Before anyone else says it, yes I know I am late on this
review. I have been meaning to write
this review since I watched the movie opening night. Actually, I got to watch the movie the night before
its actual premiere at a special screening at the local theater. Anyway, I apologize for the tardiness of this
review but life has been busy. Without
further delay:
WARNING: SPOILERS
(but by now everyone should have seen this film)!!!
There is a lot to be said about the Joss Whedon directed,
second installment of The Avengers story (11th-installment in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe [MCU] canon) Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). There were high expectations for this film
after the smashing (pun intended) success of The Avengers (2012). There was a lot riding on this installment to
continue the story of the MCU, wrap up Phase II of the MCU (although
technically Ant-Man was the Phase II wrap-up), and then transition the MCU into
Phase III. The question becomes did it
deliver?
As with every MCU movie to date, I thoroughly enjoyed Avengers:
Age of Ultron. I had fun watching it
and thought it was a fun-thrilled ride the way it was meant to be. Joss Whedon has long been known as the master
of witty dialogue as evidenced on his past works like Buffy: the Vampire
Slayer and Angel. AOU did not
disappoint in that regard. Also not
disappointing were the action sequences and the pace of the film.
From start to finish, AOU started fast and
did not slow down until the closing scene.
Joss Whedon focused more on character development and
progression with this entry after not having a real chance to do so in the
first film. Most notable of Whedon’s
focus was on Hawkeye; perhaps in response to the somewhat moronic, negative
criticism placed upon Whedon for making Hawkeye a mindless drone in the first
film. Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye also got a
chance to quip some of his sarcastic wit that Hawkeye is known for in the comic
books. His interactions with Aaron-Taylor
Johnson’s Quicksilver showcased the dark humor of Hawkeye.
I have read criticism of this entry being another Tony
Stark-centric film; particularly with Stark being the inventor of Ultron
instead of Hank Pym, aka Ant-Man like in the comic books. However, this is not the case. First of all, while Tony Stark and Bruce
Banner tinkered with the idea of an Ultron program, the complete creation of
Ultron really goes to Thanos indirectly through the Infinity Stone placed in
Loki’s staff from the first movie.
Second, while the comic book purist in me would have enjoyed having Hank
Pym be the “father” of Ultron as depicted in the comic books, there really was
no room in the MCU to properly introduce Hank Pym. With the events of The Avengers (2012)
and Iron Man 3 (2013), and with Tony Stark living in paranoia/fear about
not being able to protect the world AND his friends, it was fitting for Tony
Stark to be the “creator” of Ultron. I
can write a whole other blog about this particular subject so I will save
further discussion just for that.
I will not even discuss the idiocy concerning the criticisms
levied against Whedon for the supposedly weakening of the Black Widow character
in this movie. Some people need to get a
life and stop analyzing movies for hidden socio-political motives.
Age of Ultron was another fun and action-filled entry into
the MCU. It delivered on the points it
needed to, and it set the ball in motion for Phase III which will take place
after Ant-Man (2015).
However, as good as Age of Ultron was to watch there was
something that seemed missing from it.
As I write this I still cannot place my finger on it. To this day, whenever I watch the first
Avengers movie, I still get goosebumps when the Avengers assemble on the busted
streets of New York City after Hulk arrives.
Age of Ultron really did not deliver that sensation.
I felt Disney and Marvel made the trailer (the “No Strings
Attached” teaser) darker in tone than what the movie actually was. I really expected a darker movie based on
that teaser. When it did not happen, it
took me awhile to get back into the atmosphere of the movie to enjoy it. There were moments where I thought James Spader’s
portrayal of Ultron was creepy, but then Ultron would mutter a comedic line and
take me out of the moment.
I also thought Ultron did not seem menacing enough. I really expected Ultron to be shown
destroying an entire city and killing everyone in it like in the comic book
storyline Avengers: Ultron Unlimited.
Most of the destruction caused by Ultron happened off camera it seems as
the Avengers were reading the incident reports from the comfort of Avengers
Tower. I really hoped for Thor to even
utter the line, “Ultron! We would have words with thee,” (from the previously
mentioned comic book story) after his team was beaten to within an inch of
their lives. Again, sadly, that did not
happen.
Joss Whedon is known for killing his characters in his films
and TV shows. Usually, they are very
poignant and devastating. However, in
the Age of Ultron, Quicksilver’s death did not feel that way at all. It felt like Whedon was merely checking off
his list of what needs to happen in a Whedon movie. Maybe I am being harsh because I did like Johnson’s
portrayal of Quicksilver. However, after
seeing the Quicksilver from FOX’s X-Men: Days of Future Past move fast
enough to divert every bullet fired at Professor X, Magneto, and Wolverine;
watching MCU’s Quicksilver die from multiple bullet shots just seemed
nonsensical. In other words, a needless
sacrifice. Perhaps Disney and Marvel did
not want to hassle with the split copyright of the character? Who can say?
Finally, and this is nitpicky of me but the comic book story
OCD I have compels me, I felt disappointed that there was never an explanation
as to why Tony Stark was even still Iron Man after the events of Iron Man 3. While Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson make
mention of Bucky Barnes, there was really no transition from where Captain
America was telling Falcon at the end of Captain America: Winter Soldier
(2014) they were going after Bucky to seeing Captain America driving through
the snow-covered forests on his motorcycle.
Overall, I say that while Age of Ultron lacked the same awe
of the first Avengers movie, it still stands as a great movie to watch. I think it did exactly what it needed to do
to transition to Phase III (Ant-Man serves as the official wrap of Phase II),
and we get another look at Thanos and the bigger picture concerning the
Infinity Stones.
There were a few curse words (of which Captain America
admonishes Iron Man for using them), but this movie is still kid-friendly.
What did you think?
Agree? Disagree? Let me know.
Also, let me know what movies from Phase III you are looking
forward to.
Until next time…
No comments:
Post a Comment