So now the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) closes out the 2nd phase of movies with the super highly anticipated second gathering of 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' with Joss Whedon once again at the helm for Avengers: Age of Ultron. While the 'nerdgasms' worldwide have grown to an almost unbearable level, let's get down to the heart of this: The MCU has been surprisingly consistent with it's high quality blockbusters for years now, bringing us successful box offices franchises left and right like Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, the most recent surprise smash with Guardians of the Galaxy and of course Avengers Assemble. With so much expectation for quality and solid delivery, Joss Whedon has the almost impossibly difficult challenge of not only upping the stakes with AOU but continuing character development, telling a unique story, reestablishing known characters as well as introducing brand new ones, all while laying the groundwork for Marvel's upcoming 'Phase 3' movies. With all this pressure on his shoulders, does Whedon crumble beneath the challenge or does he assemble all the necessary tools to create another smash hit?
Avengers: Age of Ultron finds our heroes retrieving the staff of Loki from an apparent Hydra ploy, using its power to improve their technological weaponry. Upon retrieving the staff Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) investigates it's power further, discovering the potential to bring to life what he and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) named the Ultron program, designed to protect Earth from attack. Needless to say that upon creation, Ultron (James Spader) has rather different, more destructive theories on how to save the world…
First and foremost, as always I will lead with the primary positive. The character development in this movie is outstanding. Joss Whedon has found the ideal method to kill 2 birds with one stone, developing characters and outlining Phase 3 of Marvel movies. With hallucinations running rampant Scarlet Witch style, each Avengers gets a moment to see inside their own desires, dreams and nightmares, sometimes with back story coming into play, especially with Black Widow (Scarlet Johannson). Whedon gives every character a moment for the audience to hook on to, allowing us to care more for the individuals rather than the groups. This works amazingly when it comes to the large scale fight scenes, providing us with more singular character struggles in the battle, and when the Avengers come together to struggle alongside one another it's an explosion of emotional energy.
Because of the deep character study in this film, as is often the way with sequels, this is a lot darker than the first. Where Avengers Assemble was fun, light hearted and a big reward for comic book fans, AOU provides us with a real test for our protagonists, which is conveyed through the films ridiculously charismatic and entertaining cast. Not one actor misses a step and all seem to revel in returning to their roles. The best character utilised differently in this film is Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Where he seemed like the slightly unnecessary one that looks cool in the last outing, Hawkeye is now the emotional centrepiece for the group, keeping his head when all others are losing theirs and Whedon addresses this beautifully.
James Spader is amazing as Ultron. Where most would expect a cold, robotic, soulless villain, Ultron here is made in the image of his creator Tony Stark; sarcastic, inappropriately witty, childish but also scared, his psychotic tendencies are a slight detour from this comparison but they had to do that somewhere. Spaders voice is what makes Ultron work. His low, conniving tone while spouting one liners is a wonderful unstable mix of emotions, exactly like how a newly created artificial intelligence might sound. He also carries him with such intelligence and confidence. It's inspired and very well chosen casting for this imposing villain.
Where the film does slip is in 2 areas; firstly, the finale once again follows the 'massive battle in the sky' formula, though the Whedon treatment here gives it a very clever and outlandish spin. Regardless of spin, this formulaic closing fight style has been done for every Marvel film and is in desperate need of a change. Another problem was with Ultron upgrading himself. While comic fans will be 100% aware of his ability to do this, his first appearance in a new upgraded form is given no build nor introduction. It comes across as too sudden for me and isn't really explained. His second upgrade is given time and is executed well but the underwhelming first transformation cheapens it slightly.
I suppose a few of you might be wondering 'How was Vision?' 'Is he any good?'
Short answer: 'Yes'. Long answer: 'Go and see the movie to find out...'
There are too many things to review individually about this film, but overall it is a intensely fun movie. The pace is outstanding, the character development is strong, the cast are faultless and the direction/writing is classic Joss Whedon quality. The pressure of following up Assemble clearly did not phase him and he has delivered a heartfelt character driven super hero spectacular with cameos, one liners, emotional payoffs as well as unfinished business leading us comfortably into Phase 3. Age of Ultron does exactly what it set out to do, and that is entertain. Marvel fans are sure in for an incredible ride!
Avengers: Age of Ultron finds our heroes retrieving the staff of Loki from an apparent Hydra ploy, using its power to improve their technological weaponry. Upon retrieving the staff Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) investigates it's power further, discovering the potential to bring to life what he and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) named the Ultron program, designed to protect Earth from attack. Needless to say that upon creation, Ultron (James Spader) has rather different, more destructive theories on how to save the world…
First and foremost, as always I will lead with the primary positive. The character development in this movie is outstanding. Joss Whedon has found the ideal method to kill 2 birds with one stone, developing characters and outlining Phase 3 of Marvel movies. With hallucinations running rampant Scarlet Witch style, each Avengers gets a moment to see inside their own desires, dreams and nightmares, sometimes with back story coming into play, especially with Black Widow (Scarlet Johannson). Whedon gives every character a moment for the audience to hook on to, allowing us to care more for the individuals rather than the groups. This works amazingly when it comes to the large scale fight scenes, providing us with more singular character struggles in the battle, and when the Avengers come together to struggle alongside one another it's an explosion of emotional energy.
Because of the deep character study in this film, as is often the way with sequels, this is a lot darker than the first. Where Avengers Assemble was fun, light hearted and a big reward for comic book fans, AOU provides us with a real test for our protagonists, which is conveyed through the films ridiculously charismatic and entertaining cast. Not one actor misses a step and all seem to revel in returning to their roles. The best character utilised differently in this film is Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Where he seemed like the slightly unnecessary one that looks cool in the last outing, Hawkeye is now the emotional centrepiece for the group, keeping his head when all others are losing theirs and Whedon addresses this beautifully.
James Spader is amazing as Ultron. Where most would expect a cold, robotic, soulless villain, Ultron here is made in the image of his creator Tony Stark; sarcastic, inappropriately witty, childish but also scared, his psychotic tendencies are a slight detour from this comparison but they had to do that somewhere. Spaders voice is what makes Ultron work. His low, conniving tone while spouting one liners is a wonderful unstable mix of emotions, exactly like how a newly created artificial intelligence might sound. He also carries him with such intelligence and confidence. It's inspired and very well chosen casting for this imposing villain.
Where the film does slip is in 2 areas; firstly, the finale once again follows the 'massive battle in the sky' formula, though the Whedon treatment here gives it a very clever and outlandish spin. Regardless of spin, this formulaic closing fight style has been done for every Marvel film and is in desperate need of a change. Another problem was with Ultron upgrading himself. While comic fans will be 100% aware of his ability to do this, his first appearance in a new upgraded form is given no build nor introduction. It comes across as too sudden for me and isn't really explained. His second upgrade is given time and is executed well but the underwhelming first transformation cheapens it slightly.
I suppose a few of you might be wondering 'How was Vision?' 'Is he any good?'
Short answer: 'Yes'. Long answer: 'Go and see the movie to find out...'
There are too many things to review individually about this film, but overall it is a intensely fun movie. The pace is outstanding, the character development is strong, the cast are faultless and the direction/writing is classic Joss Whedon quality. The pressure of following up Assemble clearly did not phase him and he has delivered a heartfelt character driven super hero spectacular with cameos, one liners, emotional payoffs as well as unfinished business leading us comfortably into Phase 3. Age of Ultron does exactly what it set out to do, and that is entertain. Marvel fans are sure in for an incredible ride!