'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Review

Avengers: Age of Ultron Review:

Marvel-ess

BY IAN TAN

              
          In 2012, Marvel and writer/director/nerd Joss Whedon gave us what is arguably the best superhero movie ever in the form of The Avengers. Having Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World continuing on its success, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier changing up the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe here on out, there are more than a few things to be looking forward to in Avengers: Age of Ultron on top of it being a sequel to one of the biggest superhero films of all time. Plus, with the hype surrounding this film bigger than the first, Whedon is really in the hot seat for this one. The question is, do Marvel and Joss Whedon strike gold with Age of Ultron and deliver a sequel that’s not just bigger, but better than the first?

                  Yes and no. Although it handles more serious themes and introduces higher stakes, Age of Ultron can be a little too much to handle at times given the amount of sub-plots, character development (for both new and returning heroes) and foreshadowing it has packed into its 142 minute runtime, which feels all too short for film that has so much to tell.

Even the fan-base is bigger than the Hulkbuster

            

               For the sake of your enjoyment, I won’t spoil the plot for you, but I will say that Ultron’s motivations for his actions do feel a little similar to Valentine’s from Kingsman: The Secret Service. However, I did absolutely love the work James Spader did with the Ultron character. Everything from his gait to his voice to his diabolical sense of logic really sends chills down your spine, but under all that menace runs a little bit of humour, which Spader brings with great timing and delivery. Is he the best Marvel villain we’ve seen? Well, he’s a notch below Loki in terms of memorability, but is definitely a more frightening threat to the Avengers than Loki ever was. This guy means business.

Why so serious?

            As for our titular heroes, everyone gives their A-game here. Robert Downey Jr. continues to be a great Iron Man, Chris Evans embodies Captain America by showing Cap’s humility and longing for peace while Chris Hemsworth is likable as always as the God of Thunder. Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo both get a neat little sub-plot that never feels too forced, and Jeremy Renner gets a lot more to do as Hawkeye this time around, which is great. Newcomers to the Marvel Cinematic Universe Aaron Taylor Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen as Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch respectively are enjoyable in their roles as well. As for whether or not this version of Quicksilver is better than X-Men’s, I’ll have to say they made him different enough for me not to feel like it’d be fair to compare him to Evan Peter’s rendition of the character. This Quicksilver holds his own and shines in his own Eastern-European-accent-speaking way. Overall, the character portrayals in the sequel are spot-on and better here than in the first film. Compared to the first, every character here is given more purpose and development; that was what made Age of Ultron work for me.

            Action-wise, Age of Ultron soars, just not as highly as the first The Avengers. The film’s opening is by far Marvel’s best opening action sequence yet, with smooth, one-take shots of the action happening with so much chaotic grace, you’d immediately wish you were seeing it in 3D or IMAX 3D if weren’t already. Whedon has definitely improved on the whole one-take-Avengers-fight-shots with this sequel, crafting the action sequences in newer, more interesting and ultimately more epic ways.

ASDFGHJKL!

            

              Of course, this sequel isn’t perfect. Certain sequences that feel important seemed to have been trimmed down to a point where the audience loses focus on those scenes to pay attention to other, equally important scenes. And while the first Avengers film had brisk pacing, this one sometimes goes from being too fast and sometimes too draggy, making certain important bits seem to not be as stressed on as they should be.

            I don’t blame these issues on Whedon though. I feel as if Marvel’s knack for not allowing directors full creative control over their films has affected Whedon’s talent for storytelling in this sequel. Whedon did say that his original cut was over 3 hours, but that’s a little too long for a theatrical release, and way too long for kids who’d be watching it.

Whedon showing Hawkeye how it's done

There are many changes that go on in this film that drastically change the game for future Marvel installments, and the way Whedon paves the way for such changes within his Age of Ultron storyline feels somewhat sudden and underdeveloped, so when the ending’s supposed to end on a high note, it underwhelms instead.

In totality, Avengers: Age of Ultron isn’t as enjoyable or as fun as the first The Avengers, but is still a reputable sequel with some great character moments and action, even though it does get a little too clunky and choppy at times. It is not the worst Marvel film, but given that it is Marvel’s most anticipated film to date, it disappoints a little more than, say, Iron Man 3 did for some viewers.

Final Verdict

Avengers: Age of Ultron gets 7.7

 out of 10 stars – Here’s to hoping we get that 3 and a half hour original cut of it on Blu-ray.