Avengers = Good. Ultron = Bad. AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON = Fantastic!
When AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON opens our heroes are already in mid-battle! Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye raid a Hydra headquarters lead by Strucker (fans of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will know this character) when they find Loki’s scepter. Things become worse when artificial intelligence is discovered within the scepter’s gem. From here the film never lets up. Do you think Tony Stark would just let this scepter and what it contains just sit there? If your answer was “heck no!” then you are CORRECT! He uses it to complete his global defense program - Ultron! Continue reading for our full “spoiler-free” AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON review.
L to R: Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) ©Marvel 2015
AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON fits perfectly in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe in story, fantastic filmmaking and above all FUN! It would have been too easy to do what most sequels do and give you a reboot of the first film. That’s not the way Marvel rolls. The story always moves forward, planting seeds for future sequels and stand-alone films. AGE OF ULTRON can also be seen as a prequel to next year’s CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (trippy)!
Like THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, this is a darker sequel in more ways than one. The story is grittier. There is more at stake. The Avengers are not just fighting Ultron but fighting each other physically and emotionally. And you fear for some of these characters’ safety knowing that director Joss Whedon isn’t exactly following the continuity of the comic series. The more we see emotional backstory, the more it feels like Joss is toying with his audience. The closer you get to seeing these characters as actual people, the harder it will be when something goes wrong. Terribly wrong.
L to R: Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), photo by Jay Maidment ©Marvel 2015
If you thought an Avengers film needed more heroes than you will be very pleased. We see the addition of the super-fast Quicksilver and his sister the energy-blasting Scarlet Witch. We also meet a new Avenger who is born of one of the Infinity Stones (see GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY), Vision (played by Paul Bettany, the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S.). Now with all these heroes, can the Avengers beat Ultron (voiced by James Spader who gives this robotic terrorist loads of charm and personality) who is trying to wipe away human existence so it can start fresh?
Vison (Paul Bettany) ©Marvel 2015
Ultron (voiced by James Spader) ©Marvel 2015
After seeing AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, I was eager to see it again. Not just because it was a fantastic film and a great roller coaster ride, but because there was so much going on within the story, and so many new names it was hard to keep track of them all. Even Joss Whedon admitted at the press conference that he may have brought in too many characters. But if you don’t catch them all, it’s still not difficult to follow the overall story, which is Avengers = good, Ultron = bad. AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON: Fantastic!
Now, Avengers A——-! (you’ll get that after you’ve seen the film)
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