Marvel Studios welcomed 2015 with its anticipated sequel, “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” released May 1. Fans flooded box offices to revisit their beloved superhero dream-team while satisfying Marvel’s pockets; the film accumulated $187.6 million its opening weekend. Although “Age of Ultron” certainly reasserted Marvel’s dominance over the global film industry, it ended the studios’ age of consecutive successes.
“Age of Ultron” follows “The Avengers,” Marvel’s chief crusading crew, in their quest to retrieve Loki’s (Tom Hiddleston) “Chitauri Scepter” from Ultron (voiced by James Spader), an artificial intelligence created by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Ultron, who Stark intended to become the world’s peace-keeping authority, instead develops sinister plans for humanity: its extinction. Stark’s Iron Man, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America (Chris Evans), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) thus reassemble to confront the villainous machine—and their inner demons.
While Downey, Johansson, Hemsworth, Ruffalo, and Evans delivered outstanding performances that previously captivated audiences, the superfluous character development in “Age of Ultron” was disproportionate to the actual action. Black Widow and Hawkeye exchanged seemingly romantic feelings in “The Avengers;” however, director Joss Whedon randomly pairs her with the Hulk’s human identity, Bruce Banner, whose angst towards accepting his ravage counterpart made him seem straight out of a John Green novel. Their relationship’s quick development was constantly highlighted, making it difficult to differentiate “Age of Ultron” from “The Age of Adaline.” Complex fight scenes, explosions, and other shallow components of summer blockbusters were scarce, significantly slowing the plot.
Whedon also attempted to add more twists, which failed to generate the intended shock-value. Although “The Avengers” insinuated a relationship between Black Widow and Hawkeye, the sequel reveals that the archer has a wife, kids, and a secluded home—conveniently explained as being “off the records” to his teammates. This revelation of Renner’s character implants anxiety in viewers, hinting his upcoming death. While saving the fictional Eastern European city, Sokovia, Ultron returns to kill The Avengers before perishing for good. He shoots at Hawkeye, leaving audiences presuming him dead. Shortly after, it is revealed that new team member and Sokovian, Pietro Maximoff aka Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor Johnson), took the bullets. While Maximoff’s death was supposed to arouse a sentimental response from viewers, his debut in “Age of Ultron” did not allow viewers to develop the same emotional attachment as with veteran Avengers.
While Whedon failed to deliver the proper amount of fight sequences for an action blockbuster during the summer film season, he effectively highlighted Marvel’s unique comedic antics that genuinely make audiences laugh. Each character, as in the first film, ridiculed their personas, such as Thor exaggerating his macho and godly good looks. Even though “Age of Ultron” failed to justify its hype, generated ever since its prequel’s release, the comedy definitely avenged this box office bummer.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Possibly due to its aura of anticipation or its feeble attempt to construct a movie intended to set up the plot for “Avengers: Infinity War,” the next two-part installment—“Age of Ultron” lacked far more than it delivered. Black Widow’s random romance with Banner made feminists and Hawkeye-hopefuls uncomfortable, while its plotline was scattered and confusing.