Review of Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) by Henning T — 22 Sep 2018

It might not be quite as good as its predecessor, but 'Age of Ultron' still manages to deliver on breath-taking, sometimes overwhelming action sequences (there are a LOT of those) and sly Whedonesque humor.

Now and again the movie loses its focus, mostly due to the plethora of old and new characters Whedon has to balance. The spectacle often threatens to smother the characters, but there are these insightful little scenes between them that prove that Whedon acknowledges their humanity beyond all of their superpowers, even while they're facing an onslaught of evil (and insane) A.

I. controlled robots. At times 'Age of Ultron' barely escapes a dip into the melodramatic, but it's fortunately mostly averted by well-timed one-liners. The entire cast delivers solid performances.

Especially the hypnotic voice of the brilliant James Spader (Ultron) carries a lot of the movie. Even his trademark facial expressions translate beautifully to Ultron's robotic visage. Director/writer Joss Whedon manages to set up the next movie in the franchise ('Captain America: Civil War' will kick off Phase Three) by establishing tension between the heroes through their clashing ideologies.

All in all 'Age of Ultron' is a great addition to the Marvel universe and enjoyable for fans and others alike.