Review of Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) by Agarcia732 — 02 May 2015

Being the sequel to the biggest superhero movie of all time is not an easy thing to be. Meeting the expectations and demands of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, of dedicated fans, and the general movie-going public is no easy task.

In an ambitious effort to top the previous Avengers movie, Joss Whedon packed around 5 different big-budget action sequences in Age of Ultron. The blockbuster action felt epic in the trailers and promos, but somehow lackluster in the actual movie (probably because we are bombarded with too much of it). Watching this superhero extravaganza, I felt that the filming style was gimmicky (camera turning around 360 to show way too many things going on at once).

Even with its 2 and a half hour run time, AoU has a rushed pace, and not enough time is given to the characters and audience to dwell on what is going on. There’s so much ground to cover in this sequel that the movie struggles to find room. The movie glosses over the Scarlet Witch-induced hallucinations that the Avengers suffer, the “Infinity Well” (where Thor learns of setup for Phase 3 and the Infinity War), and the fact that SHIElD is back, but with no mention of the rival factions within it (shown on Agents Of SHIELD).

Everything and nothing is at stake in AoU. After all, it’s obvious going into the theater that only one or two of our heroes will die--because most of the Avengers have more movies that they’re contracted to star in. Plus, Disney benefits far too much because of the MCU to kill off a money-making character. Knowing this, what is the point of making movies where the entire planet is in danger, yet not a single civilian gets killed on-screen and almost none of the Avengers are ever in real jeopardy? The comedic timing of the film is also off, as too many jokes and quips are made at inappropriate times, and this contributes to a lack of tension in the movie.

None of the acting is noteworthy or remarkable, but the conflict of ideologies between Tony and Cap was interesting to me and a natural progression of their characters (also setting up the two for Captain America 3: Civil War). I appreciated the camaraderie that the Avengers had in the Avengers Tower party scene, as it humanizes Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. I personally didn’t like the romantic relationship between Bruce and Natasha--none of the previous films, including this one, set them up as a couple--and yet they’re talking about abandoning the team and running away together after defeating Ultron?

Bruce’s inner demons are starting to feel tedious to watch, especially in the way it was handled. *SPOILER ALERT* He very unceremoniously leaves the team in a quinjet. And Natasha has now flirted (or at least had moments of romantic playfulness) with Tony, Cap, Hawkeye, and the Hulk. That seems kind of insulting to her character. (However, I do like that AoU delved into Black Widow’s dark past.) Hawkeye gets some love, but I still don’t think it was enough.

*SPOILER ALERT* Of all the characters to kill off, the end of a recently introduced and supporting character is somewhat disappointing--especially how it was handled. We barely got time to be introduced to Quicksilver, but he is killed anyway. His final words are “Bet you didn’t see that coming”, but many had already predicted his death. (Was Quicksilver killed simply for shock effect, or because his character was too weak to compete against the one from X: Men DOFP?) The Vision, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch are all undeveloped (Scarlet Witch feels way too much like Carrie; from the horror movie).

Ultron is “not as scary as the Winter Soldier, or as interesting and entertaining as Loki, or as ominous as hyper-intelligent Ava from Ex Machina.” He doesn’t do anything actually useful with all of the power he supposedly has (no hacking, no using nukes?). AoU’s Ultron is a far cry from the comics, where he’s apparently a “hyper-intelligent and adaptable being”. The father son relationship between Stark and Ultron that could have been, isn’t. “We aren’t given any time for him and Stark to form a relationship that could later turn to hatred. There is never that process that allows us to accept Ultron first as Stark’s ‘child’ and then as his antagonist.” Considering the love-hate relationship between Hank Pym and Ultron is a key part of his character in the comics (which I haven’t read but know enough about), AoU is a letdown in that regard. (And the way he is defeated is pretty lame.).

Age of Ultron could've have definitely been a much better movie. Instead of leaving people wanting more, Joss Whedon has left most wanting less. The action gets too thick and makes the movie feel bloated; too many one-liners are said at impromptu times. Cap and Iron Man are the most interesting characters, but the rest fall flat. Whedon "simply has too many balls to keep in the air for one movie—even a two-and-a-half-hour one.” In interviews, Whedon has said that he feels burned out by his responsibilities in the MCU. Him leaving the property is probably the best for all of us.