I will admit, I expected Marvel Studios’ The Avengers (Assemble) to be a bit of a mess. I liked the Iron Man movies, thought Thor was pretty interesting and saw Captain America as a kinda low rent Raiders Of The Lost Ark (not a bad thing in itself) but I figured squashing all of these guys together alongside S.H.I.E.L.D and a new Hulk was always going to be a bit of a risk. I mean, look at how many comic-book movies are spoiled by too many villains detracting from either each other or the titular hero himself?
Okay, I was wrong! Whedon handled the movie superbly and gave almost equal presence to each of the heroes although Hawkeye was kinda screwed over by the plot whilst Ruffalo’s Banner and Hulk stole the show. What I expected to be a crazy, by the numbers Super Hero crossover turned out to be an action packed, simple to follow and fun blockbuster.
The film itself has some great moments that would satisfy any Marvel comic geek:
The Loki/Captain America fight in Germany. Iron Man showing up is pretty cool.
Hulking out aboard the Helicarrier and the subsequent fight with Thor.
Banner showing up on a bike, informing us that he is always angry and THAT punch!
The pan around the team as they assemble.
Puny God.
So Avengers: Age Of Ultron has some way to go to improve on what turned out to be probably the pinnacle of bright and loud, family friendly on-screen comic books.
Sequels are an art form in themselves it seems. Some get it right (Empire, Godfather 2) whilst most get it wrong or even worse; they are so bad they affect the enjoyment of the original movie (ahem Highland 2).
We all know Hollywood has a formula and that is simply throwing money at whatever made money. With sequels, this means bigger, louder, longer and with increased effects driven set pieces.
Modern sequels also seem to follow another standard formula. Take original movie + pathos = darker, more interesting sequel.
With this in mind and with Avengers Assemble being such a bombastic feature in itself, Avengers: Age Of Ultron should not only be bigger, louder and more spectacular than any movie released so far but should also add a sense of darkness and mystery to events!
Worryingly for the expectations of everybody waiting to see it, this is beginning to sound as if we may be looking at The Empire Strikes Back of comic movies.
At one minute past midnight, laden with a bucket of Cola and a big bag of Revels to get me through until almost three in the morning; I found out…
Age Of Ultron (AOU) is a different beast when compared to the Avengers. Sadly (spoilers) there just aren’t the stand up and giggle uncontrollably moments as listed above and there are times when it verges pretty close to those problems many claimed that weakened Iron Man 2 had but I’ll get to that later. AOU may not have the geekasm highs but the sequel proves to be a far better picture in the quieter moments. This isn’t to say that there are not moments of wonder and spectacle as the movie is pretty action packed and the set pieces are incredible but there are pauses in the megabudget sequences where the human part of Super Human seems to be bought to the forefront. In these character driven parts, the film breathes and lets you get to know those characters usually sidelined by the release of the tentpole big name movies. It is as if Joss Whedon looked at Avengers Assemble and figured instead of getting bigger, let’s try to make it smaller. Like I say it isn’t short of spectacle but in all honesty how do you trump the sheer adrenaline rush bursting from the audience as they witness The Hulk smash a giant, flying Space Worm on the snout? Whedon gets this and deserves credit for it.
Whedon also deserves credit for the movie resembling, well a movie! The first flick picked up a lot of flack from forums stating that it wasn’t cinematic enough. This film has depth and scope, has immense geography with sequences set globally rather than in central New York and it also uses every trick available to the director and the cinematographer. The opening sequence is a great example of this. Like a Bond movie (why couldn’t the Spidey movies ever do this?), the film opens mid sequence during an Avengers adventure. Whedon reintroduces each hero in a swooping and fluid tracking shot, establishing powers and just how much more powerful they are as a team. This is clever as it brings us straight into the film and captures your attention, therefore satisfying your action pangs as the film shifts gear into character and exposition.
Most of us picked up the story from the trailers. Stark builds Ultron, Ultron rebels and decides to KILL ALL HUMANS in that typical movie robot big bad way.
James Spader does great work as Ultron and although I am still not 100% sold on Ultron’s look in the film, the character is fully fleshed out and believable. Ultron is mechanical but seems human, his dialogue is peppered with both humour and menace. In addition to the old Pinocchio metaphor, we also get a new pair of bad guys in Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch. Anybody who has read a comic knows who they are and how they get their powers but as this is a Marvel movie and not a Fox movie, the word ‘mutants’ is forbidden and their back story is altered to fit the flick…more pathos! The “twins” add to Ultron’s menace in a similar way to Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight. I’m not saying they are as important or as well characterised as Ledger’s Joker but they come across as that same force of nature, that same hero antagonising style threat that once menaced the streets of Nolan’s Gotham. The presence of the twins sets in motion the story notes and improved roles of Black Widow and the Hulk and in a way, Hawkeye. Hawkeye gets most of the development here, his character unaffected by the twisted realities of the Scarlet Witch and as such, proving that perhaps the most human team member is just as important as the God or Super Soldier.
There are issues. There are always issues but these are minor niggles that a tighter edit could have probably resolved. The South Africa sequences with Serkis could have been snipped as could the extended Thor dream sequences. These seemed to be in place to sell future Marvel Studios movies as did the undercurrent to the Stark vs Cap discussions on protecting the world. We know both Civil War and the Infinity War are coming, this movie didn’t really need to drive the point home.
My only other real gripe is the use of The Vision. I expected the reveal to be like the use of The Hulk during the finale of the predecessor but he comes across a little like another Iron Man suit with a cape and a laser Bindi.
So where does it stand. Better than the first? Probably! There’s a lot going on and there are a lot of characters in the mix. In honestly it is all a bit of a blockbusting, big budget mess but in a good way. It’s flash, loud and quite breathtaking but it also has soul and is a far better movie than some of the other megabudget fare such as the Transformers series.
It will be interesting to see wherever go from here! A new direction and new team (both on-screen and behind the scenes) will test the audience resolve but if the Infinity Wars movies can replicate both the technical wonder and the heart, humour and warmth of the first two movies, the series should hold its course and continue pleasing both the hardcore fanboys in addition to the regular cinema crowds.
This may not be the Empire Strikes Back of comic book movies but then again, it isn’t the Return If The Jedi or (shudder) The Phantom Menace either.
Avengers: Age Of Ultron opens nationwide this week.
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