Avengers: Age of Ultron
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, James Spader, Elizabeth Olson, Aaron-Taylor Johnson
Directed By: Joss Whedon
Reviewed by Brendan Dousi
[rating: 4.5/5]
It all leads up to these films, doesn’t it? Every single addition to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe stands to culminate in an epic team-up otherwise known as the Avengers. The problem with this is that there is a lot of build-up involved. Three years have passed since the last Avengers film, that’s about five films so far. There’s a lot of pressure riding on writer/director Joss Whedon to deliver what he did last time that grossed Disney and Marvel over one billion dollars worldwide. I mean, let’s face it; we know it’s going to be awesome. But just how awesome will it be, and will it live up to our already sky-high expectations?
Avengers: Age of Ultron opens on, well, The Avengers. They’re kicking ass and taking names, hunting down the last remnants of Hydra and trying to track down the sceptre that Loki wreaked so much havoc with in the last film. Here is where we meet Wanda/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Pietro/Quicksilver (Aaron-Taylor Johnson) Maximoff, a set of powerful twins that have been genetically enhanced by the mysterious sceptre’s power and are enacting a vengeful vendetta against Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and the rest of the Avengers. With the help of Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Stark manages to isolate the template of an Artificial Intelligence from the Sceptre and accidentally sparks it to life within his systems creating the villain of the piece, Ultron (James Spader). It is when Ultron breaks free and starts to enact his vision for the ‘evolution’ of mankind that Iron Man, Hulk, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) have to shelve their grievances with each other and team up to take down the ultimate threat to humanity. They even manage to recruit some new blood (of sorts) on the way in the form of the mysterious android Vision (Paul Bettany).
The problem facing Avengers: Age of Ultron, and any of the Marvel films really, is going to be comparisons. Everyone is going to be comparing it to the many films that came before it and especially the absurdly strong instalment of The Avengers in 2012. If I’m being honest, I’m going to have to come out and say that Age of Ultron is not as strong as its predecessor. The original film was so slick, tight and fun that it’d be near impossible to surpass it, let alone meet it on the same level. This said it’s still a freaking fun and entertaining ride. All of the characters were on point, bringing the same quippy wit we have come to expect from them. Even the newer additions to the ensemble, namely Wanda and Pietro, are surprisingly fun. From the trailers I expected a lot more annoying brooding from them than we actually got. Instead we got two new engaging characters that make you want to see a lot more from them, Wanda in particular in thanks to Elizabeth Olson’s spot-on performance. I didn’t even mind the zany pseudo-Russian accents. Apart from the characters, what everyone is there for is the action. There’s plenty of it, don’t worry, and it’s all spectacular. The camera weaves expertly through action scenes truly instilling a sense of wonder and awe into the audience. Then we have the villain himself, Ultron, who is suitably menacing and laden with a surprising amount of daddy issues for a robot. For Marvel standards, who usually gloss over the villains, he’s fairly realised if not completely menacing. The stakes never felt too high when it came to battling Ultron, purely for the fact that you know the good guys are going to win out in the end.
One of the best things about the original Avengers was its magnificent pacing. You barely felt a minute of the over-two-hours runtime. Unfortunately Age of Ultron does lag a bit behind at times. Towards the beginning and around the middle the movie does sag a bit as we get a bit deeper into exposition and set-up territory. The film tries admirably to move these scenes along as soon as possible to the next action scene to keep everyone entertained, however, some of these scenes can leave you a little fatigued due to the sheer amount of action happening on screen. There is a lot filling up each shot and at times things can feel a little too hectic and busy. Despite being quite packed, it still feels like there may have been some elements cut from the final product, namely including the nation of ‘Wakanda’ which is mentioned in the film. I remember certain images surfacing of a mysterious African woman near a black pool. The pool makes an appearance in the film, the woman does not. I’d certainly be interested in seeing an extended version of this film featuring these elements which surely were put in to help set up the future ‘Black Panther’ film on the horizon.
You should know what to expect from a Marvel film by this point and Avengers: Age of Ultron certainly doesn’t disappoint. It’s only by comparison to its predecessor that this film lags behind and feels a little bloated while at the same time feeling like a couple of the jigsaw pieces are missing from the box. Awesome action, wonderful wit and charismatic characters all help craft a near complete package in this wonderfully entertaining movie. Now it’s time to sit back and watch this one crack a billion as well.
