Avengers: Age of Ultron Guide for Beginners

Super-Powered Preparation: Beginners Guide to Avengers: Age of Ultron

In a week, the world’s mightiest heroes re-team for what promises to be an epic battle with one of the most fearsome villains in quite some time. Avengers: Age of Ultron is the eleventh film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and for those of you who missed the last Avengers team-up (although I’m not sure how you could have, given it’s the third highest grossing film domestically ever) you might feel like too much has been missed to fully understand what’s going on. Even if you are caught up with all the Marvel heroes, Age of Ultron is still introducing a number of new characters and tying together multiple story lines that, no matter how talented writer/director Joss Whedon is, might still get confusing.

Never fear, I have assembled a guide that will help explain everything you need to know to go into this movie feeling like an expert. I refrain from using the term “idiots guide” (it just sounds insulting) but for all intents and purposes, that’s what this is.

Preparing for

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

What Happened Last Time?

In 2012’s The Avengers, Thor’s brother Loki (right) showed up on earth and opened a portal using the Tesseract (the blue power cube thing), and brought an army of aliens, The Chitauri, through said portal, which proceeded to destroy New York City and cause mayhem.

To save the day, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) brought together Tony Stark A.K.A. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Steve Rogers A.K.A. Captain America (Chris Evans), Bruce Banner A.K.A. The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and Thor (Chris Hemsworth), as well as Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), thus forming the Avengers team for the first time.

The Chitauri were defeated, the portal was closed, and Loki surrendered. Thor returned Loki and the Tesseract to Asgard (Thor’s home world) and peace was restored. Temporarily… 

What Happened in Phase Two?

The Avengers marked the end of the first phase of films. The first phase kicked off with Iron Man (2008) and The Incredible Hulk (2008), was followed by Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) (which led in to The Avengers) (For more on all of these phase one films, check out my Marvel Movies Ranked CCC list) Phase one has aptly been given the subtitle: Avengers Assembled.

Phase Two began with Iron Man 3 (2013) and Thor: The Dark World (2013), continued with Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), went cosmic with Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), and now here we are at Age of Ultron (2015).

Iron Man 3

Tony Stark faced off against faux-terrorist The Mandarin and angry regenerative scientist Aldrich Killian. Both of them were defeated, with The Mandarin (sorry, I mean Trevor) being incarcerated and Killian being killed. 
 
In the end, Stark destroyed his collection of drones (Iron Man suits that work without anyone being inside) and had the arc reactor (the light circle thing) removed from his chest. 

But he says he’s still Iron Man. 

Thor: The Dark World

Thor defended Asgard and Earth from the evil dark space elf Malekith, and recruited his brother Loki to help defeat him. They did so, but in the final scene, it is revealed Loki—presumed dead after the battle—is on the throne in Asgard disguised as Thor’s dad, Odin! (*gasp!*)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

S.H.I.E.L.D (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division) is infiltrated by the terrorist group Hydra, and Cap is joined by Black Widow and newcomer Falcon to fight against Hydra’s secret weapon, The Winter Soldier. Cap saves S.H.I.E.L.D and discovers The Winter Soldier is actually his friend Bucky Barnes, whom he thought died in WWII. Cap sets off to find out what happened to his friend, and Bucky/Winter Soldier sets off to re-discover who he was before Hydra did whatever it was they did to him.

As far as I can tell at this point, nothing that happened in Guardians of the Galaxy directly connects to what will take place in Age of Ultron (except for one small thing which I’ll touch on later). Writer/Director James Gunn has gone on record as saying the Avengers and the Guardians have their own separate worlds to look after (but we all know those worlds will come crashing together at some point in the future, probably in Avengers: Infinity War Parts 1 and/or 2)

The Cast for Age of Ultron

Like the first Avengers, Age of Ultron has a star-studded cast, including many familiar faces

Note: this is only based on what the trailers and posters indicate. There will likely be other surprise appearances that we don’t know about yet. The fate of these characters is also only speculation on my part, there are no spoilers in what follows, only my own expectations and hypotheses.

