Avengers : Age of Ultron (2015) Review!!

Synopsis – When Tony Stark tries to jump start a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and it is up to the Avengers to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plans.

My Take – Back in 2012, Marvel pulled off one of the biggest feats in super hero & movie history, something which its rival DC has been teasing for more than 15 years now ( I am referring to Justice League, which is finally coming out in 2017, as if now) by bringing together its mightiest heroes in one epic film – The Avengers. It lived up to all expectations, and fans filed out of the cinema generally very happy and excited about the superhero extravaganza they had just seen. This sequel therefore had a much bigger fan expectations to fulfill. Now that the novelty of having all these heroes together has already passed, it now depends on a great story to pull this second installment through, in simple words – be bigger & better! Despite the nagging over promotions (especially the very revealing trailers) as a big fan of the live action Marvel cinematic universe preparing to view their 11th movie till date, I had a hundred questions on my mind walking in. How was Age of Ultron going to handle the very significant events of the three movies released since the first Avengers, particularly the destruction of S.H.I.E.L.D and exile of Nick Fury that took place in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and the escape of Loki in Thor : The Dark World? What could bring Iron Man back from his girlfriend mandated semi-retirement in Iron Man 3? How were the team going to be reassembled without Fury pulling the strings? What was going to let the Hulk off his leash this time? Who was that creepy African American girl in the water? These questions, and many others, were basically bulldozed over. It unfortunately addresses the same issues which eventually worried me by adding too much into the mix. While the film is still a larger-than-life, visually- impressive action film, sure to the right cord for movie goers, it did not exactly inspire the same level of adulation that the first one so handily developed. The story begins in a fictional European country side of Sokovia where the Avengers – Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johanson), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) & Hulk / Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) are attacking a Hydra lair run by Baron Von Struker (Thomas Kretschmann) to retrieve Loki’s scepter.

Baron Von Struker has been using the scepter to experiment on humans by giving them ‘enhanced’ powers, with the only survivors being the Maximoff twins, super-speedy Pietro aka Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and the telepathic Wanda aka Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). Once the specter is retrieved, Tony requests Thor to study the specter for 3 days before he returns it to Asgard. The blue stone in that scepter contain powerful artificial intelligence technology which Tony Stark and Bruce Banner uses to create Ultron, the ultimate peace-keeper for the world. Ironically however, Ultron believes that humanity needs to be eradicated in order to achieve peace. In order to achieve that goal Ultron recruits the powerful Maximoff twins, who have an axe to grind against Tony Stark. The brother-and-sister pair become the most formidable threat to the Avengers, in particular the latter’s psychic powers which she uses on Captain America, Black Widow and Thor to trigger memories of their past and face their personal demons. While their visions leave them distracted and unsettled, the rest of the team are also forced to confront their own fears. Tony’s hubris, once the driving force of his pioneering spirit, could very well be the end of the Avengers and the destruction of everything he’s tried to build. Bruce loathes his alter-ego, but recognizes that his powers are still a valuable addition to the team, especially in protecting Black Widow, with whom he shares a deepening romantic interest hinted at in the last movie. And freed from the shackles of Loki’s spell, Hawkeye is reminded of his mortality as one with no special powers or metal suit other than being an excellent archer, beautifully portrayed in a sojourn at the halfway mark that he makes to his ‘safe house’ to visit his wife and kids along with the rest of his teammates to recuperate and re-group. The action sequences are breathtakingly, mind-bogglingly well choreographed and directed and there are numerous shots that seem to leap from a comic book page. There are several moments where – if you feel any connection to these characters and their rich comic book history at all – you will feel the urge to leap from your seat and pump your fist in the air. Even the brilliant chemistry among the stars and humorous one liners are still there, but there was something I can’t exactly put my finger on that affected my enjoyment of the film overall.

Maybe it was the sheer number of characters we need to focus on so the storytelling can be messy at points. Every character had their own personal issues to address, such that some parts of the film tended to lag down. Maybe it was how Thor seemingly became the unexpected comic relief for the film. Maybe it was how I was not used to seeing Natasha as a hopeless romantic or as a damsel in distress. I don’t know, I enjoyed the film for sure, but there was just something amiss somewhere. Robert Downey’s Iron Man/Tony Stark remains as a formidable figurehead in spite of his ever cynical and highly confident posture, while Chris Evans provides a dependable alternative with Captain America’s leadership. It was pretty clean to understand how the conflicts between the two are actual cracks for their ultimate show down in next year’s Captain America: Civil War. Chris Hemsworth was born to play Thor! Somewhere down the line his militant & innocent character gets downsized in the crowded film, actually that happened to him in his own solo movie as well, with Tom Hiddleton’s Loki stealing his thunder. This movie also draws more of the previous installment’s less-utilized characters, into the scopes of its spotlight. Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye, enjoys his expanded character whose interaction with other avengers, has immensely improved, and he also has some of the best jaw-dropping action sequences here. Mark Ruffalo as Hulk still smashes, he’s as gullible as he is dangerous, and yet still charmingly funny. Scarlett Johanson’s character, Black Widow, has been treated with bigger attention, and her presence is never less if not as strong as her male counterparts. Not to forget the new comers, Taylor Johnson’s Quicksilver and Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch, are a welcome addition! Cant wait to see how Marvel handles Scarlet Witch’s character in future movies. Same can be said with Paul Bettany’s Vision, whose mysterious power might be the very weapon that could propel the Avengers to winning their battle against their biggest enemies. Samuel L Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle & Cobie Smulders are likeable in their small roles. The film also introduces upcoming film Black Panther’s villain Andy Serkis into the franchise too, and while it’s brief, he manages to established a commanding presence in the movie. At last, but not least, the star of the film is none other than James Spader’s Ultron! Ultron tops any bad guy since Darth Vader himself. His presence, manipulation and motivation leads to the best action sequences ever put to film. Marvel despite their great heroes have always faltered in matters of the antagonist, well except Loki, who seems more of an anti hero now.

James Spader’s voice strikes as the perfect embodiment of the indomitable android ULTRON who is hellbent to rendering the planet to extinction. Spader has the utmost command of the character and has fueled it with utter rage and bitterness, and calm and ease when needed. Yes! It is no small feat juggling so many characters in the same movie, and yet again, director Joss Whedon has pulled it off stunningly. Even though each is part of a larger team, no one fades into it; instead, Whedon tries his best to let us get to know each and every one of the Avengers intimately, so much so that you won’t feel that you know them any less than you would if they each had their own standalone movie. As a result, the film gets affected in the pacing, its condensed story structure leaves very little time to really absorb each character & there are just too many subplots running throughout the film, which I must say gets mentally-exhausting. Nevertheless, Whedon and his prolific team of scriptwriters, pull of feats never seen before. Whedon effectively mines the capacities of these individuals and turns them into the very foundation of his epic superhero saga. On the whole, despite its flaws ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron”, is still one of the most visually enthralling films I have ever seen. Writer-director Joss Whedon tried his best to weave together a fan-friendly, action-filled film with more than 10 superheroes, yet still managing to maintain the connection between past and future Marvel films revolving around this universe. Besides its always a joy to watch the Avengers fight side-by-side. But I think the decision to relinquish the directorial reins of the next Avengers films to the Russo Brothers (who did an excellent job in “Captain America:The Winter Soldier”) may be a good idea in order to inject some fresher ideas before more signs of franchise fatigue start to show.