The Avengers are about to change forever in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At least that’s the come-away by the end of the latest Marvel action romp The Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Earlier this week, I had the exhausting pleasure of partaking in the Ultimate Marvel Marathon at the historic El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. All the previous Marvel flicks were shown sequentially, culminating with a screening Age of Ultron about a week and a half ahead of its public release.
I’ll try to keep this as spoiler free as possible, but if you want to go in completely pure of mind, maybe come back to this later.
As the movie begins, we’re treated to what is perhaps one of the finest action sequences in any Marvel film to date. This is the iconic scene from the trailer with all the Avengers leaping into action simultaneously. Each hero is not only given a chance to showcase their unique abilities, but we get a chance to see the Avengers working together like a well-oiled machine. Cinematically, it truly is something to behold.
After the battle, the Avengers unwind during a party, which offers up a nice dose of witticism and comedic banter that proves to be as memorable as the big fight scenes. It’s not long before we’re introduced to titular villain Ultron (James Spader), the brainchild of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner with the help of an alien artifact.
In the film, Ultron’s main objective is to secure world peace, which he decides will be achieved by wiping out humanity. His motivation isn’t really explained, and is logically faulty at best, but it’s easy to forgive that in this kind of film.
Okay, maybe this didn’t happen. But soon.
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I was also surprised by Ultron’s levity. To describe him, I would be more likely to use the word “sassy” than “evil” or “villainous”. His dialogue is full of sarcasm, humor, and quips. As a result, it can become difficult to take him seriously as a villain, and the threats posed can at times seem minimal compared to the other films.
One of the best aspects of Age of Ultron is that characters who have been largely overlooked in past films are given a chance to shine here, particularly Hawkeye. Hawkeye is instrumental in several parts of the movie, and is also given some great dialogue and plenty to do. This seems to obviously be director Joss Whedon making up for Hawkeye’s lack of involvement in the first Avengers film. There are also some great scenes between Black Widow and Hulk/Bruce Banner that gives audiences a chance to see these characters on a more human level.
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The title of “show-stealer” of Age of Ultron, however, has to go to The Vision (Paul Bettany). While it takes a while for his character to be introduced, you find yourself wanting to see him in action in every scene going forward. While he isn’t given a hefty serving of screen time, hopefully we’ll get to seem him come to prominence in the upcoming Marvel movies.
Other newcomers Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) perhaps have one of the more compelling arcs, showing their journey from villainous puppets to heroic Avengers. I’m not too sure how I feel about Age of Ultron’s take on the Scarlet Witch character, though. The scenes showing the altered psyche of her victims’ can seem out of place and drawn out. That said, there’s at least a kernel of interest to be found in them.
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What Age of Ultron achieves to do is leave the old world of the Avengers behind, and begin to usher in a new status-quo going forward. Overall, I feel that Age of Ultron is perhaps one of Marvel’s strongest films to-date. While it does fall flat on some levels, it succeeds on many more. It’s a film that merits more than one viewing, which I haven’t particularly felt about many of the other Marvel films.
The Avengers: Age of Ultron lands in theaters May 1st.
