Rent Avengers: Age of Ultron on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Joss Whedon, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (Marvel comics)
Directed by: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johannson, Jeremy Renner, James Spader, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Hawkeye, and Black Widow try to stop Ultron, who is bent on eradicating the Earth of humans.
Verdict
This at least acknowledges the collateral damage super hero movies often portray, but doesn't provide any answers. The weakest part of the movie is Ultron. As much depth as he has, his character might as well be named "Villain." The best part of the movie is a scene where the Avengers are just casually hanging out, it's rarely a setting we see them in. It's a by the numbers super hero movie and with the sheer number of Avenger movies and Marvel movies, this one doesn't stand out.
It depends.
Review
With a movie that features good versus bad, you need a good villain. Ultron is a flimsy excuse for the Avengers to assemble. Ultron's purpose is to save the world by eliminating humans with some backwards logic. That's the biggest gap in this movie and a big reason this Avengers movie pales into comparison to Infinity War and Endgame. With so many Marvel movies, the only reason to watch this is if you're trying to watch them all.
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| Scarlett Johannson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo |
This starts with the Avengers on a mission and introduces the twins Wanda and Peitro. They are a big focus in the movie with there character arcs moving quickly. Loki's scepter from one of the other movies is the focus yet again. It creates Ultron who becomes sentient and wants to destroy the Avengers for peace. Ultron is a convenient plot point to provide a villain. He's underdeveloped and his plan is boring.
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| How does Thor's hammer work? |
There's a fun moment before Ultron is introduced where the Avengers are just hanging out. They're trying to pick up Thor's hammer and offering theories on why no one else can pick it up. We rarely, if ever, see the Avengers outside of hero mode.
The Avengers go into hiding because Hulk destroy an African town fighting Tony Stark in a Hulk buster suit. I don't know why the movie chose an African town. Hero movies often destroy towns with no followup on the repercussions. The Avengers movie has done this plenty. While Stark has a throwaway line about rebuilding, this doesn't provide any solutions to prevent super powered beings from wreaking havoc on the world.
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| Tony Stark's Hulk buster suit. |
While Hulk and Black Widow seems like an odd pairing, the movie explains it the best it can. They have a lot in common as they are two people, one being the dark side of a monster. The movie tries to build the relationship with Black Widow talking about a lullaby to calm Hulk, but it doesn't seem believable.
Ultron is supposed to be an intelligent villain, but his motives don't seem any grander than a typical villain that craves power. In this case Ultron wants to kill the Avengers, seemingly just to raise the stakes since the heroes need a powerful foil. He's presented as incredibly intelligent which makes his plan all the more flimsy. With so much knowledge, he just wants to build himself a body.
With so many Avengers movies in addition to the full slate of Marvel movies this just isn't one you need to see unless you're on a quest to see all Marvel movies.
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