Avengers: Age of Ultron

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, James Spader (voice), Cobie Smulders, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Linda Cardellini, Stellan Skarsgard, Claudia Kim, Thomas Kretschmann, Andy Serkis, Julie Delpy, Josh Brolin (uncredited)
Directed by: Joss Whedon
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
2015

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) attempts to create an artificial intelligence program to act as a global peacekeeping force. His creation, Ultron (James Spader) takes matters into his own hands and threatens all of humanity.

Review:

Tim: How do you follow up one of the biggest movies of all time? The Avengers was unlike anything we'd ever seen before, the culmination of multiple years of films and intertwining stories into one massive, epic film. Three years later, we get the sequel, Avengers: Age of Ultron. It brings back the same cast (but expanded significantly) and the same director, Joss Whedon, who was responsible for much of the greatness of the first film. Expectations couldn't be higher, which is why it's not surprising that this sequel failed to meet up with them. Is Avengers: Age of Ultron a great movie? Undoubtedly. It's funny, exciting, thrilling, suspenseful, features great special effects. It's better than most movies you'll see. And yet, compared to the first movie, there's no way you could see this without some amount of disappointment. The second Avengers movie is a far cry from the first one.

Let's discuss some of the issues. First off, there's so much going on in this movie. Even at 2 hours and 21 minutes, it never feels like there's quite enough time. Now, one of the great strengths of Whedon is his ability to juggle large casts and give them enough to do. In the hands of another director, this film could have been a disaster, shortchanging most of the cast. That's not the case here- it's a minor annoyance. Certain scenes feel rushed or chopped up. The most glaring example is the scene with Thor in the cave- there's no build up to it and it happens so fast. It felt tacked-on, a product of the Cinematic Universe building, rather than an authentic part of the story. Quite frankly, there's just too much happening- you have the introduction of way too many new characters- Ultron, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Ulysses Klaue, etc. You have so many returning characters that need time. This causes the movie to jump around a bit too much. Again, this isn't a fatal flaw, but it is apparent.

I do want to mention Ultron. I was so excited about him as the villain, and even more pumped when James Spader was going to play him. Ultron is a super cool villain, but he was just shortchanged here. I never truly felt a sense of threat or dread from him. Yes, he has an army of robots, but he himself doesn't seem all that terrifying, especially when the more powerful Vision is part of the team. Marvel has been criticized in recent years for a slew of lackluster villains. Ultron should have reversed that trend, but instead, he's simply too forgettable.

Despite some flaws, there's so much to like here. While this movie might not be quite as funny as the first Avengers, I still laughed multiple times throughout the movie. This time, Hawkeye has some of the absolute best lines. I did feel like there were a few unnecessarily crude sexual jokes that just felt out of place. They weren't funny. Still, Whedon's humor shines through and it makes this feel more enjoyable.

Again, the biggest attraction is seeing these wonderful characters interact on screen. We get to see more of the budding conflict between Iron Man and Captain America. We get a somewhat surprising deepening relationship between Hulk and Black Widow. Thor didn't get a whole lot to do, unfortunately. Hawkeye's character was explored in significantly more detail than previously. It was also incredibly fun to see Vision on the big screen. He's such a cool character and it was wonderful finally getting to see him.

The cast is fairly remarkable. Robert Downey Jr. gets some nice moments as Tony Stark. While it felt like he spent a lot of the movie flying around solo, his presence was still great. Chris Evans once again knocks it out of the park as Captain America- he's really comfortable in this role now. Chris Hemsworth was shortchanged here, unfortunately. Mark Ruffalo continues to prove he's the best Hulk we've ever seen on the big screen. Scarlett Johansson adds her usual good supporting performance and it was fun seeing Jeremy Renner get to do something of substance here. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen were perfectly cast as the Maximoff twins. James Spader's voice was perfect for Ultron, even if the character was a bit disappointing. It was fun seeing Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgard, Hayley Atwell, and Anthony Mackie, if only for a few moments each. I loved that Don Cheadle had a little more to do this time around. The cast might be a little too big, but my god, there's so much talent in this film.

So, I have to say that I did thoroughly enjoy Avengers: Age of Ultron. It's a wonderful spectacle and is another incredibly solid entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie is the 8th highest grossing film of all time in the United States. That's amazing. I don't want to miss any of this film's accomplishments or the fact that it's awesome. However, when you are dealing with the MCU and the expectations that undoubtedly come from previous films, there's no way you can look at this film and declare total victory. It's a great movie, huge box office. And yet, we expected more. The first Avengers was close to perfect, but this film has some big flaws that decrease the quality of the film. I enjoyed this movie, but I truly expected it to be better.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Solider, Guardians of the Galaxy