"I'm gonna tear you apart.....from the inside"
After taking down a Hydra base and obtaining Loki's scepter, Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) use its' power to help create Ultron, an artificial intelligence peacekeeping program designed to help stop world threats and give the Avengers, some much-needed R-n-R. Unfortunately, the project goes awry, and Ultron (James Spader) vows to make the Avengers extinct, creating several look-alikes in the process and recruiting the help of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff (Elisabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson). While trying to stop Ultron, the Avengers are forced to face their fears and their pasts.
Despite the overload of characters, Joss Whedon's script actually works very well. He gives just about everyone the right amount of time on-screen. In this movie (mostly thanks to previous movies), you actually grow to care about a lot of the heroes, and root for their happiness. A few strong plot and character twists also throw you a little bit for a loop. Finally, and this is probably the smartest addition in the whole movie. The addition of flashbacks and visions to the Avengers' own storylines add some much-needed bits of "story" to the impressive action sequences.
One other thing I appreciated was that after the film's second major action sequence, the film took some time to slow down. I'm not gonna ruin it, but the Avengers do lay low at a normal family's house for a while. For about 20 minutes, it brought just a little bit of old-fashioned style to a film that is otherwise, completely modern with its effects and bam-boom destruction. There's also some solid humor in this part of the film as well (in fact, the whole movie is filled with a lot of witty humor). The movie also contains some messages on the dangers of participating in things that are hard to understand, self-sacrifice, bravery, as well as nice nods towards making the right choice, family, letting go of the past, admitting mistakes, and of course, teamwork.
The visual effects and swooping cinematography, even though they can be just a tad dizzying and over-the-top in places, are all impressive. Costume design, ditto. The music score by Bryan Tyler and Danny Elfman works well with the action scenes, even if at times it may be a little too reminiscent of the first movie's score. The flashbacks are appropriately erie. And the action scenes are both exciting and thrilling, even if sometimes they may go on a little long.
The acting is overall very solid, though a few actors are starting to show signs of minor wear and fatigue. Downey, Chris Hemsworth (Thor), and Chris Evans (Captain America) do good with what they are given, but overall, they are not quite as sincere as they were in earlier Marvel movies. The actors that do the best are the ones that haven't appeared as much in the MCU. Jeremy Renner is given more to do here than the first movie as Hawkeye (and there's even a hilarious one-liner that references what I'm saying), and gives some surprising heart and wit. Ruffalo's second turn as the Hulk is emotionally-convincing and cartoonishly enjoyable, while Scarlett Johannson shows some different sides to Black Widow here than what we've seen out of the B-character so far.
I liked how some characters from the independent Avengers movies made appearances. War Machine/Rhody (Don Cheadle), Falcon/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Dr. Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard), Heimdall (Idris Elba), and Nick Fury (to a larger extent, Samuel L. Jackson) all add fun moments to the film. Andy Serkis (a.k.a. Gollum) appears in one scene as a possible future Marvel villain. As for the new characters, Spader does a great job with Ultron. He brings a sinister tone similar to that of his character on The Blacklist, and also brings in some interesting tones of sarcasm and sophistication. While their accents aren't perfect, I enjoyed Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. They were both cartoony, but yet fairly memorable, even if they had some of the least development of most of the characters. Finally, Paul Bettany gives an interesting tone to both JARVIS and the Vision.
There are a few relatively minor problems I found with Ultron. One, I found the film's attempted romance between the Hulk and Black Widow to be somewhat under-developed. We don't really see the characters grow to fall in love with each other, we just see they are already like that when the film starts. I really wish I would have seen a bit of tension and hesitation rather than jumping right in when there's already a relationship happening.
One other issue I had with the film was a couple of moments of Ultron's "knowledge", so to speak. They seemed like cartoony images of a computer's "data". While they serve to illustrate what Ultron is and how he became who he is, it seemed like an odd fit. In addition to that, Ultron's "fall from grace" of sorts happens a little too fast. I would have liked it if there was some success with the Ultron program before seeing him turn to the dark side. There are a couple of odd, misplaced Biblical references that (and this issue was raised by other Christians) made me scratch my head somewhat. But, they are issues that are more bearing the need for discussion rather than being a reason for not seeing the movie.
