The best thing about the film versions of Marvel’s Avengers is how genuine they come across. You probably wouldn’t immediately think of a frozen World War II soldier, a Norse god, two scientists with super powered armor and the ability to transform into a rampaging monster, and two infamous assassins as relatable and endearing, but somehow Age Of Ultron pulled it off.
The titular evil robot, voiced by James Spader with sneering arrogance, is a very entertaining villain with a more menacing presence than the foppish Loki. But the sequel to the 2012 blockbuster (once again written and directed by Joss Whedon) mostly focuses its narrative on our heroes growing stronger as a team.
Their bond is on display with how they banter with and tease each other in the heat of battle, and their arguments revolve around what would be the most effective way to save innocent lives. On top of their altruism, it’s never in doubt how much they care about each other.
This might not be the first thing on your mind when the film opens with a brilliant action sequence, as Captain America leads Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye and the Hulk on a mission to recover Loki’s scepter from Hydra agents in a fictional war torn country of Sokovia. Once outside of the suit, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr., still the king of snark) convinces teammate Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo, playing the shy nerd) to help him use the Infinity Gem inside the scepter to create Ultron, his plan for a global defense system.
Unfortunately Ultron develops an instant dislike of humans as a young AI, and after making a robotic shell for himself he takes command of a stockpile of weapons and codes, recruiting siblings Wanda and Pietro Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who both get to show way more personality than they did in Godzilla last year) who were experimented on by Hydra and now posses deadly powers.
The demented droid plays on their hatred of Stark’s weapons in Sokovian conflict, and uses Wanda’s abilities in particular to mentally wear the Avengers down. Where her brother is a cocky speedster who’s almost as impatient as Sonic, she specializes in telekinesis and hallucinations that play on our heroes’ insecurities.
Oddly enough, it’s Tony who comes off as the biggest idealist of the team with his faith in Ultron’s peace capabilities, while Chris Evans plays Steve Rogers as more of a skeptic- which is completely understandable after the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson make Banner and Natasha Romanov into very sympathetic figures, and the glimpses into Widow’s background won’t do much to silence fans demanding her own solo film.
Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is still eerily close to the comics, and he provides a lot of the humor while still maintaining a good superhero presence (his hammer is the highlight of one of the film’s funniest scenes). Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is his usual badass self, and thanks to the film’s lengthy running time, Clint “Hawkeye” Barton thankfully gets much more to do. He’ll probably be a breakout favorite thanks to a great character arc and Jeremy Renner’s performance.
As smart, layered and thoughtful as Age Of Ultron can be, it’s also unabashedly a comic book movie and its characters live in a comic book world. In a nutshell, it’s a simple story about a superhero team chasing a mad robot, and Ultron’s monologues, while entertaining, probably aren’t going to inspire award buzz the way Heath Ledger’s Joker did. Whedon still gives the Avengers (and Ultron especially) plenty of puns, but it isn’t just Silver Age nonsense- he generally directs this sequel with a lot more emotional weight.
On top of the eye candy and massive battles, there’s also a surprising number of cameos by characters from other MCU films outside of the main Avenger team. None of it really takes away from the main character development, but it’s a very fast paced and possibly overwhelming 140 minutes. I think it’s a good movie in general and it gets a big thumbs up from me, but kids, passing fans of action films, comic book nerds and long time Marvel supporters will especially get the most out of it.