Agents of SHIELD- "One Door Closes" [SPOILER-ish?]

Marvel throws down the gauntlet with Age of Ultron! [SPOILERS] [SERIOUSLY. PLOT DETAILS MENTIONED]

First of all Age of Ultron was AWESOME. I mean, first Captain America; The Winter Soldier then Guardians of the Galaxy, and now AoU- the Marvel/Disney marriage seems to be holding firm so far- certainly there seems to be no loss of momentum from the MCU.

The pace of this movie was pretty intense, but allowed for a lot of character development, most especially from Clint Barton (Hawkeye) and Bruce Banner (Hulk), the former of whom spent most of the first Avengers brainwashed and slightly psychotic. This time however, we learn that Barton- when not risking life and limb avenging- has a wife, two kids (with a third on the way) and spends most of his time on home improvements! Yes, this group of f*cked-up superheroes isn't quite as f*cked-up as we first thought! The second act where we learn all this allows for a nice break between action sets, without ever quite losing the tension of the overall movie. And we get to see Banner and Natasha Romanoff open up to each other just how much they care for each other. To the point where they'd both run away from the situation- from humankind in general- to be together (if Romanoff had her way). And it plays without feeling incredibly sappy, especially when Natasha reveals the "ceremony" the successful Black Widows go through to graduate! (Oh yeah- there's a f*cked up Soviet program that trains young girls into assassins. Through daaaaaaaaance!). Namely they're sterilised. Yes folks! State-funded spaying for children! 

That's not to say it's all either a) action pieces that'll leave you dizzy, or b) emotional trauma of the childhood and PTSD kind. There's a lot of humour in this flick. Possibly more than the fist. You have Captain America telling Tony Stark to mind his language in that way only an old-fashioned grand-parent can. You have the moment Thor realises Cap might, just might be able to lift mjolnir (as well as the rest of the gang getting in on the act..). Even Ultron, the big bad himself, as some great lines.

The major worry for me with this movie, the Maximoff twins, turned out not to be such a worry too. Of course in the comics they were Magneto's children. So I was wondering how they could be introduced into the MCU with out daddy (currently owned by 20th Century Fox)? Well the long and short answer is- HYDRA. Yup, the Nazi established institute apparently weren't content with destroying SHIELD from the inside, experimenting on innocent Inhumans and generally giving Coulson a migraine. They were into human experimentation as well. The twins, having stared death in the face with an unexploded Stark missile, have a grudge against the Avengers, and start working on destabilising them with Ultron. But when the insane robotic mastermind takes things too far- giving Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch) a vision (hehe) of the future, the twins switch teams, snarking and sassing the A-team all the while.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen do a stand-up job at playing the twins, holding their own very well against established characters. It is a bit disconcerting to see them playing brother and sister after watching them make-out in Godzilla as man and wife, but I did get over it, especially when they start kicking any-and-all ass.

It's also nice to have Wakanda get a mention, a little hint at the Black Panther movie. There's also a hint at the next Thor film (hints at Ragnarok and the fall of Asgard). Bucky Barnes hasn't entirely been forgotten, as Sam Wilson pops up to hint at his search for him (as well as at the end ;D).

The Vison (Paul Bettany) is the movie's (and the Avengers) ace in the hole though. An android created by Ultron, initially to be Ultron, is uploaded with a modified version of J.A.R.V.I.S- Starks long-suffering E-Butler. Combined with a hybrid body of Vibranium (the near indestructible stuff Caps shield is made of), energy provided by Thor and mjolnir AND an infinity stone, Vision provides the downfall for James Spader's Ultron, and apparently becomes a member of a growing Avengers by the final scene.

Speaking of final scenes; the post-credits scene. Now there was a leak of this supposed "scene" a couple of days ago, featuring Spider-Man. I can tell you now (if you wish it) that that is not what you get. Let's just say; Thanos is present, and he's getting uppity. You may be able to guess the rest from the wording I chose in the header.