Returning Characters

Iron Man!

·         Tony Stark is back to “design everything” and “make everyone look cooler”.

·         He will be unleashing some cool new gadgets and gizmos, including the Hulk-buster armour designed to combat The Hulk.

·         Given that Iron Man has been confirmed as an integral part of next year’s Captain America: Civil War, the likelihood of him surviving the events of Age of Ultron are pretty good.

·         Chance of Survival: High.

Captain America!

•       Cap is back to lead the Avengers team into battle.

•       He will be using his signature star-spangled shield once again.

•       Given his name is in the title of Civil War, one would expect him to live through this to show up for it.

•       Chance of Survival: High.

Thor!

•       Thor will be taking another vacation from Asgard to help out the Avengers on earth.

•       He will be bringing his hammer and all the power it wields with him once again.

•       It’s almost a guarantee this won’t be the last time we see Thor—he’s set to appear in Thor: Ragnarok in 2017, plus he’s a god, so, yeah. Can’t really beat that.

•       Chance of Survival: High.

Hulk!

•       The big green guy finally returns for the first time since the last Avengers team-up, again being played by Mark Ruffalo.

•       Writer/Director Joss Whedon said Hulk has a large part to play in this film.

•       As crazy as it might sound, Hulk’s survival chances are not as good as his fellow Avengers. No solo Hulk film has been announced for Phase Three, and Whedon also said this film will be full of death (plus he loves killing off main characters, remember when Coulson died in the first Avengers?)

•       Chance of survival: Medium.

Black Widow!

•       Scarlett Johansson reprises her role as Black Widow, making this her fourth film appearance.

•       From the trailer and poster, it appears she has new electric-baton mechanisms.

•       As a less-powerful member of the team, it seemed her survival was unlikely based on Joss Whedon’s comments and some certain shots in the trailer, but she is lined up to appear in Captain America: Civil War.

•       Chance of Survival: High.

Hawkeye!

•       Hawkeye is back—like Hulk, for the first time since the last Avengers film.

•       His outfit looks a bit cooler than last time—black is the new black?

•       Being less-powerful and more of a secondary hero (like Black Widow) and not a particular fan-fave, there was a lot of speculation about whether or not Hawkeye would live to the end of Age of Ultron, but like Black Widow, he has been confirmed for Avengers 2.5—oops, I mean, Captain America: Civil War. But does confirmed mean certain survival?

•       Chance of Survival: Medium-to-High.

Nick Fury!

•       The original Avengers-assembler returns.

•       Given that he almost died in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and everyone thought he was dead, will everyone be all that surprised if this is Nick Fury’s last appearance?

•       Chance of Survival: Low.

James Rhodes!

•       Rhodey took on the role of War Machine in Iron Man 2, then got a paint job and became Iron Patriot for Iron Man 3

•       Rhodey returns, this time as War Machine, but he might not play a large part overall in Age of Ultron (Possibly will be in final battle)

•       He’s not a major character, but he is Tony Stark’s buddy, and from what we know of the upcoming Civil War, Stark is heading down a dark path. Rhodey’s death would definitely contribute to that.

•       Chance of Survival: Low.

Maria Hill!

•       Though she didn’t factor in to the big picture in the previous Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D agent Maria Hill was an important part of the mission, and has since appeared on the TV show Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D
(Cobie Smulders)

•       Although she does appear in a couple of the trailers, Hill’s role in Age of Ultron will likely be comparable to her role before (minor)

•       Chance of Survival: Medium.

Falcon!

•       According to the poster, Anthony Mackie will be (briefly) returning as Falcon.

•       Falcon has only appeared in last year’s The Winter Soldier so far, so it might seem like a safe bet that he’ll stick around to play a part in Civil War, but he’s also inexperienced. Will he join the Avengers in battle? His role is unclear, but he will likely help out cap in the near future.

•       Chance of Survival: High.

New Characters

There are several noteworthy characters appearing for the first time. Some are good, some are bad, and some are a bit of both.

