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Tuckered out on Marvel

Tyler Wilson/Special to the Press | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 years, 8 months AGO
by Tyler Wilson/Special to the Press
| May 1, 2015 9:00 PM

As you read this sentence, "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" made another million dollars. Are you reading this sentence? Great, that's another million bucks for good ol' Walt Disney.

While that's a bit of an exaggeration, the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is projected to make more than $200 million at the domestic box office this weekend. Analysts expect "Age of Ultron" to crack a billion worldwide in a matter of days.

Its success has been assumed for months, but Disney and Marvel continue to blast the Internet with new clips from the movie, as well as casting announcements for movies several years down the road.

I need a break.

I was excited to see "Age of Ultron" after the first trailer and its tease of the Hulk fighting Iron Man in his "Hulkbuster" suit. Really, I didn't need a teaser to know I'd be giving Disney my money this weekend. The quality of the first "Avengers" and the return of director Joss Whedon were reason enough to give "Age of Ultron" a shot.

I don't think I'm alone in this sentiment. So why has Disney flooded the media with so much of the movie? I've seen four minutes of the Hulk vs. Iron Man fight, three trailers and probably a half dozen other scenes from the movie.

I've been trying to avoid this spoilery content for weeks now, but it's hard to avoid. Clips start playing automatically on my Facebook feed, on commercials before YouTube videos, and I think once as a hologram displayed from the drone spying on my house.

There's not much surprise in the outcome of the movie, either. News about who's in and what happens in next year's "Captain America: Civil War" is also everywhere, and we even have a semi-confirmed roster for the two-part "Avengers: Infinity War" in 2018.

Nevermind the fact that "Avengers: Age of Ultron" already opened most everywhere around the world except North America - meaning plenty of reviews and people talking about the movie in all corners of social media.

Obviously, there's an easy solution: Ignore it. Take a break from screentime and look at some flowers or whatever. But Disney must know this tactic of overloading the marketplace is going to backfire eventually. Give too much and it all begins to feel old and repetitive - not something you want when you're spending millions in production and marketing costs.

Perhaps the current Marvel onslaught is a way to tucker out the masses before rival DC unveils their risky "Batman vs. Superman" next year. In an effort to make up for lost time, Warner Bros. and DC have more than 10 movies in development that will supposedly populate a DC Cinematic Universe. I'm already tired of "Batman vs. Superman," and there's hardly any footage of the thing yet.

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm pooped out on superhero movies. Time to ignore "Age of Ultron" and watch "Marvel's Daredevil" on Netflix, or play my Disney Infinity "Avengers" video game, or shop for the more than 150 "Avengers"-themed products at Target.

"What We Do in the Shadows" at Hayden

The lineup at Hayden Discount Cinema is often (justifiably) geared for families, but kudos to the owners for bringing in the independent comedy, "What We Do in the Shadows" this weekend.

The vampire mockumentary is from a few of the guys behind the HBO series, "Flight of the Conchords," and the movie has a 96 percent fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.com.

The film isn't rated but can be considered in the PG-13 range in terms of content. It's nice to see a few of these smaller movies play locally. Support them so we get more.

Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.

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