The original team return with a few new additions in this billion dollar sequel...
In 2008, the newly established Marvel Studios, led by Kevin Feige, released Iron Man. The film was a massive risk, attempting to set up an entire stable cinematic universe for the Marvel menagerie of characters while resting on the capabilities of Robert Downey Jr (a former superstar who had fallen from grace) and Jon Favreau to create a realistic yet fun movie. Now, seven years on and with ten films in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) to precede it, Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron is released to audiences. The big question on everyone's lips is: is it as good as the first one? To be completely honest, the answer to this question is more complex than on the surface it may seem, so join me in this review to find out my spoiler-free thoughts on summer's most anticipated film.
Let's start with Hawkeye. It's no secret that Joss Whedon (the writer and director of both Avengers films) severely under-utilized the master archer in Marvel's Avengers Assemble. Clint Barton - played by Jeremy Renner - spent most of the first film under the influence of Loki and his alien sceptre (which re-appears in Ultron), causing many audience members to feel a disconnect with the character and caused him to be left out of most promotional material for the movie. I am so happy to reveal though that in Ultron, we see the Hawkeye we wanted; we get the Hawkeye that rose to popularity in the comics. The character's story is the most explored throughout the film, and I personally like him just as much as The Hulk because of this.
Joss Whedon once again did an awesome job at ensuring every character had their moment in the spotlight. As with the first Avengers, each super was gifted with at least one awesome scene that showcased their powers and personalities in a way that will surely bring goose bumps to all you fanboys and fangirls. It does not surprise me, however, that he had to cut out over an hour of footage from the movie in post-production. At times the story felt a little rushed and unexplained. I even found myself confused in places despite my humble familiarity with Marvel's story-lines and characters. I would be interested in seeing a director's cut for the film, though I doubt we will ever see such a thing due to the absence of a director's cut for the first Avengers movie (which also had around 90 minutes flushed out of it in the editing room).
Moreover, with three new additions to the Avengers team (Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and The Vision) it was obvious that some characters suffered a screen time squeeze. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) a.k.a Captain America was not featured as heavily as he was in the first Avengers film and the aforementioned Quicksilver also failed to truly connect with me until the last act of the movie - despite being in the film from the start. This is a minor quibble however and the lack of Cap's screen time will no doubt be made up for in next year's Captain America: Civil War.
The new additions themselves were very well realised. Scarlet Witch proved immensely powerful and her and her twin Quicksilver had quite a beautiful cinematic finesse to their powers. The Vision was phenomenal - I wont say any more so as not to spoil it for yourselves, but trust me, he looked and sounded perfect. Black Widow also received a funky, tron-esque upgrade that made her more visually interesting, and evidently improved motion-capture technology has led to the most realistic, impressionable incarnation of the Hulk yet.
I think it would be fair to say that the MCU has been mainly unsuccessful in creating memorable and iconic movie villains. Thankfully, in the first Avengers, Loki provided audiences with an entertaining menace, but since then we have had to deal with the likes of Malekith (Thor: The Dark World), Ronan (Guardians of the Galaxy) and The Mandarin (Iron Man 3) who were forgettable and un-threatening to say the least. Fortunately, Ultron is, in my opinion, the strongest and most engaging MCU villain yet. James Spader's voice is the perfect match for Ultron, and the design team did superbly well in creating a monstrous being that will truly terrify the younger audience. Even more surprisingly though, is that Ultron is incredibly funny. The effective son of Tony Stark, this AI has seemingly inherited his father's snide comments and witty way of mind - causing some genuine laughs to escape my mouth. This doesn't detract from his fear-mongering persona though - Ultron really is a fearsome foe.
In actuality, the script itself is full of laugh-out-loud moments, and there are many running gags throughout the film that pay-off superbly towards its end. For those concerned about the trailer's dark tone, be aware that while Age of Ultron is probably one of the darkest films yet, it is also one of the funniest. Whedon is well known for his characterisation, and there are little scenes dotted around the movie that really do enhance the movie-going experience. It's hard to explain without going into spoiler territory, but when the party scene begins - you should know you're in for a treat.
A few other distinctly petty problems I have with the film remain to be told. I felt a certain relationship in the film was thrust upon the audience with no explanation and felt very forced (you'll know when you see it). There were also moments of foundation laying for future MCU films that felt jarring and didn't match with the flow of the film in its entirety - and some very shaky accents from Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch and Aaron Taylor-Johnson proved distracting at times.
Overall though, it is important to remember that these are but minor complaints about an overall masterpiece. Avengers: Age of Ultron is a sublime feast that could have benefited from a pinch of seasoning but will certainly be enjoyed and loved as it is. It lacked the wow factor of seeing the Avengers together for the first time on screen, but out-performed the original instalment with a better villain, better plot, more engaging character moments, awesome special effects and exciting plot twists that were exciting to behold. Ultron is an instant classic in the comic-book genre!
8 . 9
OUT OF TEN Reviewed by James Green
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