Scarlet Witch!

•       Technically first appearing in a mid-credits scene for The Winter Soldier, Wanda Maximoff, A.K.A. Scarlet Witch, has hypnosis and telekinetic powers.

•       She is the brother of Pietro Maximoff, A.K.A Quicksilver (another newbie) and will not be on the Avengers’ side to begin with.

•       Her powers seem quite formidable, plus she’s a former Hydra prisoner, so she should be tough enough to make it through this film.

•       Chance of Survival: High.

 

 Quicksilver!

•       Brother of Scarlet Witch, this Quicksilver is not the same one that appeared in last year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past.

•       Quicksilver has super speed and, like his sister, is not a hero at the start of the film.

•       There are two things that make it seem likely he will die by the end. 1, this is the second version of Quicksilver and last year’s X-Men version was beloved, and 2, there is a shot in the trailer of Scarlet Witch screaming—maybe because her bro just got toasted?

•       Chance of Survival: Low.

 

Ulysses Klaw!

•       Andy Serkis, an actor famous for his motion capture (wearing a spandex suit that is turned into a cgi character later, ex. Cesar from Rise of the Planet of the Apes) is playing the role of the villainous Ulysses Klaw.

•       He was shown in the trailer a couple times for a split second (see pics) and that’s it.

•       Nothing is known about him so far, except apparently he is an enemy of the Avengers in the comics, as well as an enemy of Black Panther, who will be getting his own movie in 2018.

•       Chance of Survival: High.

The Vision!

•       An old friend with a new face: Tony Stark’s reliable A.I. Known as J.A.R.V.I.S. will become the android known as Vision.

•       Unlike in the comics, this Vision will be built by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, to help fight the main threat in this film (speaking of A.I...) But does he start as a hero or a villain? It’s unclear at this point. (He starts bad in the comics and becomes good)

•       Vision is being kept quite secretive, but will play an important role. He’ll likely come back to help the Avengers in future films.

•       Chance of Survival: High.

And Finally...
 

Ultron!

•       The villain in the title, Ultron is the creation of Tony Stark, who was trying to make a protector for earth, but the artificial intelligence that is Ultron becomes self aware (Terminator-ish?) and decides all humans must be killed.

•       Ultron will have several forms throughout the film, and will be voiced by James Spader.

•       Ultron is self-replicating, meaning he has an army of lesser Ultrons (known as Ultron Sentinels) that obey his every command (making him Ultron Prime)

•       He has been described as a Frankenstein-like villain, in the way that he was created in the image of his creator (he bears an uncanny resemblance to Iron Man, doesn’t he?) and wants to destroy his creator.

•       Also, as you can clearly see, there are no strings on him.

•       Because Ultron is self-replicating and extremely intelligent, he will not only be a difficult enemy to defeat, but he can return in multiple forms (which he has done many times in the comics). This means the chances of Ultron surviving past this film are quite good. Or bad, depending on whose side you’re on.

What Will the Future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Be Like After This?

Originally, Age of Ultron was to mark the end of Phase Two, but now Ant-Man, which comes out a couple months after Age of Ultron, is going to be the final Phase Two film.

Ultron will undoubtedly leave a mark on the Avengers, and the world as a whole, and whether or not he’ll be connected to other story threads is yet to be seen.

Don’t forget, super villain Loki is still secretly in control of Asgard, and the villainous alien Thanos is searching for the infinity stones so he can use the infinity gauntlet to take over the universe (Thanos was teased at the end of the first Avengers, and was featured as the boss of the villain Ronan in Guardians of the Galaxy, see pics). Loki is by default in control of the infinity gauntlet, which resides in Asgard, and chances are, they will be teaming up or making some kind of deal somewhere down the line.

Will Ultron, at some point, possibly join in their conquest to rule the universe, and destroy humanity?

Loki being in control of Asgard will definitely be a big part of the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok, but it might even be addressed in Age of Ultron.

