Avengers: Age Of Ultron

Avengers: Age Of Ultron.

“There are no strings on me”

There is a scene in Avengers Assemble where the camera pans around said Avengers with each character giving a trademark signature before taking on a horde of Chituari. This is the climactic final battle for New York. Within the opening moments within Age Of Ultron we see a similar money shot where the Avengers vault in unison toward a battalion of bad guys. This is a perfect analogy of the pace, structure and character development that has Hulk-leapt toward an even better film than it’s awe-inspiring predecessor.

Synopsis: Upon a raid at a secret HYDRA base The Avengers reclaim Loki’s sceptre. The powerful device that caused a lot of trouble first time round. In using the Mind Gem which gives the sceptre its power, Tony Stark with the reluctant help of Dr Bruce Banner creates Artificial Intelligence that will ideally  “put a suit of armour around the world”. Ultron is created with the sole mission being to protect Earth, which he sees in danger from the threat that is humanity.

Joss Whedon is the king of geeks. Even way before he created a team of superheroes that come together to fight off gods and aliens he gave us Buffy, Angel, Firefly on the TV. A great run on X-Men in within comics,  Serenity in film and Dr Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog on the net.  Whedon revels in writing ensembles, creating interwoven lives in the way of mismatched surrogate families and everything that creates. Arguments, conflict, tenderness, team work, humour always feature by the bucket load. Age Of Ultron whilst being a similar beast to what came before is gargantuan in scale and vision(not yet, he comes later).  Age Of Ultron is a juggling act of epic proportions. How this many colourful, well drawn and heartfelt balls are in the air at any one time is a testament to Whedon’s genius execution and some razor-sharp witticisms amongst the needed expository dialogue.

There could be an official role call for the sheer scale of the cast within this movie. The original Avengers are back and more fully-formed than ever before. The biggest new additions other than Ultron are Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the Maximoff twins.  HYDRA experiments gone right. Pietro has accelerated metabolism and everything that goes with it. He’s really fast.   Wanda has reality altering powers along with telekinesis. She’s weird. Wanda is the real trouble maker for the Avengers giving each of them a vision into their own darkest fears and setting in motion the series of events preluding to Ultron’s lunacy.
So the titular antagonist Ultron. A Frankenstienian machine created to save us which poetically is why he tries to wipe us out.  James Spader brings Ultron to life with real menace, empathy and omnipotence.  Spader’s wispy drawl brings Ultron’s thoughts and plans to the fore with witty, condescending speeches. Since seeing the genius use of the Pinnochio – “There are no strings on me” line used in the trailer I’ve been very excited to see a new big bad for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  He’s does not disappoint. His view on destroying humanity is a fair one for we are destroying earth. His quips always sting which is fitting for anyone who’s father is Tony Stark. His menace is frightening within our modern times.  Ultron lives within the Internet.  So do piano playing cats and Twilight fan fiction but Ultron is even scarier than both those combined.  A megalomaniac you can relate to, appreciate and fear is a rare and beautiful thing.  Spader must feel no intimidation as he delectably cuts down this team of actors and heroes that have come together over the past decade.
Back to the Avengers and the sheer number of them it’s heartening to see Whedon has concentrated on the ones who haven’t had at least 2 solo films.  That’s not to say Cap, Iron Man and Thor are forgotten or underwritten but Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye are given the time and care they so deserve.  There’s a budding romance between the big green monster and the smaller but no less deadly black monster (Johansen has a superb flashback to her Russian spy training showing an even darker shade to the Black Widow).  Renner who has been criminally underused up until now is the cohesive glue that binds the bickering team together.  He may not be Super or made of Iron but his power lies in his heart of being a good Man.  Within the trailers we’ve seen shots of Vision.  This would of better been a surprise in being kept for the film for he is a lesser known hero but one that has a great impact.  Vision is a certified bad-ass. Excellently brought to life by Paul Bettany who has voiced J.A.R.V.I.S since the very first Iron Man film.  He may also feature in what is, out of limitless amounts of awe-inspiringly cool moments, the biggest laugh/cheer in the film.

This being a Marvel movie that ties into a bigger universe obviously features a ton of cameos and plenty of universe-expansion.  With many nods and winks towards to the bigger picture and some tantalising set up for the next few films Marvel have on their gamma-radiated roster it had the prospect of being just another set up movie but no.  Whedon balances the what’s gone before, what matters now and what’s yet to pass with an uncanny magic that would have me struggling to think of a better director in the galaxy to have given us 2 great Avengers movies.  Age of Ultron is the first summer blockbuster movie. The last one is the 3rd highest grossing Box Office film of all time.  This has monumentally big boots to fill and fill it does.  In such a mainstream movie it also rewards you for paying attention and even more-so for being a geek.  Many times I smirked at the mention of another element from the comics.
Age Of Ultron is a spectacle to behold.  A bigger, darker and more important film than Assemble but it still delivers the giddy fanboy moments of Thor hammering Cap’s shield toward bad guys or Stark double suiting in the Hulkbuster armour to tackle a maddened green rage monster.  With a charismatic ensemble this big and to leave feeling wholly satisfied is a dream for fans and an achievement to be noted.  Age Of Ultron is an event movie and say what you will about the franchising of movies with the cinema industry but Marvel are the forefathers of that movement and boy do they do it the best.  Inspired casting, fan-pleasing storylines, visually-arresting scenes, heartfelt characters, contemporary themes and so much more. Like with this film there is so much more to delve into before I even hit spoiler territory.  But for the sake of pacing and patience, something Age again gets top marks for I’ll shut up.

I saw a young boy in the screening I went to dressed as Iron Man.  A blissful feeling of happiness coursed through me in being able to share this spectacular event with mini Iron Man.  In having flashback of my own costume wearing days (those days are not entirely over) it encapsulates what these movies do. They unify a diverse community in sitting together and taking in a visual feast.  Whilst Avengers:Age Of Ultron may not be art house cinema it is nonetheless art in cinema. A tantalisingly fun, rewarding and perfectly paced piece of art which is the absolute sum of its many parts.  This is what a sequel should be. This is what a summer blockbuster should be. This is what a superhero movie should be. This is what cinema is.  A boy in an Iron Man suit collecting memories.

READERS ASSEMBLE!

Words and fanboyism by Aaron Farrell.