THE AVENGERS - AGE OF ULTRON - 2105

I don’t know about you but I purposely do my best to ignore any kind of spoiler that comes about when films that I really want to see are due to be released. I want everything that happens on the screen to be new and fresh, a few times I’ve watched a trailer or read a blog about up and coming titles but find when I do, I sit and wait for that specific moment in the film to happen which usually makes it a lot less satisfying. Age of Ultron is one film I did my very best to stay away from, I am, a huge Avengers fan, actually I just love the superhero Universe whether that be Marvel or DC or some Independent, heroes for me are an escapism that I can really dive into and enjoy wholeheartedly. I loved the first Avengers film so it was with a great and possibly unrealistic expectation of being completely fulfilled that I went into the 2nd film of the franchise wanting nothing but the best.

Avengers Age of Ultron opens with the Avengers team; Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow and Hawkeye all fighting their enemy Hydra in a country known as Sokovia. Hydra have been using a Loki’s staff from Thor’s home world Asgard to help aid in creating the ultimate weapon. The Avengers smash Hydra’s plan and take back the staff. (This is all before the actual credits). Back in Stark’s lab Tony and Bruce discover a curiosity within the staff. Tony has ideas of how it can be used and goes about reprogramming the mechanics. The plan backfires, suddenly The Avengers find themselves in a race to save not only themselves but the entire planet from being completely obliterated.

Written and Directed by Joss Whedon after the success of the first film I think I wasn’t the only person expecting big things from the man, it seems as though he has attempted to please everyone possible with this film, there is so many “Easter Eggs” throughout it’s very hard not to feel overwhelmed by it all. One thing he has done very well though this time around is the screen time given to each Avenger, I can recall in the first film Hawkeye especially wasn’t given much time at all and almost seemed an extra, Joss has definitely made up, including back story and an even bigger surprise when it comes to Hawkeye and who he is when not firing arrows from an endless quiver, as with Thor who has suddenly become a bit of a comedian making him appear a lot less Godlike which I personally think is a great thing. And Hulk has been totally humanised by being given a romance as well as become very emotional and not just as Bruce Banner. I loved what Joss created with the characters this time around and feel it is all definitely beneficial to the franchise and everything that will come after and has come before. My absolute favourite thing though was the introduction of a very special character from the Marvel Universe, when that moment happened on screen my heart suddenly got a lot faster and my body tingled with total and utter joy. Unfortunately though what was done with that character was woeful and so pointless, I would have personally preferred they saved the unveiling for another film or franchise completely and made it all worthwhile and exciting rather than letting the unveiling be so unfulfilling and wasted.

Once again the CGI like in a lot of film recently let me down, especially the opening battle scenes, the entire thing was a CGI mess, it looked fake and unrealistic, the way the characters moved turned my entire expectation on its head very early as I was absolutely disgusted with how fake it all looked, however once the opening credits rolled through the CGI suddenly picked up again and things became a little less messy. My other little gripe would be how much was stuffed into the film, new character should be exciting and rewarding but within this film they felt flat and unengaging. Joss put so much energy into creating his heroes by humanising them but left his villains and other new characters quite lifeless, I just didn’t care for them at all, sure there was the sad story of childhood but that was it, it needed more, perhaps a flash back or something, as for Ultron, again I found him completely worthless and so unnecessary his plot to destroy the world was childish it needed a lot more depth to it, we as viewers need to understand why, especially when it comes to “the villains” why are they the way they are and why do they want to do the evil they conceive, what makes them turn from being you and I to a supervillain? Just being told isn’t enough I want more, more story, more depth, more plot to make it at least somewhat engaging and enthralling.

Avengers Age of Ultron stars; Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth (Thor, Home and Away) as Thor, Chris Evans (Captain America, Fantastic Four) as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Mark Ruffalo (Hulk, Now You See Me) as Bruce Banner/Hulk, Scarlett Johansson (Lucy, Lost In Translation)Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Jeremy Renner (American Hustle, The Hurt Locker) Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Kingsman) as Nick Fury, James Spader as the voice of Ultron, Paul Bettany as the voice of Jarvis, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Savages, Kick Ass) as Pietro Maximoff / Quicksilver, Elizabeth Olsen (Oldboy, Godzilla) as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch, Don Cheadle (Iron Man, Picket Fences) as James Rhodes / War Machine. No-one really stands out here for the simple reason they are characters you most likely already really love or loathe. I just wish Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch characters gave us more to love, but perhaps that is yet to come.

So does the Avengers Age of Ultron meet up to the same standard of its predecessor I honestly can’t say yet, believe it or not it’s been a week since I saw the film and it is still playing on my mind, I find myself in conversations about the film constantly just trying to find where it sits for me. There is a lot of clever lines and hidden gems it is definitely worth seeing; although I saw it in 2D I have been told that in 3D the CGI isn’t as apparent so nowhere near as nasty. It should be noted; Being a PG film it’s absolutely for the entire family I just think some scenes that are a little slower where Joss humanises everyone may get a little dull for those younger in age. I have left a lot out of this review to not give away spoilers but there is so much more to see I would absolutely recommend seeing this on the big screen rather than waiting for DVD release. Besides not seeing in the cinema means you'll miss out on the biggest Egg of all during the final credits, and that's not one you want to miss!!!

Avengers Age of Ultron – 3.5 out of 5 BanShee Screams.

Thanks for reading.

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