Judy Thorburn's Movie Reviews
The Avengers: Age Of Ultron - 3D | Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson | Review
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- Category: Judy Thorburn
- Published on 02 May 2015
- Written by Judy Thorburn
Judy Thorburn
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The Avengers: Age Of Ultron - 3D
Writer/director Joss Whedon is back at the helm for 'The Avengers: Age of Ultron', the highly anticipated follow-up to Marvel's 2012 mega blockbuster, 'The Avengers', featuring an all star cast led by Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson returning as the team of superheroes whose mission is to save and protect the world from bad guys. This time around the villain is a rogue A.I. hell bent on destroying the Avengers and mankind. Not what I call an original premise. After all, there has been numerous recent and past films in which the creation of artificial intelligence winds up having a devastating effect on mankind's existence.
In setting the stage for the 'Age of Ultron', you don't have to wait for the action to kick into gear. Right from the get go the pace is set for this sci fi action adventure in the opening sequence that follows the team of Avengers, Steve Rogers/Captain America (Evans), Tony Stark/Iron Man (Downey Jr.), Thor (Hemsworth), Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Johansson), Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Ruffalo), and Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Renner), battling the Nazi organization, Hydra, in a snowy forest in the fictional Eastern European country of “Sokovia.” After retrieving Loki's (Thor's evil bother) magical scepter, Tony Stark (Downey, Jr) with Bruce Banner (Ruffalo) at his side, soon discovers it harbors an artificial intelligence and uses it to finish his Ultron defense program with the intent of creating a “suit of armor around the world” and bringing about world “peace in our time”.
Ultron (voiced by a snarky James Spader) on the other hand, has his own agenda and decides the only way to save the planet is to destroy all human life, beginning with the annihilation of the Avengers, but not before absorbing J.A.R.V.I.S. (Stark's a.i. computer system, voiced by Paul Bettany) and inhabiting a robotic body from Stark's lab and creating an army of robots to aid in his mission. Meanwhile, there is another dangerous threat looming. Twin siblings, the lightning fast Pietro/Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor Johnson) and Wanda/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olson), who possesses telekinetic powers and the ability to mess with anyone's mind, blame Stark for the death of their parents and seek revenge on Stark and his fellow Avengers.
The supporting cast includes Cobie Smulders, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Idris Elba, Hayley Atwell, Stellan Skarsgård, Andy Serkis, Julie Delpy, Anthony Mackie,and of course, Stan Lee, popping up in what amounts to cameo appearances.
As for the Avengers, each get a chance to show off their individual super powers. At one point, during some down time, a visit to Hawkeye's supportive wife (Linda Cardenelli) and children at a safe house, offers a peak into his family life. And there is also a sideline blossoming romance between Natasha/Black Widow and Bruce Banner/The Hulk that is unconvincing, appears forced, and lacks the needed sparks between the two.
A cohesive, well constructed story goes by the wayside in favor of a stream of gags, wisecracks, silly banter, confusing details, and a constant bombardment of relentless, over the top action, dizzying camerawork and CGI special effects, as massive destruction, fiery explosions and mayhem fill the screen.
Unfortunately, this Avengers sequel is a perfect example of where more doesn't mean better. Simply put, in an attempt to stuff too much into one film, the result is an over bloated, disappointing mess. Nevertheless, the actors appear to be having a great time. Wish I could say the same for this reviewer who was underwhelmed, soon got bored, and lost interest.
Hopefully, the upcoming third installment will be a charm. Stick around after the closing credits to watch a teaser clip.