“Avengers: Age of Ultron”
Directed by Joss Whedon
Marvel Studios
3.5 / 5.0 paws
Back in October, Marvel Studios officially laid out its grand scheme for the remainder of the decade: a slew of nine films – now 10 – that will all tie into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as part of “phase three” of what will shortly be the highest-grossing film franchise in history.
If it all seems very overbearing, that’s because it is, especially with two Marvel films being released this summer alone. The first of those, “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” is also the first in the saga to show that the opulence of comic book fiction and entertaining cinematic action is weighing on the franchise’s ability to maintain a logical storyline.
At this point in said storyline, there’s no need to spend time trying to explain how everything came about. Director Joss Whedon knows this, starting the sequel off with a beautifully unbroken shot that quickly introduces each member of the team one by one as they attack a HYDRA base. The last 10 films in the Marvel canon have all set up an adventurous path of accumulated information, but Whedon barely chooses to use any of it explicitly, relying more heavily on themes and ideals to guide his heroes.
Those themes are heavily based around the new characters he introduces. At the HYDRA base, the team discovers a pair of superpowered twins who have a vendetta against Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) can manipulate reality and control minds, while her brother Pietro Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has superhuman speed.
Meanwhile, Tony is cooking up some enemies of his own. Along with Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), he develops an artificial intelligence out of a will to keep the Earth protected from the otherworldly beings that threatened it in the previous “Avengers.” The artificial intelligence, named Ultron (voiced by James Spader), takes a different approach to Tony’s “world peace,” and uses an army of remote-controlled robots to plan the eradication of the planet’s pesky human problem.
From there, “Age of Ultron” travels across the globe with Ultron staying a few steps ahead at every location. This iteration’s countless action scenes are consistently meaningful – a lot of the film’s message of humanity comes from the heroes rescuing civilians during battle. Neither does the war ever feel entirely cluttered, a la “Transformers,” thanks to its director’s careful choreography, but with so many individuals on screen, the early signs of such trouble are visible.
The best part of “Age of Ultron,” above any other superhero film before it, is how each of its characters gets a chance to be highlighted through his or her personal issues. Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) in particular is showcased as the soul of the group in a surprising turn of events that nearly puts him in the main protagonist position. Whedon has a keen interest for how the cogs of this outlandishly convoluted team work, and by exploring their fears and everyday lives, he pokes around at the fascinating vulnerabilities behind their gifts.
Here’s where the seams get a bit tangled: “Age of Ultron” contains little to no practical exposition. There are a few sequences involving Wanda’s magic that throw our heroes directly into their worst nightmares, providing a chance to expand on both origin story and Marvel lore. All of it, however, especially details that are going to tie into “phase three” of the series, feel so underexplained that they keep the movie from flowing as well as it should.
Whedon knows what he’s doing – nothing in his sequel is outright incoherent, but a lot of it is very messy. “Age of Ultron” can’t help but feel – with its relentlessly gigantic final battle and all – like a weaker version of its predecessor. Still, while expectations should be lowered for the unfathomable chaos that comes with the Marvel franchise from here on out, the film delivers what was expected: a blockbuster that fits plenty of Hulk-smashing and witty dialogue into a precariously expanding bubble.
Only Whedon could make the most chilling detail of an action movie Ultron’s tendency to slip the line “I’ve Got No Strings” from “Pinocchio” into his condescending monologues. Why it makes sense, however, is a problem for next week’s issue.
– Sebastian Torrelio