers; the Defenders; the Invaders; Ms. Marvel; the Hulk; Thor; Spider-man; and even Ed Sullivan with the Fab Four.
The comic-book world has, indeed, lost one of its precious greats, but what you placed upon paper will continue to captivate for generations of grateful fans.
Joss Whedon's new Avengers adventure, "Age of Ultron", has arrived, and our favorites are back: Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans); Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr); Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo); Thor (Chris Hemsworth); War Machine/James Rhodes (Don Cheadle); Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner); Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson); the Falcon/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie)...and a special appearance by SHIELD's fatherly force, Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson).
New to the mix is Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff (Aaron "Kick-Ass" Taylor-Johnson), though not to be confused with Evan Peter's hero in "Days of Future Past"; the Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and the majestic android, the Vision (Paul Bettany, who also voices Stark's digital butler, JARVIS).
The computer angle is big in this sequel, with a robot army on the loose, led by the power-hungry Ultron (voiced by James Spader). However, the concept of fickle technology isn't new in science-fiction/fantasy fables. We've seen it depicted in "Terminator", "2001: a Space Odyssey, and "Colossus: the Forbin Project". As far as acrobatic robots dominating the landscape goes, we've seen that, too, thanks to the RoboCop and Transformers sagas, but "Age of Ultron" somehow manages to keep things fresh, despite the recycled trimmings.
On the flip side, as significant as the mechanical infiltraton is, it never dominates our heroes' presence or their sense of family. Sure, the members possess enough variance to be dysfunctional, but they also subscribe to a common cause: keep Earth safe.
As seized from Hydra's Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann), the technology involved is culled from Loki's scepter: its harbored "artificial intelligence" deemed worthy of implantation in Stark's defense project, designed (ironically) to protect us from villainous penetration.
Ultron, a creation fashioned as a learner/watcher of sorts within the expansive program, develops an egomaniacal consciousness, which then constructs a body and breaks free to take over the world with a league of his own. He's also quite a sight to behold: a towering cross between Superman's Brainiac and a pumped-up Terminator prototype.
Stark is, perhaps, the most adversely affected by the robot rebellion, for having activated the computerized Frankensteins, which leads Rogers to push further toward the Avengers forefront. Considering that Ultron and his army are equivalents to Nazis, Commies, and any other variety of on-and-off-again evil-doers, Cap's prominent presence feels right. After all, this is a war-time mission, and through his cordial relationship with Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), he increases the Avengers' chance for victory with his stalwart perspective.
With this established, the movie advocates that we, as cognitive, freedom-loving creatures, have full right to combat and destroy such cold, calculating monsters. To fight is essential and all-out war (particularly under the film's harrowing circumstances) a non-debatable necessity.
All the same, this staunch angle will likely unsettle negotiation advocates, but as the turmoil mounts under Whedon's emotional script and tense direction, "Age of Ultron" can't help but inspire one's righteous angst: the need to shout out a hardy "action not appeasement". Its message, though seemingly simple, should prove profound for anyone with any sort of practical, moral conviction.
Philosophy aside,the movie is jammed with vivacious action sequences. The prelude is one of the best rendered (and that's saying a lot considering how sleek the Bond intros have been), and the battle between a confused Hulk and Stark's Hulk Buster is a grand feast in it own right, guaranteed to rattle one's senses with rumbles and roars, heightening the adventure to near Wagnerian proportions.
I can't yet say that "Age of Ultron" surpasses the original "Avengers", which had the charming novelty of bringing the gang together, and it's certainly nowhere near as politically intricate as "Winter Soldier". It does, however, soar consistently high, never losing its momentum even when it dares to spotlight the relationships between Hawkeye and his wife, or the burgeoning one between Widow and Banner/Hulk. (The latter scenarios surely could have derailed the film, as had the superfluous romance in "Amazing Spider-man 2".)
Regardless of what the future holds for the Avengers, this current chapter does an admirable job of nurturing the traditional comic-book format. That should certainly please purists. The movie is also a terrific way to start the spring/summer blockbuster season, delivering thrills, chills and above all, a sense of wonderment. So, don't delay; jump on board and join the fun!!!
I saw the latest Thor movie, fancied it quite a lot, despite what the snobbish critics had to say. The new Captain America trailer looks rousing, as well. I think "Winter Soldier" will be another satisfying entry in the Marvel movie series.
Real curious about this new Batman outfit in the upcoming "World's Finest" film. The speculative buzz on it is very stirring, indeed!
PS: (1/28/14) Just wanted to inject a few additional comments onto my Thor post, which was basically initiated on the basis of initiating my blog center. My words at the time were sadly sparse, but I just wished to add that, upon recently revisiting "The Dark World", I found the film even more enjoyable than during the first outing.
Tom Hiddleston's Loki is, indeed most fascinating, fluctuating among villain, brotherly friend and something enigmatically between the extremes. In the end, it's still hard to say where the character precisely stands, and for that, the Thor sequel becomes all the better textured, while throwing Loki back to his mischievous, mythological roots.
All in all, "Dark World" is fun just for the sake of such, even throwing in an ample amount of comedy, which doesn't ever puncture or hinder the plot. Check out the sequel if you haven't already. It'll be time well worth spent, and undoubtedly a nice warm-up to "Winter Soldier".
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