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Ever since the coming of Marvel's Avengers, the world has not been the same. In the real world, the film set the gold standard for how to pull off the cinematic-universe model of filmmaking, and it did so with such iconic status that it'll remain a landmark for generations young and old. Within the universe Marvel created, the Avengers opened up the Earth to staggering possibilities of war with god-like entities from other worlds. Since then, the events of Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier would cut the strings off of the Avengers team and force them to face a new challenge on their own.
The film immediately kicks off with a destructive brawl in Sokovia, where the Avengers come pre-assembled to pummel the hell out of a Hydra base. In the process, they run across more superpowered villains, and a stark vision of a dismal future. This leads to the rise of Ultron, a new breed of villain that actively splits the team apart from the inside out. The Avengers fight themselves, quite literally in a few scenes, including a chaotic sequence between the Hulk and Iron Man. They come together in the end for one lengthy climax that pits them against a whole army of machines, while the fate of the world hangs in the balance. With all of this going on, it goes without saying that there's definitely loads of superpowered action to behold. At the same time, the film is careful to keep things lightweight with bursts of witty banter and humor.
The story strikes me as being a grade more mature than the last Avengers film, which was little more than an alien invasion that prompted heroes to band together. Now, it's a robotpocalypse that threatens to tear the team apart; in spite of that, the characters are explored a little more in-depth, often with surprising insights into each characters' strengths and weaknesses. Not every viewer will enjoy the sudden relationship between Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff (and I agree that it's rather weird; she was practically afraid of the guy in the first film). Also, not every viewer will find Ultron a striking villain - he is not necessarily menacing like Ronan or a "bad guy we love to hate" the way Loki is - but I found him interesting and nuanced, especially as a "child" of Tony Stark who inherits some of his same traits, which gives him a twisted sense of purpose. Through Ultron and his motivations, the film unearths strong themes of evolution and the progress of mankind; themes that were common in the X-Men, but were rather implicit in the other Marvel films up to now. Parallels are blatantly drawn between Ultron and Pinocchio, but I couldn't help but to compare Ultron to V'Ger from Star Trek: The Motion Picture - they are both "child-like" intelligences that threaten mankind and strive for evolution, but while V'Ger meant no harm in the end, Ultron exudes hostility and angst beneath his playful sarcasm, and I think that makes him more remarkable. In spite of these insights, I thought the film's story was quite intriguing. Ultron's diabolical plot gives the Avengers team a twisty mystery and a larger-than-life spectacle, which might strain logic in a few places, but it also leads the characters into different directions by the end.
The film boasts pretty good photography. It tends to be very choppy and shaky in the action scenes, much unlike the first film, which felt much more smooth and solid. However, this film does have some good-looking shots. Color schemes are notably darker and more drab. Editing can be rather choppy. Acting is fine for what it is: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, and Samuel L. Jackson are as enjoyable to watch as ever. James Spader breathes life into Ultron superbly. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen are pretty good in their roles, and there are a few welcome cameos by Don Cheadle, Ibris Elba, Stellan Skarsgard, and Anthony Mackie. Writing is pretty decent. This production spares no expense on the sets, props, costumes, and special effects; it all looks a grade more polished and more real than the first film. The music score by Bryan Tyler and Danny Elfman reprises the same themes that Alan Silvestri introduced, but also contributes some strong compositions throughout the picture.
Avengers: Age of Ultron delivers bigger action, with an intriguing story that gives the titular team a more desperate fight. I don't think it's quite as breezy as the first film, and I find the first film's action scenes easier on the eyes. If you're following the Marvel movies, however, this is the apex of Phase 2, and it's worth the time.
4/5 (Entertainment: Good | Content: Very Good | Film: Good)
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