Avengers: Age of Ultron

Artificial intelligence has always been a scary thought and Hollywood has exploited this fear. First came the quintessential AI that threatened humanity: HAL 9000. Then came such foes as Skynet, the machines that created the Matrix, VIKI and now we have Ultron. Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe wasn't quite living up to Phase One but just as "Captain America" gave me hope for "The Avengers", "Guardians of the Galaxy" gave me hope for "Avengers: Age of Ultron". As fun as this sequel is, it is a bit overwhelming and has a narrative that is not as entertaining as its predecessor. "Age of Ultron" doesn't have enough rising action but rather constant action. The good news is that you can see this movie and follow it without having to see the other films in Phase Two although it does help. It is also just as good after multiple viewings. Director and writer Joss Whedon's inspirations for this sequel were "The Empire Strikes Back" (Who doesn't use that film as inspiration for making a sequel?) and "The Godfather: Part II". I hate to do this but I will be comparing "Age of Ultron" with the first Avengers film a lot.

I will first address the small narrative structure mistakes in this movie. We get right into the action with all the Avengers present and I was hoping that the first half of the film would be about re-assembling the team. The initial formation of the team that took place gradually over the course of the first film was perfectly crafted. I miss that kind of narrative progression. If I were given the opportunity, I would have put the "Veronica" scene at the start because it only involves two Avengers. This sequel did have some great lines and funny gags. I love the scene where the Avengers dare each other to lift Mjolnir and how Cap almost succeeds. His failure gets a great response out of Thor. As fun as this scene is, it has a very important story purpose that will pay off during the lead up to the climax. We first saw the reference to "Pinocchio" in the trailer and but I was impressed that it showed up twice in the feature film to great effect. They even used an audio clip from the actual movie. The movie does a good job in reviewing for the audience how many of the Infinity Stones we have seen so far in the MCU. There is the blue Space Stone in the Tesseract (first seen in the end credit sequence of "Thor"), the red Reality Stone in the form of the Aether (from "Thor: The Dark World"), the purple Power Stone (from "Guardians of the Galaxy") and the yellow Mind Stone that was in Loki's scepter in the first Avengers. In mid-credit sequence for "Age of Ultron", we are shown another important object in the hands of someone far worse than Ultron. As a side note, we saw this object's counterpart briefly in "Thor" in the weapons fault. Considering what happens in later in "Thor: Ragnarok", I don't think we will see that relic in the future. Speaking of future films, there is one line from Tony that inadvertently references the next Avengers movies: "We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the live long day, but, that up there? That's... that's the end game." I was upset that Thor's recovery after the climax of "Age of Ultron" was not shown. He seemed to be unconscious in the water. Some people might ask why there was no post credit scene? To summarize Whedon: Hey, you try and top the Shawarma scene.

I am glad that Robert Downey Jr. renewed his contract with Marvel. I remember his appearance on a late night talk show a few years ago and the host (I forget who) hinted at the fact that nobody could replace him in this role; that he is Iron Man. Tony Stark has assumed the role of sponsor for the Avengers and that is fitting but I still think he is the face of the team. He has kind of the same role that Batman has for the Justice League (Whedon would finish the production of that movie later in his career). Stark's position in the Avengers, combined with the fear of losing his friends and the earth to an extraterrestrial threat similar to that in the Battle of New York, leads Tony to create Ultron. Captain America though remains the true leader as he takes charge in the various battles. Heroes are only as good at their villains and we get a great villain in the form of Ultron. Malekith for example was flat but Ultron has complexities. He is egotistical also and that is fun. I love his expressive face so applause is due for the special effects artists and motion capture crew. The design of Ultron was even modeled after actor James Spader. I first saw Spader in the Spielberg film "Lincoln" and his character in that show is quite a bit different from Ultron. I therefore am developing a respect for Spader's work. Part of the story of this sequel is a response to those fans that say that Hawkeye is the least important Avenger. He really proves himself an asset in this installment. The romance between Romanoff and Banner was well crafted and was alluded to, even if by accident, in the first Avengers movie. The chemistry between Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo was sufficient from the previous film for this subplot in "Age of Ultron" to work. I like Quicksilver a little better in the X-men franchise. That incarnation was a tad more fun. I am so glad that War Machine has a role in this film and I am equally glad for the Falcon's brief appearances. I had no idea Andy Serkis was going to be in this movie and so that was a very entertaining cameo as he calls it. Serkis appears to use his Captain Haddock voice with a different accent for the character of Klaue. I thought Serkis' character was a one-time thing but apparently and thankfully not. Due to Serkis' presence in production, Mark Ruffalo was trained to handle the increase in motion capture work from the first Avengers movie. The technology in editing is such now that performances from multiple takes can be combined together for one shot. Finally, Stan Lee never ceases to entertain us. The musical score was okay but it was nothing like in the first movie. Why not bring back the great Alan Silvestri? Danny Elfman I can understand but why two composers? That may have worked for the Dark Knight Trilogy but not this time. Music is so important and that may have contributed to the reason why this sequel wasn't as good as its predecessor. At least Silvestri was brought back for the next Avengers film. I once again liked the use of classical music.

The focus of this movie appears to be the drama that the heroes experience as well as the action. The story was given attention but not as much as in the production of the first Avenger movie. "Age of Ultron" was very anticipated starting in 2012 and that anticipation increased with every Phase Two installment in the MCU so maybe that is why some audience members came out of the theater a tad disappointed. Congestion was a factor to be sure. Even Whedon realized this was happening and that is why Tom Hiddleston was filmed but not included in the final cut. This was still a great movie nevertheless. "Avengers: Age of Ultron" was nearly good enough to be my favourite film of 2015 but "Inside Out" got the honor by a narrow margin. For a time after this sequel, I was somewhat worried about the future of the MCU. It was announced for example that Whedon was not coming back for "Avengers: Infinity War" and so my hope for those sequels for a time was somewhat tested. Everything turned out just fine.

4.5 Stars out of 5