Avengers: Age of Ultron (B or 3/4 stars)
They're baaa-aaackkkk. Yep, I'm referring to that ragtag group {ha!} of superheroes knows as The Avengers. 2012's film burst onto the big screen with wit, energy, & a nice $1.5 billion box office tally worldwide. THIS film, 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' (written/directed again, but for the last time, by Joss Whedon) offers a fun time at the multiplex. I chomped it up as I chomped on my popcorn. Having said that, I don't feel it's quite as good as the 2012 film. More on that later.
Having defeated villain Loki, the Avengers - genius inventor Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.); WWII hero Steve Rodgers/Capt. America (Chris Evans); the hammer-wielding Norse god Thor (Chris Hemsworth); former Soviet spy/assassin Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson); archer Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner); & physicist Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) - have arrived in the fictional European country of Sokovia to raid a Hydra outpost, led by Baron von Strucker (Andy Serkis, of LOTR fame). He's been playing around with Loki's powerful scepter, specifically on twins Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), aka Quicksilver (who possesses super speed) & Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), aka Scarlet Witch (who can manipulate minds).
The Avengers defeat von Strucker's forces, but before Thor returns Loki's scepter to Asgard, Tony Stark wants to test it. His well-meaning goal is to use its artificial intelligence to create his Ultron global defense program. Unfortunately for Tony and his cognizant computer asst. known as Jarvis (voiced by Paul Bettany), as well as the rest of the Avengers ... the artificial intelligence manifests itself from a global protection system into a red-eyed, megalomaniacal android (voiced by James Spader). Creating a robot army & recruiting the Maximoff twins, our superhero team learns that Ultron's ultimate goal is to evolve, kill the Avengers, & wipe out all of humanity (he views humans as the world's biggest threat to itself). After a respite at Hawkeye's safe house - where his wife (Linda Cardellini) lives with their children - and eventually getting help from Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), the Avengers try to find a way to stop Ultron & his abominable plans. Craziness ensues.
I had a fun time with 'Age of Ultron' {watching it with friends in comfy recliner seats at the Levittown AMC 10 helped, haha}. '... Ultron' benefits greatly from its all-star cast and each performer has their moment in the sun. Black Widow & Bruce Banner have a romance brewing. Black Widow tells us of her torturous past as a spy-in-training. We meet Hawkeye's family, see his house, & laugh at his self-deprecating humor about his archer skills versus heroes like Thor & Capt. America. And there's a cool sequence that includes dream-like flashbacks showing the conflicts of each Avenger confronting their various flaws & failures. It's just great to get more insight into our heroes because the sound & fury takes up much of the proceedings. Speaking of all the sound & fury, director Joss Whedon makes sure the action is as wham!! bam!! pow!! & smash!! as it gets. And surprisingly, plenty of the fight scenes are constructed with logic & flow.
The most interesting characters this time 'round are the Maximoff twins. Though he can't match Evan Peter's thrilling portrayal of Quicksilver from last year's X-Men film, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is fine. More impressive is Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda/Scarlet Witch. She imbues this character with a real sense of fear, hurt, & ultimately ... red rage. I dig Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk. His Bruce is so gentle, warm, yet wounded; which makes his transformation into The Hulk all the more powerful. Jeremy Renner gets more to do in this film (from the last) and, for that, I am very happy. RD Jr. is good; as usual. Ditto Chris Evans as the stoic Capt. America. Chris Hemsworth's Thor gets the lion's share of laughs this time around. Scarlett Johansson has settled into the role of Black Widow very nicely (after 2 other Marvel films now). James Spader brings real menace & a little bit of fun to the voice of Ultron. Don Cheadle, Stellan Skarsgaard, & Anthony Mackie show up; though, they're severely underused. Really, everyone is on their A-game. Even if the script can't afford every single character their due, the actors do their job so very well.
As for the script - well - it's not bad, nor is it great. The dialogue is littered with dollops of humor, in-jokes & the like (though, some quips are spat-out so quickly that it's hard to keep up with said dialogue). Overall, I really like these characters & I usually like what's coming out of their mouths. One example of the humor: the film's running joke that Capt. America is sensitive to profane language. As for the actual story/plot incidentals ... not as successful. There are many characters to juggle & so many that need the narrative spotlight that the already needlessly complicated storyline has little air to breathe. The storyTELLING & characterizations take a backseat to the copious large-scale battle scenes that seem to take priority over all else.
I think that this film can't quite match the majesty of the 2012 film because it lacks the sense of surprise. In the 2012 film, we couldn't wait to see the characters all onscreen together for the FIRST time. But with this film, we're thrown riiiiiight into action & Joss Whedon can't rely upon the initial shock/awe/humor of seeing these heroes clash & coalesce as a team. So that means "cue the ACTION!!!" I enjoyed myself from beginning to end. There are spectacles galore. But 'Age of Ultron' relies too much on action/destruction, & not on plot. Though I love them, there are also too many characters to cover & not enough time to fully explore them amidst the less-than-great plot. Still, while the 'substance' of this film is a bit lacking, there's more than enough good stuff in here to please most fans.