As for the rest of the Avengers, this battle with Ultron may be just as epic as another upcoming war...

Next year’s Captain America: Civil War will have Tony Stark/Iron Man fighting Steve Rogers/Captain America, in an epic hero vs. hero battle. Age of Ultron will definitely be setting this up. Not only is Civil War going to have all kinds of heroes choosing whose side to be on, but will also introduce a brand new Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe!

Going back to Ant-Man, if we don’t see an after-credits scene featuring Spider-Man after Age of Ultron, then chances are pretty good we’ll see one during the end credits of Ant-Man, and we’ll see an Ant-Man tease after Age of Ultron instead.

Ant-Man will also tie directly in to Age of Ultron, but in what ways is not yet certain (apparently at least some of the events take place at the same time Age of Ultron takes place, so to get the full Ultron experience, we’ll need to see it as well)

In the comics, Hank Pym (the first Ant-Man) is the one who creates Ultron, not Tony Stark, so this might be something they address in Ant-Man.

So there you have it, folks. Whatever does go down, it should be awesome, but I hope you enjoyed my theories and recaps of the previous films!

Marvel Movies Ranked! C.C.C. Issue #38

 

Top Ten Movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (All Ten films released so far ranked from worst to best)

The highly anticipated Avengers: Age of Ultron comes out on May 1^st, marking the eleventh film entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or MCU for short). Marvel has had some ups and downs since launching this huge interconnected franchise of films and TV shows, and now it’s time to rank them from worst to best.  Warning: spoilers for all ten films ahead.  

10. Thor: The Dark World (2013)

This follow-up to both The Avengers and the first Thor is perhaps the most inconsequential film in the MCU so far. Before I get into what’s wrong with Thor: The Dark World, let me point out the good parts. Thor actually fights a lot of bad guys this time and there’s more action than in the first Thor. Loki returns and is more of a trickster this time around, which is truer to his character in the comics. He has a lot of great scenes with Thor, and this is probably the best aspect of the whole film. The signature Marvel humour is at full force, but at some points it becomes a little too silly to be enjoyable if you’re over the age of ten. The plot is centered on defeating the dark elf Malekith, who’s the most one-dimensional stock villain ever. He’s trying to get the Aether, some mysterious substance that’s one of the infinity stones which is important for setting up Avengers: Infinity War, but in this storyline it comes off as just another MacGuffin. If there isn’t an action scene happening, and if Thor and Loki aren’t interacting, it’s pretty dull. Almost nothing in this film impacts the Marvel universe. Of all ten of these films, this is the one I liked the least not just the first time, but upon repeated viewings. It still has moments of fun and entertaining action, it just doesn’t live up to the quality of previous installments in the MCU.

9. Iron Man 2 (2010)

One of the things Marvel has done so well is deliver great standalone films that also tie in directly to other films in the universe and setup future events. Iron Man 2 handles the introduction of new characters, tie-ins to other films, and setup of future films with a lack of ease. We get properly introduced to Nick Fury, as well as Natasha Romanoff, who’s undercover for S.H.I.E.L.D, and we learn more about James Rhodes, who gets his own suit of armour and becomes War Machine. Ivan Vanko, the big bad who uses the arc reactor technology to make weapons of his own and has a personal grudge against Tony Stark, poses the biggest problem. Justin Hammer, a weapons manufacturer, helps out Vanko, who tries to take down Stark, but together with Rhodes, they defeat both of them. Vanko is a disappointing villain, who’s too easily dispatched at the end, and the film lacks the focus the first Iron Man had. Coming off the hugely successful and popular first film, it’s not surprising that Iron Man 2 was seen as mostly a step down, but I still enjoy it. The character of Tony Stark is further developed, while also delivering enough Iron Man action, and Don Cheadle easily slips into the role of Rhodes, even though I liked Terence Howard better. Overall, Iron Man 2 serves as further setup for the MCU, but still has enough entertaining scenes to make it mostly good on its own.

8. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

After 2003’s Hulk, expectations for another Hulk film were so low, just about anything would have seemed better than that abomination. As it turned out, The Incredible Hulk was better, and it re-introduced Bruce Banner/The Hulk (played this time by Edward Norton) without an origin story, as well as introduced the mutated monstrosity Abomination, who was a much more formidable enemy than anything in the 2003 film. Unfortunately, The Incredible Hulk doesn’t have the same re-watchability factor that other Marvel films have, but it still succeeds in multiple ways. The Hulk is formidable and actually does some damage this time around, as does Abomination, and the final fight is pretty awesome. The filmmakers still managed to work in some humour, despite an overall more serious tone, and it makes a great connection to Iron Man at the end (which only came out a month earlier). Where it falls short is the inconsequentiality of the overall story. When I think back to The Incredible Hulk, I don’t remember much about the characters or story beyond the basic elements. The film served more as a re-launch of the character, and it did manage to do that, but not having Edward Norton continue in the role was disappointing (until Mark Ruffalo blew everyone away in The Avengers). Its lack of impact on the MCU, which was still early in development (this was only the second film, remember) is ultimately what makes it less memorable.

7. Iron Man 3 (2013)

The Avengers was a tough act to follow, and while I was initially kind of disappointed by Iron Man 3, I respect a lot of the risks director Shane Black took with the story and the character, and while not all of them worked, Iron Man 3 is not without great moments. The scene that stands out to me is when the helicopters shoot down Tony Stark’s house and it crumbles into the ocean (the scene teased in all the trailers). This was an extremely well-directed action sequence, and the visual effects achieve the quality that fans have come to expect from Iron Man films. Speaking of Iron Man, that was one of the problems with this three-quel. We got a lot of Tony Stark, but not much of him in the suit. This wouldn’t have been as forgivable if RDJ wasn’t so damn likeable and entertaining, both inside and outside the armour. The big twist of course with the Mandarin went over like a lead balloon, but it was a ballsy misdirection and genuinely surprising, even if for the wrong reason. In the end, Iron Man 3 lacks the power of Phase One Tony Stark, and the plot is uneven, but it still delivers enough action to be worthwhile for Marvel die-hards.

6. Thor (2011)

Of all the principal Marvel heroes, Thor was my least-favourite as a kid. First of all, he’s a god? It was too much a fantasy element in contrast to the more science-fiction-based Marvel stories I loved like Spider-Man and Hulk and Fantastic Four. Second, his outfit looked ridiculous. That hat with the wings sticking off it, and a big billowing cape, and a tiny little hammer for a weapon? Lame! And third, Thor had no famous enemies that I knew of. I was semi-familiar with Loki, and that was all. But when trailers for Marvel’s Thor origin film started coming out, I realized he looked a lot more badass than I remembered from comics and cartoons as a kid, and I gave the film a shot. Thor successfully brought the hero to the mainstream in a way that everyone enjoyed and accepted. They gave him a much cooler getup, did an effective job of connecting Asgard to the larger galactic picture, as well as to earth, and blending those sci-fi and fantasy elements, and introduced Loki as a good guy who becomes a bad guy (and would return for Avengers a year later). But most importantly, Thor had the sense of humour needed for skeptics (like me) to buy into the hero and this huge world he’s a part of, and Chris Hemsworth made Thor a cooler dude than he ever was in the comics.  

5. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

When I first heard Chris Evans was going to be playing Steve Rogers/Captain America, I thought it was a bad casting choice and I wasn’t really interested in the film. He had already played The Human Torch in two Fantastic Four films (which weren’t so fantastic) and much like Thor, I never really cared for Captain America (not just because I’m Canadian). I still went to see it, and while I can’t say I was blown away, I left feeling genuinely surprised and satisfied that Captain America: The First Avenger was another great Marvel film. They had a lot of back story and ground to cover to get Cap up to speed for The Avengers, and it took me a few viewings to appreciate how well they did with delivering a solid story while also tying it in to the ever-expanding MCU. Chris Evans was great as Cap, and I’ve since forgotten about him as Human Torch. Of all the films in the MCU, I think this is the one that got better with repeated viewings. It’s a period piece and a war drama at its core, but it still has the Marvel essentials and delivers a good enough story on its own without solely relying on setting up The Avengers.  

