Review: THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

Director:  Joss Whedon
Release Date:  May 1, 2015 (USA)
Music Composed By:  Danny Elfman, Brian Tyler
Genre:  Science fiction/thriller
Runtime:  2hr, 21min

Synopsis:  When Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) jumpstarts a dormant peacekeeping program, things go terribly awry, forcing him, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and the rest of the Avengers to reassemble. As the fate of Earth hangs in the balance, the team is put to the ultimate test as they battle Ultron (James Spader), a technological terror hell-bent on human extinction. Along the way, they encounter two mysterious and powerful newcomers, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron is the sequel to the blockbuster film The Avengers.  We are nearing the end of Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  While we have the same cast returning, we get new introductions including Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Vision, and villain Ultron.

How does the sequel hold up to the original?  Let’s take a look.

*WARNING:  THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*

What I Liked

Ultron may have had the best portrayal of any movie villain, next to Loki.  James Spader really brought Ultron to life.  Ultron was expressive, witty, and full of personality.  It was easy to see traits of Tony Stark reflected in his creation.

Even though he got the short-end of the stick as far as screen-time in the first film, Hawkeye really shines in Age of Ultron.  We learn that he has a hidden family that Nick Fury helped keep off the grid.  Surrounded by a God, super-soldier, and geniuses, it’s Hawkeye that is at the heart of The Avengers.  He represents how anyone, man or woman, has the potential to be an Avenger.  There is no better example of this than his mentorship/rivalry with Pietro and Wanda Maximoff.

Whedon let it be known that he was a fan of both Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch (I’m calling them by their codenames, even though neither is called by those names in the movie).  Quicksilver’s speed and Scarlet Witch’s telekinesis/telepathy added for new visuals and helped advance plot points.  Their origin was changed just enough to make it seamlessly fit into the MCU.

It was great seeing the team together in so many scenes.  While The Avengers was the story of bringing them together, Age of Ultron displayed the many team dynamics.  The best scenario for this was in the “Wrap Party”, where The Avengers celebrated retrieving Loki’s scepter.  Thor and Iron Man arguing over who has the more successful girlfriend, Black Widow/Banner flirtation, and the game of “Who Is Worthy To Lift Mjolnir?”.

Speaking of Mjolnir, I knew that scene would come back into play later in the movie.  You don’t have a scene like that if you’re not going to do a callback to it later on.  After Vision is born, we see that he is worthy to lift Thor’s hammer.  This shocking moment proved to the team that Vision was trustworthy and noble, unlike Ultron.

The Hulk vs. Iron Man’s Hulkbuster was just as crazy as I imagined it to be.  I like that it was Banner who came up with the idea of “Veronica” as a fail-safe, should he ever need to be stopped.

As far as one-liners go, Cap’s “If you die, walk it off” comes off as cryptic in retrospect.  I will get into this later in the “What I Didn’t Like” section.

The moments I enjoyed the most were the closing scenes.  We are introduced to a New Avengers compound, along with a new lineup.  Fans of the comics will love the reference to “New Avengers”.  Thor goes off to investigate the Infinity Stones, Hulk is in self-imposed exile, Hawkeye is back with his family, and Iron Man is considering retirement.  It is up to Captain America and Black Widow to lead the next generation of Avengers.  That was my mark-out moment.

What I Didn’t Like

As great a villain as Ultron was, I feel like Whedon could have gone even farther with him.  We know that Ultron can travel through the Internet.  How come he never took control of the world’s telecommunications, or other machines across the globe?  During my second time watching Age of Ultron, I noticed that Jarvis was keeping Ultron out of the Nexus (focal point of the Internet I believe).  Perhaps this is why Ultron’s web never spread.  Seems like a wasted opportunity to show the planet in chaos from Ultron drones.

One thing that irked me was the focus on saving civilians.  I guess I don’t pay it much attention when it happens in the comics, but the final battle spent an overwhelming amount of time on The Avengers rescuing and saving people.  With all the ruckus that the destruction in Man of Steel caused online, it came across as Marvel going “See…our heroes SAVE lives!  Unlike those other guys.”  Ultimately it is not that big a deal.  Especially since the first movie spent a fair amount of time on this during the Battle of New York.

While The Avengers were rocked by the visions Scarlet Witch showed them, none were affected quite like Thor.  In fact, Thor’s visions caused him to go off on his own journey to seek answers.  While this was done to plant seeds for his third film, Thor: Ragnarok, it felt out of place in Age of Ultron.  Sometimes the #ItsAllConnected philosophy can hinder a story.  I’m looking at you Iron Man 2.

I was sad to see Quicksilver die.  I go into these movies not even concerned that any of the major players will perish.  Which is what makes Quicksilver’s death have such an impact.  We all assumed both twins would become full-fledged Avengers.  At least Pietro died heroically.

Timdogg

#ComicBookChronicles @CBChron founder. Editor-in-Chief of @thekliqnation. Comic book reviewer, podcaster #RABBLERABBLE