Director: Joss Whedon
Writer: Joss Whedon, Stan Lee & Jack Kirby (comic book)
Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris
Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, James Spader, Samuel L. Jackson,
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany
One of the
most anticipated films of 2015, “Avengers: Age of Ultron” has finally come to
Europe and it lives up to the expectations, mostly. Although not perfect, and
arguably not quite as good as the first one, it is not really a disappointment
either. Overall, I really liked it, but I wish it was a bit more than a good
comic book movie. And that’s only because I have faith in Joss Whedon, who’s capable
of great things. But the fact is that “Avengers” is not just his movie, it’s a
Marvel property before anything else. It still worked out very well, having in
mind how many characters and plot elements Whedon had to juggle. The film also
touches on some interesting themes, facilitated by Tony Stark’s ego and
willingness to take any risk in order to ensure world peace.
Just like
the first “Avengers” the best thing about the film is the interaction between
the characters. That said, for me, some of these scenes didn’t work as well as
others. The jokes are more than what you’d expect from the trailer and even
Ultron has a dark sense of humor. Besides that humor, the most thrilling characters
are possibly Ultron himself and Vision. Ultron was put together a bit too fast
and I wish more of his motivations were clarified. Still, he is one of the best Marvel villains,
if not the best. Vision, although having even less screen time, is absolutely
magnificent. I guess we owe that to a great performance from Paul Bettany and
the fact that he wasn’t CGI-ed, but relied entirely on make-up. As for the main
Avengers team, the focus this time is mainly on Hawkeye, Black Widow and
Banner. I did find some of the revelations for Hawk Eye a bit stereotypical
though. Unfortunately, with so much going on, you wind up wanting more from
most of the heroes. The story and motivations of the twins seemed a bit forced
into the overall arc, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s
accent just takes the audience out of the movie. And his acting as a whole – I
just couldn’t buy it. Both siblings could have been used better, but I found
Scarlet Witch much more interesting than Quick Silver, who, essentially has two
lines of dialogue.
I
didn’t expect obvious product placement as well, but it was there. Then, there’s the “epic” moment when I
was just thinking how all comic movies are just trying too hard to top each
other. And although the movie is a bit darker and the stakes are higher, when some
of the most dramatic moments happen, they aren’t really that effective, mostly
because some characters aren’t so well developed. And although the threat to
civilians is addressed, we only see the ones that are rescued. Besides, normal
people get shot at with huge lasers and survive.
I
don’t think that the visual effects were that spectacular as well, especially
with the 3D. The big fighting sequences sometimes looked blurry or just kind of
fake. I’m sure that in 2D will be much easier to tell what’s going on the screen.
For comparison, in “Guardians of the Galaxy” the 3D was more efficiently used
and looked better. The same goes for the effects. Probably, of all action
scenes, the first is the best, especially considering that it is an intricately
composed long tracking shot.
As
all Marvel movies, “Avengers” also has to set up the following films and some
of the scenes dedicated to this task aren’t very organic to the plot and feel
just like thrown here and there. For example, there’s a rather irrelevant Thor scene that seems
out of place. For the most part, the weaker parts are balanced out by the humor
and character interactions. So, “Avengers: Age of Ultron” remains an enjoyable
movie-going experience. I am also looking forward to the release of the
director’s cut that will supposedly have an alternate ending and a lot more
extra footage that could deliver on some of the lacking character development
and motivations.
Still no results from
users and 72 from critics on MetaCritic - http://www.metacritic.com/movie/avengers-age-of-ultron
80% on RottenTomatoes
- http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/avengers_age_of_ultron/
Trailer:
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