Review of Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) by Opinionatedguy — 03 May 2015

I would agree that this is not Marvel’s best movie (that title belongs to Captain America: The Winter Soldier). But I would agree that this movie is better than the first.

I love the first Avengers movie as we get to see Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye in action on one movie. But this movie tells a much more compelling plot and character development than the first.

After not appearing in any of the Phase 2 movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Clint Barton aka Hawkeye gets the character development treatment he deserves in this movie. He delivers some of the best funny one-liners in this movie as well as a touching montage in the second to the last act of the movie. Jeremy Renner did an awesome job portraying Hawkeye in this movie.

As for the romance between Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) and Bruce Banner (The Hulk), it felt a bit sudden and a surprise to many viewers including myself. However, the way this movie handled the romance was excellently used to humanize Natasha and Bruce to the viewers as they’re one of the most violent members of The Avengers and it’s nice to see their soft spots to each other.

I felt like Quicksliver and Scarlet Witch in this movie needed to be fleshed out a bit more. I felt a bit of unsatisfactory with the way they were introduced and I needed to know more about them. Despite that, I enjoyed Quicksliver and Scarlet Witch in this movie. Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson made their characters more likable and enjoyable to watch. I wasn’t a big fan of Taylor-Johnson’s acting but I thought he did a great job portraying Quicksliver in this movie.

My entire favorite part of this movie was The Vision. He is probably one of my newest favorite MCU superheroes ever. I love the way they introduced him in this movie and I can’t wait to see more of Vision!

As much as I am a bigger fan of Marvel than DC, a criticism about the way MCU handled most of their movie villains is a criticism I agree on because the villains in the recent MCU movies have been lackluster and one-dimensional. I am so glad to see that Ultron is not a one-dimensional villain. Despite him being a robot, he has a bit of humanity in him in terms of the way he talks and reacts. James Spader did an excellent portrayal of Ultron. Unfortunately, I felt like Ultron is more of a second-dimensional villain because the way he was introduced in this movie felt like it needed to be fleshed out more. The only third dimensional villains in MCU so far are Loki and Wilson Fisk from Daredevil.

Also, there were certain parts of the movie where you can feel it was cut for time and from what I heard, is that Joss Whedon had an original cut that is almost 3 hours in length. I would like to see an extended version hoping to see Quicksliver, Scarlet Witch and Ultron being fleshed out more as characters.

Despite the sequel becoming a bit more dark than its first, the “MCU humor” we know and love is still in this movie and it never fails to be funny and charming.

Lastly, Joss Whedon’s directing in this movie is excellent and he knows how to make an exciting, compelling and entertaining movie. I am sad that this is will his last movie for Marvel but I can’t wait to see what the Russo Brothers has in store for the next Aveneger movies.

Despite not being Marvel’s best effort, The Avengers: Age of Ultron is worth the hype for many superhero fans, comic book fans and the general audience alike.