Film Preview: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Poster

Poster #1

Additional posters can be found below.

Trailer Link

Release Date:

May 1, 2015

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and it is up to The Avengers to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plans.”

Poster: C / B (8) / B+ / B / C+ (7) / C+ (4) / C

Review: (#1) Disney and Marvel have a standard operating procedure for their first posters. It’s a simple, foreshadowing design that doesn’t give any details away and really won’t appeal to anyone outside of the core fanbase. This is a perfectly, bland example of that. (#2-#9) These eight posters form one larger battle scene design, but they are entirely hand-drawn. They may resemble the characters from the film, but it isn’t an actual scene from the film. It’s a cool effect, especially when put together, but that’s about it. NOTE: the sizes of the designs below have been decreased to fit in the four-panel-wide and two-panel-high layout they were designed for. They are not numbered, but aren’t distinctive enough to require it. Future posters for this film will be numbered for ease of reference.

(#10 & #11) These are almost identical images with the background determining the better design. With (#10), you have a more dynamic exciting background, which proves the backing can make or break a poster. (#12-#18) These character designs meet the bare minimum requisites for such work, distinctive backgrounds and semi-unique poses. That they don’t go far beyond that is disappointing.

(#19-#22) First, the heroes got their time in the sun. Now the villains get their chance and they are right on par with the prior seven designs. (#23) East Asian poster art can sometimes be a bit bizarre, but this one isn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. It’s still not that great either way.

Trailer: C+ / B- / C

Review: (#1) It’s a teaser and anyone who’s a fan of the franchise will be intrigued, but there’s not enough here to get truly excited over. There are snippets of each character and hints at internal conflict (again), but it lacks the defining characteristics that would make it a definitive teaser.

(#2) A full-fledged that’s sure to please fans of the franchise. It establishes an action-heavy environment focused on internal conflict between the Avengers while fighting a greater foe. It’s a conventional trailer with no real element of suspense and a lack of narrative thrust.

(#3) It’s surprising how little these trailers lack genuine excitement. Perhaps it’s familiarity with the films that make the designs feel unoriginal. There’s a lack of energy in these trailers in spite of copious amount of action. There are some interesting scenes that portend some interesting situations in the film, but they are ineffective in bringing up the whole, which is so generically constructed that it even features the requisite post-title brief flash of a scene.

Oscar Prospects:

The first Avengers film was a nominee for Best Visual Effects and the Iron Man effect should carry it to a second. Sound Mixing and Sound Editing are also possible, but all other categories are unlikely.

Revisions:

(October 26, 2014) Original
(January 18, 2015) New Trailer (#2)
(March 8, 2015) New Trailer (#3) / New Posters (#10-#18)
(April 26, 2015) New Posters (#19-#23)