Review: Avengers Age of Ultron

Posted on: 26 Apr 2015
Category: Movies

I love the Marvel Cinematc Universe. I've never been much of a Marvel fan after watching a few stinkers (*coughDaredevilcough*) but I've been following the series since the first Iron Man film came out in 2008 (sans the Incredible Hulk - still debating on whether to watch that one or not). And when the first Avengers movie came out in 2012, I was blown away - never in a million year did I think that a huge ensemble cast can come together and produce an amazingly huge, high-quality blockbuster that boasts both strong characterization and an engaging storyline that works alongside the film's many action sequences. Not many action movies can pull that off flawlessly, and Joss Whedon had succeeded in that area. That man can do no wrong.

Age of Ultron manages to live up to the success of the original. The action sequences are bigger, the story and characterization are deeper, and the stakes are far higher than the original. Everyone brings out their A-game as usual, but it was really James Spader who stole the show as Ultron, jumping from sympathetic to downright scary and even funny just by the flick of the switch. Paul Bettany (AKA JARVIS) did a wonderful job playing the Vision, leaving a lasting impression in such a short space of time. And yay, more Hawkeye screen time! We get to see more of his character and personality this time around, after being on the back-burner in the last Avengers film.

Of course, this movie is far from perfect, and there have been one or two elements that have marred an otherwise outstanding movie - I felt that the final action scene dragged on for a bit too long, and it became clear that the film was starting to run out of steam near the end. (I'll give the creators their due though, the movie did have five major action scenes, compared to the first one's four.) Thor's subplot was cut in half to reduce the overall running time, so I never really got to see his storyline resolved, something which I hope will be fixed when the rumored Extended Edition is released on Blu-Ray later this year. And finally, the romantic subplot between the Hulk and Black Widow, while not necessarily out-of-character bad, did feel a bit unnecessary and out-of-place, and it's a wonder why Whedon wanted to include it in the first place, or if it was just an afterthought.

Having said all that, these grievances alone are not enough to bring down the film's overall enjoyment, wit or soul. I came into the cinema expecting an epic all-out blockbuster, and I definitely got my money's worth in the end. Roll on Infinity War!

9/10

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