Way back in May, 2012, I concluded my review of Marvel's The
Avengers with the following statement:
"Long story
short: Go See The Damn Thing! And one last thing...what the hell is Marvel
going to do for an encore?!"
Three years later, we have the answer in the form of Joss
Whedon's Avengers: Age of Ultron, a cinematic bombast of flash and spectacle
guaranteed to leave the viewer exhausted by the end of the film, yet still
somehow left wanting more.
The film begins at a breakneck pace, with the Avengers,
comprising of Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Tony Stark/Iron Man
(Robert Downey, Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Dr. Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Mark
Ruafflo and Lou Ferrigno), Natasha Romanoff/The Black Widow (Scarlett
Johannson), and Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) invading an overseas H.Y.D.R.A.
secret base in order to retrieve Loki’s scepter. Upon realizing that the
artifact holds the secret to developing AI technology that could create a
peacekeeping force that would obviate the necessity of the Avengers, Stark
enlists Banner's aid to create Ultron (James Spader, Less Than Zero;
Sex, Lies, & Videotape), a robot meant to be the first line of defense against
interplanetary threat. However, upon gaining sentience, Ultron reinterprets its
directive to assert that the only way to save humanity is to destroy it and,
with the aid of the super-powered twins Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver (Aaron
Taylor-Johnson, Godzilla; Kick-Ass) and Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth
Olsen; Godzilla, Oldboy), sets out to destroy without but not before destroying
The Avengers from within.
One of the main obstacles this film had going in was that
the first Avengers was so epic in scope and execution that the sequel had to be
even bigger in all respects. Joss Whedon, both director and scriptwriter,
accepted said challenge. The need for character introductions having been
obviated by all previous Marvel films, Whedon wastes no time with exposition;
which is incongruously both its strength and weakness. Plot-wise, many
assumptions are made in the beginning without fully being logically reasoned
out and, while jarring, this “cliff notes” approach makes sense given that
Whedon crams as much action and character interaction within a two hour, twenty
minute time frame; which he does with mostly positive results.
Whedon's main strength as a story teller has been
characterization, and it shows here; though he has the advantage in that the
main players wear their roles like a second skin (including Samuel L. Jackson
as a weary Nick Fury and Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill). Nevertheless, Whedon's ability to juggle the
screen time of the main cast is to be commended. Hawkeye and The Hulk are given more to do
this time around, which is likely due to the fact that neither carry a Marvel
franchise of their own. Unfortunately, Thor is given the short shrift in terms
of characterization, but it is by no means a slight as his own journey is still
essential to the plot. There is really
little to say about the main cast other than the fact that despite having
played these characters many times before, there is no sense of “been there,
done that” fatigue that afflict most heroic franchise actors (looking at you,
Christian Bale); in some cases, quite the opposite. Evans’ seems even more
invested in the Captain America persona than ever. A subplot involving The
Incredible Hulk and The Black Widow adds a new wrinkle that allows for an extra
bit of spice to Ruafflo’s and Johannsen’s performances. Downy, Jr. continues Tony Stark’s cinematic psychological
evolution, his manic performance bringing in all of Stark’s previous
experiences to bear in a manner that drives the central conceit of the plot
forward. Renner’s Hawkeye is also given an added character development that grounds the film
with a much needed and necessary human element.
Of the newcomers, Spader, who provided motion capture work
along with voice over, chews the scenery as the malevolent Ultron. His engaging
in sardonic colloquialisms is a bit jarring at first, but a refreshing change
of pace from the usual robotic intonations of robots in other films. Both Taylor-Johnson
and Olsen bring youthful, brashly cocky energy to their roles and their
performances mesh well with the original six. Also of note is Marvel mainstay Paul
Bettany in his roles as both Jarvis and the Vision, as he imbues both AI
constructs with surprising poignancy. Don Cheadle and Anthony Mackie make
extended cameos as James Rhodes/War Machine and Sam Wilson/The Falcon,
respectively; their presence adding welcome comic relief.
The film teeters on political commentary. Though the words
“liberal” and “conservative” are never uttered, the ideological lines between
offensive versus defensive warfare are clearly drawn and debated, though given
the events of the film more weight is given to one side. Whedon manages to
incorporate it into the story without either being heavy-handed or losing sight
of the fact that this is a superhero film. However, this does lead to one of
the few missteps in the film: The overused “hero v. hero” trope. While it fits
within the story’s context, it takes place too frequently here. Its inclusion
is understandable given that AoU serves
as a thematic precursor to the plot of the forthcoming Captain America: Civil War (as well as set-up for Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, and Avengers:
Infinity War) but within the context of a self-contained film, it's
tiresome despite its impressive spectacle of presentation. However, it's not
only a narrative staple of the Marvel “brand”, but it serves as required
counterpoint to their heroism at the film’s climax. It’s refreshing to know
that the filmmakers are aware of the types of heroes they are, with the ability
to “beat the bad guys” while ensuring the safety of civilians, and inspiring hope
while doing so. Warner Bros. should be taking notes.
Another annoying trope is the “Hollywood-think” of “we’re paying
this actor to play this role so we’re getting our money’s worth by seeing
his/her face.” All well and good, but when one is going to see a movie about
superheroes, they expect to see said superheroes in their full regalia on
screen, not have Steve Rogers wearing the majority of his costume sans
mask/helmet. (Never mind the fact the amount of times Steve is referred to by
his nom de guerre can be counted on
one hand with fingers left over. He’s Captain America when in action! Don’t shy
away from that! Embrace it! Sheesh!)
The special effects are top notch, with special mention
towards the CGI renderings of both The Hulk and Ultron, though the 3D viewings
showcase their relatively minor weaknesses. The battle scenes are exciting;
well-orchestrated and choreographed, even if some beats go on far longer than
they should. In fact, so much is thrown onto the screen, it almost leads to
sensory overload, especially in IMAX 3D. If the intent was to create a roller
coaster effect while remaining stationary, it succeeds. It should be noted that said success is
bolstered by the musical arrangements of Brian Tyler accompanied by Danny
Elfman, who manages to improve upon Alan Silvestri’s Avengers theme. While Tyler has said in interviews that he wanted
to create a score reminiscent of John Williams’ Star Wars (1977) and Superman
(1978) (though more heavily on the latter than the former), it’s Elfman’s
contributions that are more evocative of those classics. Their combined effort is a sublime acoustical experience which offers subtle integrations of the heroic themes from Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Iron Man 3 (2013), and Thor: The Dark World (2013) (the latter two also by Tyler). Unfortunately, much of
the score’s nuance (yes, there is nuance) is lost amid the sound effects.
Nevertheless, it effectively does what any good score should do, which is highlight and
season the unfolding events for maximum visceral punch.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
starts 2015 summer season with a nuclear bang, filled with even more thrills,
chills, pathos, triumph, and fun than its predecessor, even if it verges on taking itself way too
seriously. In conclusion…well…please
refer back to the quote referenced above.
I always look forward to your even handed movie reviews. This one is spot on. Perhaps I am beginning to tire a bit of the pace of release of these Marvel movies. I felt it was good and I had fun, but not as good as the first Avenger film. I really didn't care too much for the Ultron nemesis. This movie left me feeling a preference for seeing each superhero in a stand alone movie. Too many cooks in the kitchen...it's something DC was guilty of in the 80's...trying to fit too many characters in a two hour movie.
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