4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

After the Captain America origins story and then seeing him thrust into The Avengers, I was interested but not thrilled about seeing the character again. After The Winter Soldier, Captain America launched to the top of my favourite Marvel heroes list (right below Iron Man, of course) and this sequel proved to be yet another home run for Marvel. The signature Marvel humour and fun is still ever-present, but bringing back Bucky Barnes as the brainwashed Winter Solider and having Hydra take over S.H.I.E.L.D added darker elements and higher stakes to the story, and the resulting team-up between Cap and Black Widow made me understand both characters more and root for both of them more than I did even in The Avengers. With the origins out of the way, Marvel was clever to take Captain America in a new direction and make The Winter Soldier a spy thriller on top of still being an action adventure film, which made it feel fresh and exciting, and added further anticipation for Age of Ultron. This was the first Phase Two film that I thought was better than just great—it was marvellous (no pun intended).

3. The Avengers (2012)

Not only did The Avengers pose a daunting challenge for writer/director Joss Whedon, but expectations were already high just based on the premise of bringing together Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye and having them all in one film. No studio had ever attempted a superhero film this epic and this bold, but leave it to Marvel Studios to be the first to assemble a giant team of heroes, and do so in the best way possible. Loki opening a portal over New York City and bringing through an alien army certainly warranted such a team-up, and while some of the elements of the story are familiar (we’ve seen aliens invade and destroy a city how many times in a movie?) the chemistry (and hostility) between all these heroes is what makes you buy into the whole thing. Add to that a charismatic villain, top-notch visual effects, loads of hilarious jokes and moments, and you have the makings of one of the best superhero films of all-time. I definitely loved The Avengers as much as everyone else, but I did feel there were a few things that could have been improved, and this is just one of the reasons I’m so excited for Avengers: Age of Ultron, which will likely turn out to be even better than this first-ever Avengers Assembly.

2. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

What do you get when you take a rogue Han Solo-like character, a green-skinned alien assassin, a grey-skinned brute out to avenge the death of his family, a talking Raccoon with an affinity for weapons and crass jokes, and a walking, talking tree with a limited vocabulary and the biggest heart of them all, and you put them all in a movie with aliens that include pink and blue skinned creatures, a guy with a giant hammer (who isn’t Thor), another guy who collects stuff from all over the universe, and Howard the Duck? You get Guardians of the Galaxy! Marvel took a huge risk by putting together this rag tag group of sort-of-heroes no one had ever heard of before, but they got the perfect cast (Chris Pratt is now in the conversation for every big role it seems), hired the perfect writer/director (James Gunn is returning to do Guardians of the Galaxy 2), and went all-out with the humour and self-awareness to the point that it almost becomes more of a comedy than a superhero film, but in a good way. The craziest part is that everything came together and it all works so well. The film went from what I thought looked weird and might be Marvel’s first misfire to my second favourite (a very close second) Marvel film to date.  Most people seemed to enjoy Avengers more over Guardians, and perhaps expectations influenced my enjoyment of one over the other, but what I enjoyed most was how different Guardians felt from everything else Marvel has done.

1. Iron Man (2008)

The film that launched the MCU, re-launched Robert Downey Jr. into stardom, and kicked off what has become one of the biggest film franchises of all-time, the first Iron Man is not only my favourite film in the MCU, but one of my favourite superhero films ever. It’s easy to forget that virtually everyone who wasn’t a comic geek didn’t even know who Iron Man was before 2008. Director Jon Favreau balanced the action, visual effects, and spectacle of the Iron-suited hero with his equally exciting alter ego Tony Stark—arguably the best-cast superhero role since Michael Keaton as Batman. RDJ delivers clever dialogue, his interactions with the other characters are hysterical, and seeing his rise from a man who builds weapons and reaps the benefits for himself  to a hero who turns himself into a weapon, but one that’s designed to save mankind, is truly fascinating. The elements we’ve come to expect from Marvel films originate here, with the blend of action and explosions with one liners and laugh-out-loud moments. It may be nearly impossible for any future film in the MCU to be able to surpass Iron Man for me (Age of Ultron has a good shot), but one thing is for sure, all subsequent Marvel films owe their success to this, the one that started it all. 