All in all it was a great film, and far more happened then I can describe here (after all, Andy Serkis didn't get a mention. Except he was awesome too so..). Go see it. You won't regret it.

Agents of SHIELD- Love in the Time of Hydra [SPOILERS]

Yeah, right.

An interesting turn of events brings Edward James Olmos into the spotlight this week, with his version of SHIELD that seems convinced that it is incapable of making the same "mistakes" as Nick Fury's agency, whilst, at the same time making all new mistakes (along with the old ones, of course). New SHIELDs first mistake? To think that they could keep Lance Hunter (Nick Blood) under lock and key. After being thoroughly unconvinced by New!SHIELD's campaign speech (sorry- in election mode in the UK), he makes a daring escape thorough a half-dozen armed guards and off of the floating base. 

A few good men. Well, two good men..

And Fitz! Bless his highland-heart, he and Hunter are two of the last sane men standing in SHIELD, and (barring any surprise twists- which could always happen) the two whom I trust the most, consider the most optimistic and hopeful- which Agents of SHIELD has been lacking since the HYDRA takeover. Fitz's belief in Skye is a)justified (we all know that, given time, she can control her powers. But it's time not many seem willing to trust her with. Except Coulson, of course.) and b) heartwarming and heartbreaking. Heartwarming because of point A, and heartbreaking when compared with Simmons' descent into mistrust and suspicion against all her season 1 beliefs and her friendship with Fitz (and now Skye). She just cannot adapt and accept the fact that they've changed, and so has she. And I don't want her to be a brainwashed HYDRA agent- but the writing constantly points that way. Though kudos to Elizabeth Henstridge for making me feel frustrated with Simmons.

And Grant Ward. Agent 33. I had wondered where you'd been. Mostly plotting their revenge on Sunil Bakshi, if the break-in to Talbot's military base is anything to go by. They appear to be in the process of brain-washing the hapless HYDRA fanatic at the end of the episode, though to what end.. well, we'll have to wait I guess. 

Agents of SHIELD- One of Us [SPOILERS]

"You wanna meet the real SHIELD now?"

(Or, I butcher a well known line from Firefly).

Well, The real SHIELD. Intriguing, if a little annoying that the "real" SHIELD are equally as bureaucratic as the original.

Of course the real meat of this episode is Skye's handling of her powers. Or lack thereof.

Of course it isn't helped that her colleagues- her family- have little or no faith in her (aside from Fitz, who continues to be a Godsend for this show). They lump her on an official "list" of gifted individuals who SHIELD alternatively want to lock up, use or destroy. Lovely vote of confidence. AND May's ex-husband (a former SHIELD shrink) is bought in to effectively confirm everyone's worst fears. And he sort of does- but at least he's doing it from the angle of 'what's best for Skye, not for everyone else. Which earns him some leeway. The rest? Really Coulson? A psych eval, ordred by you, a guy who died and came back from a 'magical place' without ANY PTSD. At. All. And May, so ashamed of her past and afraid of her own abilities in the first series you seemingly didn't want to join Coulson's team. And Simmons! Who was in so much denial about Fitz, wanting him to be better and yet not accepting of the change in him, of who he was now, she'd rather bugger off on a dangerous undercover mission with HYDRA.. These people are judging Skye? 

Bloody hypocrites.

Still very good episode, getting me riled. Bonus!appearance from the Inhumans- who appear to break up the epic level spat between Skye's dad+minions of evil and SHIELD (current SHIELD, not "real" SHIELD. Confused?).

Agents of SHIELD "Who You Really Are" [SPOILER LIGHT]- A review in 140 characters. Sort of?

Guess who's back?

Bobbi Morse to Mack

On Skye's epic meltdown 

Seriously.. This was a BIG gun

And my favourite; May asks amnesiac Sif if she's heard of Thor. A smile graces the Asgardians face, with no idea why..