Superhero movies are becoming the new normal. And with more and more coming from Marvel and DC, the formula may be starting to get, somewhat, well, formulaic. But that doesn't mean they aren't still a whole lot of fun to watch.
The Avengers was the movie that got me into this genre. So, you can imagine how excited I got when I saw the first trailer for Age of Ultron. Marvel continues to up their creative ante, and in many ways, Ultron is the penultimate Marvel movie both creatively and in terms of thrills. More comic book characters. More stunning effects. More deep twists. And more hints at what is to come out of Marvel.
But even more so, what makes this sequel so enjoyable isn't just for the action and eye-popping effects. Its the nice, much-needed small bits and pieces of story and moments of characterization that make it one of the comic book genre's most memorable entries by far. This is certainly a step in a good direction, considering many blockbusters today lack substance and think its all about the visual effects.
And while Ultron has its flaws, and it doesn't have all the ingredients of becoming a classic (and it could use a bit of a clean-up job with its' occasional problematic content), it still manages to be more thoughtful than what you would expect out of a summer popcorn-muncher. Is it better than the first Avengers? I'm not sure yet (I'd probably need to watch both of them on DVD back-to-back to figure that out).
It is at least as good as its predecessor, and that's a statement that's become a rarity in itself for a sequel.
Score: 8.6/10
Content Problems Families Should Be Aware Of:
Language: Overall, a little less frequent than the first Avengers, but there's still over a dozen obscenities in the script. And, it is a little harsher than its predecessor in terms of coarseness. Awkwardly, the first word used in the movie is the film's lone s-word spit out by Iron Man during battle. In addition to that, we hear three uses each of "a--" and "h---", two each of "d---" and "b----rd", and one each of "son of a b----", "p---", "d--k", and "for g--'s sake".
In an interesting element for a Marvel movie, some of the film's cursing is hilariously rebuked by characters saying "watch your language!" or "you kiss your mom with that mouth?".
Adult Content: A handful of sexual innuendo. Black Widow tells Banner twice she wishes she could have "joined him" after a shower (we see her in a robe, him with a towel around his waste). Elsewhere, Stark says "you better not be playing hide the zucchini!" and when someone tries to lift Thor's hammer, "we won't hold it against you if you can't get it up" and "I'll hold your own". Someone says Ultron's robots are multiplying faster than a "Catholic rabbit". More saddening than inappropriate, Black Widow reveals that she was "sterilized" during assassin training. Some women wear form-fitting/low-cut outfits. Vision emerges apparently naked (nothing graphic is shown, however). Some female dancers seen in a flashback.
Violence: This is obviously the strongest of the content. Several scenes show a lot of destruction, as many buildings and even a whole city crumbles to the ground. Many cars fall and crash. Some people die (though we don't see a lot of it). A sign shows a Hydra officer dead and the word "PEACE" written on the wall in his blood. Ultron takes half of a man's arm off (the action occurs off-camera, we see a stump afterwards). A superhero is gunned down and killed in the film's saddest moment. Thor is electrocuted. Iron Man punches and hits the Hulk repeatedly in a destructive action scene, ripping up pavement and a few buildings. Guns are shot. A fearsome daydream shows the Avengers dead. A robotic heart is yanked out.
Drugs/Alcohol: One scene shows a party with beer and other alcohol. The Avengers obviously end up drunk. Someone references margaritas.
Other: Thought of as a savior of sorts, the villain Ultron quotes the Bible a couple of times ("Upon this rock I will build my church") as part of his plan, and references the story of Noah's ark once. When asked who he is, Vision answers "I am....I am". Though in the A.I. context, he obviously is referring to the fact that he is his own being (not Jarvis or Ultron), it is too similar to a Biblical quotation/description of God. Thor makes a mean joke on how the Hulk's victims are screaming at the gates of h---, before correcting that statement.