MCU image from www.comicbookmovie.com

Posters from www.wikipedia.org 

C.C.C. Issue #37: Ten Movies I should have seen by now (but haven't)

 Top Ten Movies I should have seen by now but haven’t (as of April 2015)

Welcome back to CCC! I’ve been away watching movies (big surprise, I know) but now I’m back, and hopefully will have a new update every 7-10 days.

Everyone who knows me knows I watch a lot of movies. What they might not know is that I usually try to watch movies that have subject matter I know I’ll be interested in. This is why I’ve seen so many garbage films like King of the Lost World or Boa vs. Python or A Sound of Thunder. More recently I’ve started focusing on watching critically acclaimed movies or ones deemed “classics” and those “must-see” movies for anyone who is a fan of film.

I have failed to watch many movies other people consider some of their favourites. It’s not that I don’t care; it’s just that there have been so many other movies I found more interesting, that these ten have not yet found their way onto my TV screen.

10. The Patriot (2000)

This one, despite only being number ten on the list, is particularly embarrassing. I have owned the blu ray for over four years, and I have yet to pop the disc in and watch. On several occasions I intended to, but failed. Although it didn’t get widespread critical praise, The Patriot is often considered director Roland Emmerich’s best film, and more historically accurate than the next entry on this list.

9. Braveheart (1995)

Mel Gibson’s epic film which won the Oscar for Best Picture has eluded me for a long time. For some reason, whenever I thought about needing to watch Braveheart, I also thought about needing to watch Gladiator. So when I encountered both on sale at Best Buy, I should have bought both, but instead went cheap and arbitrarily picked Gladiator only. Since then, I haven’t found the blu ray of Braveheart on sale anywhere. It may take number eight on this list, but it will never take, my money! Ok, that was a bad parallel of the famous quote, I admit it. Let’s move on.

8. Scanners (1981)

I’m a big fan of David Cronenberg’s—The Fly is one of my favourite horror films ever—but Scanners, one of his most well-respected pieces of work, is something I have still yet to see. I’m aware of the premise, that people with telekinetic powers cause other people’s heads to explode and this leads to mayhem. I’m also aware it’s considered one of the best horror films of the early eighties, but the main reason it’s a travesty that I’ve never seen it, is the fact that my mom’s cousin has a small part in it! Forget the fact that I’m a huge horror fan and Cronenberg fan (who’s also a Canadian by the way); it has a family member of mine in it! If the Criterion Collection blu ray for Scanners wasn’t 40 bucks, I would have seen it by now, but maybe I’ll shell out the cash for it if my budget will allow once October comes around. 

7. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

 

This cult classic comedy stars Jon Heder as the title character, and was pretty popular when I was in elementary and middle school. For some reason, I never thought it looked that funny and so never got around to watching it. I feel like I should have seen it by now, though. The opportunity hasn’t come yet; it’s never on TV and never on sale at any stores. I’m familiar with some of the quotes (Vote for Pedro still means nothing to me) and the scene where he says he hunted Wolverines with his uncle. Aside from that, Napoleon Dynamite is mostly an enigma to me.

6. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Ben-Hur and this film are the two great epics which I feel I should have seen by now. First off, I’m a fan of epic films. Spartacus, Lord of the Rings, 2001: A Space Odyssey? Bring em’ on. I attempted to watch Ben-Hur once and got through the first hour. It was deleted from my PVR by accident, so I haven’t had a chance to watch it again since. Lawrence of Arabia has been on my list for a long time, and I attempted to see it not long ago but couldn’t get past the first hour, then when I went back to finish it, I found Netflix had removed it. I’ve read about the film, and am a fan of Alec Guinness (who played Obi Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy). Unfortunately, I haven’t yet found a suitable spare 228 minutes to finish viewing this epic masterpiece in its entirety.

