The Avengers: Age of Ultron [M]

In Sokovia, the Avengers are on a mission to raid a Hydra outpost that experiments on humans using the Infinity Sceptre that Loki wielded during their first battle in New York. The results of these experiments are twins Pietro who now has super speed and Wanda who can manipulate minds. Whilst the raid is successful, a new set of troubles occurs as Stark acquires Loki’s sceptre and uses it in an experiment to perfect an artificial intelligence being called Ultron. For a time, the experiments fail until they somehow suddenly work and Ultron comes to life with the express interest of bringing peace to the world by ridding it of the Avengers. The odds are against the Avengers as Ultron teams up with the enhanced twins and plans to destroy the human race so that it can evolve. 

It’s a classic ‘kill your darlings’ type story with Tony Stark at the centre, which brings with it a little panache and arrogant charm. Right from the first shot we’re roped in by a majestic slow-motion action sequence that completely kicks arse and (rather nicely) foreshadows some of the upcoming plot lines. Whilst I sort of like the first Avengers better, really because of the banter and introductory egos flying off each other, Age of Ultron still boasts action, comedy, and drama in a (more or less) well balanced way. 

In Sokovia, the Avengers are on a mission to raid a Hydra outpost that experiments on humans using the Infinity Sceptre that Loki wielded during their first battle in New York. The results of these experiments are twins Pietro who now has super speed and Wanda who can manipulate minds. Whilst the raid is successful, a new set of troubles occurs as Stark acquires Loki’s sceptre and uses it in an experiment to perfect an artificial intelligence being called Ultron. For a time, the experiments fail until they somehow suddenly work and Ultron comes to life with the express interest of bringing peace to the world by ridding it of the Avengers. The odds are against the Avengers as Ultron teams up with the enhanced twins and plans to destroy the human race so that it can evolve. 

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that sequels have a tendency to try and out do their predecessors and, particularly in this day and age, this is achieved through action sequences and special effects. This movie begins with a hard-hitting action sequence complete with slow motion, large chunks of dialogue that just casually drops plot points, and plenty of explosions, gunfire, and debris. Whilst this is a highly effective opening in that it grips the audience right from the get-go, it did become a bit showy and a bit of a spectacle. 

There actually is an awful lot going on in terms of plot: we have a whole bunch of little plots all happening concurrently and this can get a bit convoluted at times, not a whole lot, but a little. We’ve got the extinction threat to the human race (the heroes vs. villains plot), we then have the internal friction within the heroes unit, we’ve got the complications with the threat actually having been created by the hands of an Avenger, there’s a small love story going on in there, as well as dropped hints of an intergalactic master-plot that (at the moment) is beyond the heads of any of our heroes. See? There’s a lot going on! 

The banter between all our heroes is still sort of there, just not a fierce and fun as it was in the first movie. Having said this, there is this really great camaraderie and sense of fun between all of them that really makes a shine: particularly the slightly drunken discussions about Thor’s hammer (watch out for that). 

Of course I have to say something about the character of Ultron because this is a CG character that has to deliver as a strong a performance as any of the human actors. Ultron was cool as a character: a sort of dark side (or darker really) of Stark; boasting his wit, arrogance, and something of charm. James Spader provided the voice of Ultron and whilst I completely lost my shit when I worked this out, I did think that there were moments where he could have been better. Spader provided a perfect voice for the role, it has to be said, but at some points his dialogue and the inflection in which he says it doesn’t always gel. I realise it’s done this way to animate the character a bit more and make him less of a robot, but sometimes it can become a little jarring. Physically Ultron looked pretty cool though you would have to suspend your belief in human anatomy to appreciate him that little bit more. 

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, James Spader, Aaron Tyalor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olson, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, and Samuel L. Jackson, The Avengers: Age of Ultron is a fine action flick and a solid sequel as far as sequels go. Filled with action, tension, drama, friction, romance, and comedy, it was a film that I quite enjoyed for what it was. I think the only thing in the cinema that I enjoyed more than the movie was my boyfriend’s exclamations of excitement next to me.