Avengers: Age of Ultron

Marvel brings us the newest installment of the franchise where we get to see the Avengers fight a new enemy, make new allies, and find out more about the lives of the superheroes. While this is much grander than the first one, there was something in the first movie that made it stand out but it doesn’t seem to be replicated here.

We meet the team as they try to retrieve Loki's staff, immediately introducing us to two new characters, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. They do end up retrieving it, and when Iron Man decides to do something with it (the peacekeeping program), it ends up creating Ultron whose mission is to eliminate the Avengers. Like the first movie, it's up to them to save the world.

This installment had a bit more 'realism' pushed into it, with scenes saying that they are people too, and they do people things beside being on work mode and saving the world. We get back stories and explore a bit of the human side of the heroes. The sequel is certainly action-packed, and in terms of the blockbuster effect, it is not disappointing. The scale was bigger in the sequel and it certainly delivered - it had action, humor, drama, conflict - it was a well-developed movie albeit a few minor hiccups here and there. This was also star-studded, with many familiar faces from the standalone movies making their minute appearances. 

Scarlett Johansson managed to give the only stand-out performance from the main group. It would be hard not to take notice of her. Even Jeremy Renner was more involved in this installment in both screen time and content. The weakest performance was given by Chris Hemsworth. I think it's because his character has the least character development, or he wasn't commanding the screen as he does with his standalone movies. 

The addition of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were welcomed, though the actors weren’t given much screen time and the action they were part of were a bit limited. Same goes for The Vision, who only appears in a handful of scenes. With additional characters in the end, I think it’s safe to assume that splitting the Infinity War into two parts would be a good move in order to give all of those people (some who are also prominent in the stand alone movies) ample screen time. As much as I am for Natasha Romanoff and Bruce Banner, their story line felt a bit out of place and out of character for the both of them. 

So, what’s my problem with it? It was highly entertaining but the whole movie seemed so technological. Granted they were fighting robots, but my main problem lies in the villain itself. In the first movie, we were given a great villain who was cunning. I feel like Ultron was on a short end of the stick. Stripping him off of his physical form, Ultron is evil Jarvis. Picking a fight with him seems like picking a fight with a really strong Terminator except both sides have allies. They gave us a weak villain, and it made it a bit hard to root for the Avengers when they were fighting. 

I do think there is one other factor that makes the first movie so great that the sequel does not live up to it at some point. I wasn’t at awe or was very excited. Nor am I too drawn to lives of the characters. Despite this being a grand movie, I wasn’t that attached. Maybe it’s the story, or the way things happened - I couldn’t point it out as of writing. Maybe it will grow on me.

Final Word: It’s explosive, but it doesn’t beat the first.

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo

Director: Joss Whedon

Year: 2015