13 May Nerdy for Thirty # 19: Avengers: Age of Ultron

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

dir. Joss Whedon, starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, et. al

Tony Stark is at it again. Attempting to resurrect his vision of a global peacekeeping mission, fully aware of Thanos’ presence out in space, events spiral out of control and birthed is Ultron, a sentient artificial being whose goal is to rid the world of its biggest threat: humanity. It’s up to The Avengers, recently finished tying off the final threads of the events of the first film, to unite and stop Ultron from enacting his plans. Featuring new heroes, new villains, and expanding the Marvel Cinematic Universe into bold new areas, Avengers: Age of Ultron is an action-packed movie that delivers on entertainment in spades.

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Chris Hemsworth, and the rest of the team, the Avengers movies are rarely exalted for their acting. All the performers deliver a fine effort in their respective roles, each of them having played their character for the third or fourth time. Particular standouts are Paul Bettany as Vision and Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff. Lean, and properly British, Paul Bettany is the perfect casting for the synthezoid Vision. While he would go on to get more screen time in other projects, here Bettany carries a quiet regal strength that is often associated with the character. For her part, Elizabeth Olsen’s MCU debut is nothing short of awesome. Intense, and a bit creepy, Olsen is great with the crazy eyes as Wanda dismantles the team psychologically, using her (hasn’t been fully defined in 60 years) powers to attack the minds of the crew. Olsen’s importance within the universe would continue to grow, thanks in large part to her initial outing here.

James Spader as Ultron is an audio treasure. Deep, rumbling, and distinctly Spader, the digitized voice for the titular villain is its best quality. Spader manages to capture the menace that Ultron brings to group, while also giving him a bit of a playful personality, thanks to Whedon’s script. The Pinocchio references are hard to miss, and Spader conveys Ultron’s desire to continue evolving with a steadfast resolution of the best villains.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is the movie that broke Joss Whedon. Returning to write and direct the sequel, Whedon’s efforts were herculean but fall just short of the mark. Generally considered the weakest of the Avengers teamups, Ultron is a hodgepoge of different storylines, ill fitting and incongruous. While Whedon still manages to find the fun and humor that’s come to define the MCU, he weaves in a thread of discontent within the group, stemming mostly from Tony Stark’s fears and insecurities, a plot thread that would continue for Stark into his final solo film. Whedon brings the action, kicking the film off with a spectacular setpiece that apes the one shot from the climax of the first movie. From a writing perspective, given what he had to work with under guidelines from the studio, Whedon does the best he can, giving each character a unique voice and perspective. Brian Tyler’s score, which manages to honor Alan Silvestri’s Avengers score while being its own thing, gives the film a rousing feel that matches the energy of the scenes and leaves the story on a high note with a fantastic end credits piece.

Overall, while still enjoyable, Avengers: Age of Ultron fails to full live up to the impossible set of expectations levied against it. Set apart from its predecessor, the film is still an enjoyable one, albeit with a slightly harder edge that does a lot of loadbearing with setting up the Infinity Saga arc going forward. Unfortunately, it’s the studio mandated additions that hurt the story just as much as they help; clunky exposition and oddly placed scenes lead to a disjointed pacing, creating a dissonance within the film that’s hard to ignore. Still, seeing the team back together is an undeniable thrill ride, and coupled with James Spader’s menacing voice work Ultron is worthy placeholder while audiences wait for the biggest bad.

Review by Darryl Mansel