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Whedon has already mentioned that his original cut of the film was 3.30, and that 1.10 ended up excised for the cinema version. This one really will come out on DVD with an extended Director's Cut so maybe some of that material will slip back in.
Well, I've seen at least one interview where Whedon stressed that there *won't* be a "Director's Cut", that the film is what was released, but that they'd be including a lot of extra scenes and people would see why they weren't used even though Whedon was proud of many of them.
But then I also know that one of the overseas Amazon sites started listing an extended Age of Ultron to be released... and then had to retract it at Disney's insistence. Whether that was because they weren't really planning on releasing one, or whether that was because they thought that people might wait to see that on video instead of going to the theaters now, I'm not sure.
Regardless of whether it's spliced into the film or just included in special features, that's a lot of extra material. Marvel has never done an alternate to the theatrical cuts of one of their films, have they? I know editing was the point of contention between Edward Norton and Marvel Studios... He wanted a longer, more character centered "Incredible Hulk" cut, and they wanted a faster-paced, action oriented Hulk film... and when he didn't get his way, he refused to do any promotion for the film beyond what he was absolutely contractually obligated to do.
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Other scenes we saw in the trailers have been removed from the cinema release too, notably one of a molten Ultron hand rising from a vat of metal and of Thor in that mystic pond with a young woman in the background. There was also a Loki scene removed.
Yes... Thor's little side quest seemed cut down to the bare minimum. I can understand, as it really is a bit too tangential to the story here.
I really wanted an Ultron that could take the combined beating from the team and keep coming... That molten scene suggested such a thing, but never really happened. Ah well.
I did hear that the lady in the pool was part of Thor's vision, and wasn't anyone important (much like all of the random folks surrounding Heimdal). I find it amusing that so many people spent so much internet time theorizing who she was, when it was added to the trailer simply because the marketing team thought it was a cool shot.
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I enjoyed the introduction of Vision's cape.
I loved that too. Lots of people online (likely influenced by "the Incredibles") argue that there's no reason for anyone to wear a cape. I keep pointing out that's not true for the Vision... his can be quite useful (assuming he can density shift, that is...) Besides, it's quite stylish! Who can blame him for taking one look at Thor's and accessorizing likewise?
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Intriguingly, the Vision/Thor relationship was the most interesting on show here. There was more connection between these two characters in this movie than in nearly 50 years of comics. In fct I don't recall there everbeing a substantial scene between those two.
It's true, and they play off of each other surprisingly well. I think movie Thor was happy to have another non-human on the team.
I was a bit surprised that, with the Jarvis origin, the Vision barely had any interaction with Stark following his 'birth'. I'm not even sure that they spoke to each other beyond the "It's true, he hates you most" line. I've heard that Vizh will be in Civil War, and an early rumor of the breakdown had him side with Stark (which seems odd considering his stance in this film.) If so, it'll be interesting to see their interaction.
On a side note, Stark's new armor A.I. "Friday" was a bit out of nowhere... although apparently she was in some comics sometime. I saw in a video going through the Easter Eggs in the film that one of the A.I. options he considers loading was labeled "Jocasta".
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I thought her best moment was her scared-and-hiding scene with Hawkeye. She certainly needs a lot more work to be properly defined.
That was indeed a great scene, and I really enjoyed Hawkeye's honest assessment of the situation.
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If the rumours are true and Cap, Thor, and Iron Man are not in the next Avengers movie (Infinity War 1) then that opens the door for a whole lot more character work on the current B-listers. One reason in the comics that Vizh and Wanda got so much plot attention was that they weren't tied in to books of their own like the big three. That might work to their advantage here too, where neither blockbuster solo films nor prohibitive actor fees would restrain their use.
I know that there was the argument against a Hulk solo film based on keeping the chance to see him special to "Avengers" films. (Of course, apparently Universal would still hold the distribution rights to any solo Hulk movie as well, so that puts a damper on the idea too.) I though that maybe Vizh and the twins would add to that "only in the Avengers" list, but then they decided to throw everyone into next year's "Civil War" anyway.
I do wonder how much development time the Vision can get in "Infinity War" when it seems like Thanos will be ripping a chunk of his head out to assemble the gauntlet.
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It assumed familiarity, but seemed confident in its assumption, requiring audiences to catch up fast. I'm reminded of current Doctor Who, which has stopped making any apologies for what it is and is unafraid to mine 52 years of continuity when it wants to. I'm actually pleased - and shocked - that the Avengers have reached that level of public awareness to be able to pull off the same.
It's a bit weird because the Marvel stuff can mine things in both directions... past and future. Not only do they drop plenty of references to the past batch of films, but we get a really enjoyable set-up for the Black Panther film as well. I thought that Andy Serkis was great as Klaw, and I loved the little accident that befell him.
I had it pointed out to me that Marvel intentionally had someone lose an arm in every "Phase 2" film as a nod to Luke getting his hand chopped off in "The Empire Strikes Back". (The villian in "Iron Man 3", Thor (via Loki's illusions) in "The Dark World", The Winter Soldier, and Groot, respectively.)
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I was disappointed that Thor didn't get to say, "Ultron, we would have words with thee!"
I was surprised they skipped it as well, but I suppose this Thor doesn't break out the "thee's" too often.