5. Gone with the Wind (1939)

 

I saw my mom watching this on TV the other day, for like the twentieth time (she claims). I promised I would sit down and watch it with her one day, as I can’t see myself putting it on and sitting through this nearly four hour historical epic romance alone. Romance isn’t my favourite genre, really long movies test my ability to sit and pay attention for a lengthy period of time, and history was never my favourite subject in school. Despite having never seen it, I’m still familiar with famous quotes and scenes from the film. To those of you who think I definitely should have seen this by now, I say: I don’t give a damn (quite frankly, that is).

4. Night of the Living Dead (1968)

I’m a big fan of horror films, and the zombie sub-genre is one that’s exploded in recent years. I always enjoy a good undead rampage, and no one has done the zombie more justice than George Romero, the legendary director who put the flesh-eating creatures on the map and kicked off the zombie craze with his directing debut, Night of the Living Dead. This black and white, low budget horror film remains a staple of the genre and is the inspiration for virtually every zombie flick to follow. I’ve seen other entries in Romero’s ongoing ...Of the Dead series, which includes Land of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead (the original) and Day of the Dead. Night of the Living Dead has been released on home video multiple times, but I’ve never come across a DVD or blu ray of it in stores. I’ve seen clips of it, know lots about it, but have never seen the whole thing. I want to one day marathon all of the Romero zombie films, and plan on starting with this one—the one that started it all. 

3. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)

This fantasy comedy, which combines live-action actors with animated cartoon characters, is something I was aware of as a kid, but for whatever reason, had no interest in watching. I had no idea until I was much older that Who Framed Roger Rabbit takes place in the fictional locale of Toon Town, and I’m still not entirely sure if it features actual Looney Tunes characters, or just references them. Either way, I should have seen this classic family adventure by now. Director Robert Zemeckis has had varying success over the course of his career, but Who Framed Roger Rabbit is often considered his best film next to Back to the Future, which many (including myself) would say is his best work. I’ve heard many film buffs reference the craft behind Roger Rabbit, the quality which still holds up to this day, and just the originality behind it. As a huge Looney Tunes fan, it’s weird and disappointing I haven’t seen it yet.

2. Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie (2014)

If you aren’t familiar with The Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN) web series, then chances are you don’t know anything about this independently-produced feature film. If you do know about AVGN and are a fan, then you might understand why it’s unacceptable that I haven’t seen this. AVGN creator James Rolfe created this film with his long-time friend Kevin Finn using fan donations, and made the film specifically for his dedicated fan base. I’ve heard mixed to positive things about AVGN: The Movie, but as a huge fan not only of the web series, but of everything Rolfe does, I feel bad that I haven’t yet bought the blu ray, which has been available since November of last year. I’ve been planning to buy it ever since the release, but even so, as a fan, I feel like I’ve let Mr. Rolfe down. I will rectify this as soon as humanly possible, for The F**kin'  Nerd! 

1. Blade Runner (1982)

This is by far the one movie I’m most embarrassed about having not seen. It isn’t from a genre I’m unfamiliar with: it’s from my favourite genre. It isn’t from a director I don’t like: Ridley Scott is legendary. It stars Harrison Ford in his prime, which is a major plus. Really, there is no good reason why I haven’t seen Blade Runner. I felt like I had to go big or go home when it came to buying this movie on blu ray, so instead of settling for the one disc version, I waited and planned on buying the five disc complete collector’s edition. When I was finally ready to purchase it, I discovered that version was discontinued. Discouraged, I didn’t bother getting the single disc and have decided to wait until I come across the five disc version online or in store. The fact that I haven’t seen what is widely considered one of the greatest sci-fi films ever saddens me as much as I’m sure it saddens you.