AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON
By Gary Murray
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth
Written and directed by Joss Whedon
Based on the comic book by Stan Lee
Running time 141 min
MPAA Rating PG-13
Selig Film Rating Matinee
I am the last part of the MTV generation. The music video network showed actual music videos of such diverse artists as The Buggles, Thomas Dolby and A Flock of Seagulls. When Miami Vice premiered it was called MTV Cops by the media. It was also the show that ushered in a new breed of film-makers. They graduated from music clips to action films and changed the way that film was presented to a mass audience. It was a new guard that grabbed the torch from the old guard. Film changed from my parent’s generation to my generation. Well, with Avengers: Age of Ultron that torch has been grappled from my generation.
This is the sequel to Avengers one of the most successful films of all time. That is the first problem–the expectations are super high before the first image flickered on the screen. Very few films can survive the hype of being a sequel to the most massive of massive blockbusters.
The story takes place right after the events of the first film. With the rampant destruction of the last film behind them, the Avengers—Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) raid a Hydra outpost. They come across both Quick Silver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen).
It seems that Strucker has been experimenting in the compound with the scepter that was used by Loki. The Avengers find out that there is an artificial intelligence within the gem of the scepter and it is used to complete Stark Industries “Ultron” defense system. Anyone who has seen Terminator or the sequels or the TV show or Star Trek or WarGames knows that this isn’t the best idea.
Ultron becomes self-aware and decides it must destroy mankind to save the planet (see, I told you it wasn’t a good idea). The Avengers must band together and save the world. This is combined with another degree of difficulty. An army of drone robot fighters are ready to clash for the cause. Besides, Quick Silver and Scarlet Witch have their own vendetta against an Avenger.
All of this is combined with a bunch of scenes showing Hawkeye and his home life. Why this is so important only the director knows. There is also a budding romance between Hulk and Black Widow. It all builds to Ultron getting a body (better to fight Avengers with) and a super cool voice (supplied by James Spader). Eventually, the destruction of part of a city in mid-air has to happen. The people are thousands of feet in the air but no one seems to be cold. I mean it wouldn’t be an Avengers film without some massive scale breaking of stuff.
The problem with the new Avengers film is of scale. There is so much going on and at such a fast clip that it becomes a dizzying mess to keep it all straight. Time and time again, I kept wishing I had a remote to where I could back up the film and catch what was going on. The film goes at a pace that is so fast that I became exhausted trying to keep it all in. At times I just gave up and let it wash all over me like lying on the shoreline. This is a film made for those who have spent hours playing those ‘first person shooter’ games and are used to the action flying all around them with little care for nuance or substance. It becomes a giddy assault on the senses.
Writer/director Joss Whedon delivers everything on the screen with Age of Ultron. He did not waste money on overpriced actors but he plowed those hundreds of millions right into the production values and special effects. He does not waste one cent of the Disney money given to him, it is all on the screen. Time and time again, he satisfied every fan boy dream with monstrous special effects. This film is the state of the art perfection one would expect from the director. At the same time, he delivers on the humor aspects the comic book fans come to expect. The modern comic book has just as many laughs as hits and Josh Whedon gives solid chuckles with every loud bang.
While Whedon has many toys in his cinematic toy box, he does not give each character just time to be cool. With so many different characters and so many relationships, some just get lost in the shuffle. This time, Nick Fury, Thor and Captain America feel more than just a little left out in the adventure and there was way too much focus on Hawkeye and his domestic life. But, there is always a next adventure to rectify that situation.
One could see this new “first person shooter” style of production coming with a film such as Scott Pilgrim. It had a cult following but not much mainstream success. Age of Ultron should be that success and usher in a new style of film. The Avengers: Age of Ultron did not change me or enrich my life. It just made me feel like an old man trying to understand a young man’s language. Like my father trying to understand Miami Vice when he was used to The Searchers. Heck, MTV doesn’t even show music videos any more, just 16 year-old pregnant girls and Jersey Shore. Torch has been officially and grudgingly passed.
