 |
| Review by Benn Robbins |
I am going to to attempt to write as spoiler-free review as I can here. So, please bare with me. Anything that I mention will be only things that trailers might have revealed.
“A-hem”
AAAAAAVENGEEERRRRS AAAAASSSSEEEEEM…
Wait.
Let me back up.
I have always been a DC Comics guy. I could never get into Marvel. It just never clicked with me.
If you had told me 15 yeas ago that Marvel Comics would be kicking the ever living meta-butt of DC Comics, in both the comic world AND in the cinematic world, I would have told you to go pound sand and enjoy that fantasy world you have created.
Instead, here I stand. Foot firmly in mouth, having happily ingested my fair share of craw and loving the Marvel Universe, both film and, for the most part, now comic book one as well.
What Marvel has done is created a tightly knit, beautifully designed and entertaining series of films whose characters I care about and who’s stories are engaging and emotional. In turn, I am beginning to read their books.
Mission accomplished.
Make Mine Marvel.
Avengers: Age of Ultron is no exception.
The eagerly awaited sequel to the 2012 Marvel’s Avengers film is about as good a film as you would come to expect from The House of Ideas. Boston’s own, Kevin Feige, the mastermind behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe and co-producer on every Marvel film made since 2000 has a plan and he is sticking to it.
It is a damn good plan.
The films he has had a hand in molding with an insanely talented list of creators and actors has become some of the most talked about films in both the pop-culture and non-pop-culture worlds.
For those of you playing catch up, starting with the release of 2008’s Iron Man through 2019’s Avengers: Infinity War Parts 1 & 2 there has been and will be a continuous storyline carrying though 22 films and, as for now, 2 TV shows, (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter, respectively).
Age of Ultron follows in the wake of the first film and subsequently in the wake of the events in Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
The film opens with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes still dealing with the repercussions of the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D following the deceit of Hydra, the secret criminal organization run by the mastermind, Red Skull. This film comes out swinging and only gives you enough time to quickly breathe so you don’t pass out in your seat.
Joss Whedon, writer and director of the first Avengers, returns to helm and write this film and he is on top of his game here.
Whedon, for me is very hit or miss and his work can have that initial WHAM! POW! BANG! but lack a lot of sustainability utter multiple viewings and any type of scrutiny. Here he brings his A+++ game and does what he is known to do best: Take a varied and entangled cast of characters, make them lovable, make them vulnerable and make them, what Marvel is best known for, human.
These are heroes. They are flawed and not perfect but in the end that is what makes them great. because they don’t give up. They go where even THEY fear to tread and when one falters, the others have their backs. This films greatest success is in it’s handling of the material. Where most writers and directors might get bogged down with making sure each character has their “15 minutes” of screen time, sacrificing story for face time, and with the names that they have in this film, you would think that would be the first order of business.
I like to call it the “Next Generation syndrome” where it seemed like every actor on Star Trek: The Next Generation was contractually obligated to have equal amount of screen time regardless of whether the story called for it or not, in my mind, ruining an otherwise good film. Here, what is more important to Whedon and cast and crew is getting the best story told; making sure that each character is properly represented regardless of how much they are actually on the screen.
The main story follows the creation of the artificial intelligence Ultron, who’s purpose is to be the last line of defense in the protection of man, should The Avengers fail in their mission to protect the Earth. And much like the hubris that created it, Ultron falls victim to the “Pride that Blinds” and loses sight of why he was created and begins to see the creator as the very thing it needs to destroy.
Faced with the very thing they had hoped would help them, now as their enemy, it is up to the Avengers to once again unite and overcome their fears and doubts to save the world.
Old friends and allies join the battle and the film becomes one of the best nerdgasm inducing, no-holds barred films I have seen in a very long time. Fans of the Marvel universe so far will be pleased with the return of a ton of fan-favorite characters and will be overjoyed with all the “Easter Eggs” nestled throughout.
Non-comic fans, if there are still any out there, will be blown away and kept at the edge of their seat, as the old parlance goes, with the great action and spectacle. Where it falters is so minimal that it really isn’t worth mentioning and it definitely does NOT ruin or take away from the over-all enjoyment of the film as a whole.
The introduction and use of the ‘Miracle’ twins Wanda and Pietro aka Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, played by Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson respectively, are a going to thrill the fans. The Vison and how he comes about is great. And The Blacklist star, James Spader as Ultron, is perfectly menacing and condescending in its revile of those whom it is created to protect.
Avengers: Age of Ultron is the perfect kick off to the summer blockbuster season and another great addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In a year where we are about to have a new Mad Max, Jurassic Park, Terminator, James Bond, the final Hunger Games, and Star Wars, this could be either the greatest year for cinema ever or the most disappointing one ever recorded.
It is nice to know that Avengers: Age of Ultron will NOT be a part of the latter. I was thoroughly entertained and would put it on par with the first Avengers in terms of story and characters and definitely much larger and exciting in terms of scope.
An absolute must see and for me, an absolute MUST SEE AGAIN!