Having defeated villain Loki, the Avengers - genius inventor Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.); WWII hero Steve Rodgers/Capt. America (Chris Evans); the hammer-wielding Norse god Thor (Chris Hemsworth); former Soviet spy/assassin Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson); archer Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner); & physicist Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) - have arrived in the fictional European country of Sokovia to raid a Hydra outpost, led by Baron von Strucker (Andy Serkis, of LOTR fame). He's been playing around with Loki's powerful scepter, specifically on twins Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), aka Quicksilver (who possesses super speed) & Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), aka Scarlet Witch (who can manipulate minds).
The Avengers defeat von Strucker's forces, but before Thor returns Loki's scepter to Asgard, Tony Stark wants to test it. His well-meaning goal is to use its artificial intelligence to create his Ultron global defense program. Unfortunately for Tony and his cognizant computer asst. known as Jarvis (voiced by Paul Bettany), as well as the rest of the Avengers ... the artificial intelligence manifests itself from a global protection system into a red-eyed, megalomaniacal android (voiced by James Spader). Creating a robot army & recruiting the Maximoff twins, our superhero team learns that Ultron's ultimate goal is to evolve, kill the Avengers, & wipe out all of humanity (he views humans as the world's biggest threat to itself). After a respite at Hawkeye's safe house - where his wife (Linda Cardellini) lives with their children - and eventually getting help from Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), the Avengers try to find a way to stop Ultron & his abominable plans. Craziness ensues.
I had a fun time with 'Age of Ultron' {watching it with friends in comfy recliner seats at the Levittown AMC 10 helped, haha}. '... Ultron' benefits greatly from its all-star cast and each performer has their moment in the sun. Black Widow & Bruce Banner have a romance brewing. Black Widow tells us of her torturous past as a spy-in-training. We meet Hawkeye's family, see his house, & laugh at his self-deprecating humor about his archer skills versus heroes like Thor & Capt. America. And there's a cool sequence that includes dream-like flashbacks showing the conflicts of each Avenger confronting their various flaws & failures. It's just great to get more insight into our heroes because the sound & fury takes up much of the proceedings. Speaking of all the sound & fury, director Joss Whedon makes sure the action is as wham!! bam!! pow!! & smash!! as it gets. And surprisingly, plenty of the fight scenes are constructed with logic & flow.
The most interesting characters this time 'round are the Maximoff twins. Though he can't match Evan Peter's thrilling portrayal of Quicksilver from last year's X-Men film, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is fine. More impressive is Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda/Scarlet Witch. She imbues this character with a real sense of fear, hurt, & ultimately ... red rage. I dig Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk. His Bruce is so gentle, warm, yet wounded; which makes his transformation into The Hulk all the more powerful. Jeremy Renner gets more to do in this film (from the last) and, for that, I am very happy. RD Jr. is good; as usual. Ditto Chris Evans as the stoic Capt. America. Chris Hemsworth's Thor gets the lion's share of laughs this time around. Scarlett Johansson has settled into the role of Black Widow very nicely (after 2 other Marvel films now). James Spader brings real menace & a little bit of fun to the voice of Ultron. Don Cheadle, Stellan Skarsgaard, & Anthony Mackie show up; though, they're severely underused. Really, everyone is on their A-game. Even if the script can't afford every single character their due, the actors do their job so very well.
As for the script - well - it's not bad, nor is it great. The dialogue is littered with dollops of humor, in-jokes & the like (though, some quips are spat-out so quickly that it's hard to keep up with said dialogue). Overall, I really like these characters & I usually like what's coming out of their mouths. One example of the humor: the film's running joke that Capt. America is sensitive to profane language. As for the actual story/plot incidentals ... not as successful. There are many characters to juggle & so many that need the narrative spotlight that the already needlessly complicated storyline has little air to breathe. The storyTELLING & characterizations take a backseat to the copious large-scale battle scenes that seem to take priority over all else.
I think that this film can't quite match the majesty of the 2012 film because it lacks the sense of surprise. In the 2012 film, we couldn't wait to see the characters all onscreen together for the FIRST time. But with this film, we're thrown riiiiiight into action & Joss Whedon can't rely upon the initial shock/awe/humor of seeing these heroes clash & coalesce as a team. So that means "cue the ACTION!!!" I enjoyed myself from beginning to end. There are spectacles galore. But 'Age of Ultron' relies too much on action/destruction, & not on plot. Though I love them, there are also too many characters to cover & not enough time to fully explore them amidst the less-than-great plot. Still, while the 'substance' of this film is a bit lacking, there's more than enough good stuff in here to please most fans.