The hype was strong surrounding the new Marvel installment, “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” and, on May 1, the veil was finally lifted. The movie already raked in $439.8 million worldwide over the weekend, as fans decked out in Iron Man masks and Captain America t-shirts headed to theaters in droves to experience the superhero adventure.
The most recent Avengers team-up finds genius Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr., “The Judge”) experimenting with artificial intelligence after believing that he will bring about the fall of humanity. His guilt mixed with terrible decision-making (and a severe lack of awareness about sci-fi film plots) results in the creation of Ultron (James Spader, “The Blacklist”), a vengeful being that exists within the global network of the Internet and takes on humanoid metal forms. The team must strategically travel the world in an attempt to destroy Ultron and stop his plan of total human obliteration.
The Avengers squad includes Stark’s Iron Man, Captain America (Chris Evans, “Playing It Cool”), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson, “Lucy”), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo, “The Foxcatcher”), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner, “Kill the Messenger”) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth, “Blackhat”). Beginning the film as villains, the new Avengers Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, “Godzilla”) and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen, “Godzilla”) appear as Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. The pair are “enhanced” Russian twins who feel personally wronged by Tony Stark after a haunting and violent childhood. They prove a great addition, especially because the fiery Scarlet Witch provides a much needed second female fighter.
Stark’s cringe-worthy decisions offer an interesting inception for the worthy villain of Ultron. As audiences have come to expect, the special effects and sheer spectacle of the film are incredible.
For once, the setting of the final battle isn’t a large U.S. city, which is a breath of fresh air among superhero movies. The ridiculousness of this climactic battle scene is saved by writer Joss Whedon’s (“Agents of Shield”) self-aware humor, cropping up in a rare Hawkeye monologue delivered to the Scarlet Witch.
Whedon doesn’t fail to deliver his usual barrage of hilarious lines; with many scenes keep the audience cracking up, which is a welcome relief from the anxiety that courses through fans for most of the film. One such scene provides a glimpse of the guys of the group attempting to pick up Thor’s hammer with little luck and plenty of laughs.
For anyone doubtful of Hawkeye’s great character, this film gives an unexpected and wonderful domestic side to the previously mysterious Clint Barton, complete with a picturesque farmhouse and sprawling land. This rural setting is an amusing backdrop for the constantly teched-out Avengers and provides a welcome look into Hawkeye’s personality.
Unfortunately, the film still needs work on its female characters. While Black Widow and Scarlet Witch are sufficiently badass and independent, they never interact with each other—the film still doesn’t pass the low bar of the Bechdel test. The movie also introduces a forced relationship between Natasha Romanoff and Bruce Banner, which could have worked if there had been any kind of previous build-up toward it. However, it instead feels as if it has simply been dropped into the script under the impression that the movie needed a romantic subplot.
Overall, “Age of Ultron” is a fantastic addition to the franchise, filled with intensity and humor, if not nearly as good as “The Avengers,” which set the bar for all Marvel films to follow. Marvel is building up to a dramatic finish in “Avengers: Infinity War,” set to come out in two parts in 2018 and 2019.
This intensity grows as next year’s “Captain America: Civil War” promises much more animosity as Iron Man and Captain America find themselves on opposing sides. The end of “Ultron” implies further inclusion of Sam Wilson’s the Falcon (Anthony Mackie, “Playing It Cool”), James Rhodes’ War Machine (Don Cheadle, “House of Lies”) and the Scarlet Witch in the Avengers. It’s hard to tell if Marvel is building itself up to success or failure as the stakes get higher, but their recent movies offer a promising view of the future of the franchise.
To curb any Marvel needs until the next Avengers appearances, “Ant-Man,” starring Paul Rudd (“They Came Together”), hits theaters July 17.
