AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON
Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson, and James Spader.
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action, violence and destruction, and for some suggestive comments.
The highly anticipated followup to the enormously successful Avengers is finally in theaters. Marvel is known for delivering an enormous amount of fun with its cinematic universe films, and I'm happy to report that Avengers: Age of Ultron is no exception to that standard, even if it may not match the first Avengers.
With the reveal that SHIELD has been secretly infiltrated by the rogue Nazi science division, Hydra, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the Avengers are back together hunting down the remnants of Hydra in search for Loki's scepter. Once the team recovers the scepter, Tony Stark discovers the technology to launch the Ultron program, an artificially intelligent being designed to protect the world so the Avengers don't have to. Once Ultron is created, he becomes misguided in his quest to protect the world by first setting out to eliminate the Avengers and then force the world into advanced evolution, threatening the fate of humanity. It is now up to the Avengers to track down Ultron and stop the monster that Stark created.
One of the great qualities of The Avengers in 2012 was the witty banter between the various team members. Fortunately, writer-director Joss Whedon brings his sharp and clever humor to the dialogue here between the characters. This time around, the team is a bit more friendly towards one another, though there are some moments of expected contention. Some of the jokes work better than others, but Whedon once again delivers some hilarious one-liners. Watching the team fight and banter together is truly exciting and everything you want from an Avengers film.
The trailers did a great job at portraying Ultron as the ultimate villain to appear in an MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) film. While James Spader's menacing voice is given moments to shine, I personally did not find Ultron to be that threatening. There are certain villains that cause dread, fascination, and terror any time they're on screen, but that simply wasn't the case with Ultron. There is a dark personality given to the character, which is surprisingly funny coming from an AI robot, but I never felt that Ultron was as intimidating as he should have been.
The action in the first Avengers was so much fun to watch, and much of that action is back in this film; however, there were times when I felt the action was a bit sloppy and not easily discernible. Yet, there is an awesome, fluid shot towards the end that showcases the Avengers fighting off Ultron's drones in all their marvelous glory (pun intended).
It's tricky business juggling so many characters, but Whedon does a stand-up job at fleshing out each character as much as he can. Sure, some are given more treatment and development than others, but it's hard to give everyone an equal amount of attention without turning this movie into a lengthy miniseries. The development of Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye was a welcomed surprise and added a lot to the overall story, particularly his relationship with the Maximoff twins at the end.
There are some exciting new characters introduced to the Marvel world, including the twins and a mysterious new creation known as the Vision. These characters will play significant roles in future MCU films, and I look forward to seeing their involvement. The story may not be as clean as other MCU films, and sometimes it's hard to keep up with where exactly the action is taking place, but Whedon has delivered another exciting and downright fun movie that should please plenty of Marvel and casual fans alike. Like many others, I'm looking forward to Phase 3.
RATING: A-
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