VISIONQUEST
Starring: Paul Bettany, James Spader, Ruaridh Mollica, Todd Stashwick, Lauren Morais, Orla Brady, Diane Morgan, Polly Frame, Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, Emily Hampshire, James D’Arcy, Ben Crompton, and T’Nia Miller
Creator: Terry Matalas
QUENTIN
I’m torn on VisionQuest. On one hand, it’s perfectly fine, with a few interesting story elements and more mischievous James Spader than I expected. On the other hand, I haven’t seen Vision (Paul Bettany) as a character since early 2021. As such, any emotional investment I may have had in him is long gone. As for Ultron (Spader), he’s a one-off villain from a decade ago. It’s just all too little, too late for me to buy in wholeheartedly. Again, it’s not as bad as some of the other MCU series on Disney+. It’s serviceably watchable, but it fails to make me truly want to watch.
AMARÚ
It took a second to get on VisionQuest’s frequency, but only a quick second, because the combination of dark, odd, and funny moments coalesce into all the right aspects of weird. Paul Bettany is one of the greatest (underrated) actors in the MCU, a force as the conflicted Ship-of-Theseus Vision, and with James Spader’s Ultron returning more irreverent than ever, their odd-couple chemistry seeps into the rest of the eclectic ensemble. This creates an entertaining, hilarious, mysterious, and nostalgic time. A fitting farewell to the old MCU, VisionQuest pinpoints perfect references to guide us toward new phases while reminding us why we love this damn universe.
ROBERT
When White Vision (Paul Bettany) flew away in the finale of WandaVision, speculation abounded on what his abscondment portended about his future and upcoming MCU television projects. I assumed a conclusion wasn’t feasible for a focused story after Marvel’s TV slate was missing wide of the mark consistently. I am astounded by the product of VisionQuest as it was a worthy continuation for Vision and his family, and it redeemed a maligned film in Avengers: Age of Ultron, giving it and its villain meaningful substance. Its quirkiness, its humor, and its character development and dynamics were proof that grief about Vision was really just love persevering.
