Avengers: Age of Ultron
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The good
Great character development and entertaining story. Action is off the charts. Um...Hulk vs Hulkbuster armor
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The bad
Clarification on Ultron's creation
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The ugly
- Total score
Avengers: Age of Ultron is a superhero movie produced by Marvel Studios and has the team reuniting to prevent Ultron, an artificial intelligence, from unleashing a global catastrophe. It opens up with the team advancing on one of Hydra’s strongholds after solid intelligence indicated that Loki’s sceptre was being kept there and used for experiments. Hydra’s forces are no match for the Avengers so instead of just standing their ground they come up with a plan to escape using the twins, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, while allowing the Avengers to ultimately take the sceptre. The Avengers are initially shocked at the twins powers as they give the team some problems. But it’s all a ruse as Scarlet Witch lies in wait for Tony Stark and manipulates his mind so he sees his worst fears in a vision while reaching for the sceptre. He sees all the Avengers dead with him as the only survivor, and this haunts him even after the mission. Using Hydra’s advancement in creating artificial intelligence with the sceptre, Tony persuades Bruce Banner to help him continue this work with one goal in mind: To create a global defense force called Ultron with his armors being the first responders. This way the Avengers could be disbanded and enjoy their time instead of responding to the biggest threats. But what is the secret behind Loki’s sceptre? And could the Avengers respond to a threat that was designed to replace them?
After that intense and intriguing opening I was hyped for what was to come. And the tone was definitely more mature and darker than the first one. And this was followed by solid character development, and not just from the standpoint of trying to figure out what the villains were trying to do but their own motivations and additional backstory. So Ultron was born out of Tony Stark’s desire to want the world to be safe with an iron suit and use the artificial intelligence to complete his global defense program with Banner’s help. There was humor at various points throughout the movie but the character development and story progression were driven by significant events. The fact that Stark and Banner kept this work from the rest of the team set the stage for Ultron’s appearance to rattle the team and set up an interesting dynamic between them. Yes, fans who already know of Marvel’s Civil War is about can see the seeds being planted and the growth in characters but it still has to make sense in the cinematic universe and can’t just appear out of thin air. And I appreciated how certain aspects of that progression were done subtly. Scarlet Witch’s power was also a vehicle for character development for other characters leading to significant revelations, with Black Widow’s backstory as an example. This time around she was a fully-realized character with her own history, and an organic love story with Banner/Hulk. EVERY single character has had a love interest as a motivating force at some point in Marvel’s cinematic universe so I saw no problem with her having the same. And she felt more human with a history reflective of her experience and talents, and not a caricature of perfection and isolation.
SUMMARY
Avengers: Age of Ultron is a highly-entertaining movie that surpasses the original in just about every aspect. Ultron as a villain is imposing but doesn’t have to carry the weight as the only villain as Scartlet and Quicksilver hold their own in their respective roles. And the character development is on point with plenty of backstory, progression, and even some humor so even if you have a favorite Avenger you won’t feel as if they don’t get enough attention in the story. And the action was epic, and what I hoped it would be with Earth’s Mightiest Team having to rise to the occasion once again. I’m just glad it had a lot to sink my teeth into while I wait for the next installment.
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