‘It’s the moments between people’: One of the MCU’s most underrated scenes is nothing but superheroes standing around and talking

Poor ol’ Avengers: Age of Ultron is destined to be the MCU‘s also-ran team-up movie. It doesn’t have the novelty of The Avengers or the bombastic plotting and emotional resonance of Infinity War and Endgame. In fact, with writer/director Joss Whedon’s star not so much dipping over the horizon than collapsing into a black hole of bad vibes, some would rather just ignore it altogether.

But there are some jewels in the midst of the wonky plot and forehead-furrowing treatment of Black Widow. Fans over on r/MarvelStudios have identified the low-key farm scenes as a highlight of the movie, as the characters can have an actual conversation without dealing with a city-smashing menace.

We can see where this poster is coming from and it’s nice to see this cast of very talented actors getting a moment to actually do character work rather than posing in front of a blue screen. However, even these conversations are bristling with Whedonisms that just haven’t aged well.

Replies point out that the first act of Endgame also does this, and arguably better. Prior to the team planning their time heist the surviving heroes are just living life, with one poster saying “seeing the characters as actual people in the beginning was more enjoyable to me” than the apocalyptic all-star smash-up that closes out the movie.

In the not-too-distant future, even the shiniest and most expensive CGI spectacle will lose its luster, though cinema history has proven that solid dialogue and talented actors will never truly age.