Tangled up in Strings - A Review of Avengers: Age of Ultron

The problem with sequels is that they are always compared to the titles that preceded them. Occasionally, you get sequels to films and games that are that much better than the older siblings in the series. Toy Story 3, Terminator 2, and as an example within the Marvel cinematic universe, Captain America: The Winter Solider. These are all examples of sequels that many consider to be the better, if not the best movie of their respective series. So the question is, where does the much-hyped Avengers sequel fall? Unfortunately, in that very comparison to the last film; The Avengers, we see the flaws in Age of Ultron. Avengers: Age of Ultron is still a great film,  but while I felt excited and satisfied when I left the theatre watching the first one, I couldn't help but feel unsatisfied with the sequel.

Let's start off with the stuff that works. Where the film works very well; as is to be expected of Marvel movies, is the action sequences. Actually, action sequences doesn't sum up what you see on screen. More akin to "epic battle art",  the film hits the ground running (or in this case fighting) from the moment the Marvel title card fades to black. Fights are incredibly well-choreographed and every Avenger retains their badass status with some truly impressive combat scenes. From the the opening assault on Baron von Strucker's Hydra fortress to the literally earth-shattering final fight with Ultron, you get the sense that Joss Whedon definitely understands what the word "awesome" means. But fights alone do not a movie make, well at least not a great one. Thankfully the actors playing those doing the fighting do a great job bringing them to life outside the battlefield.

The original Avengers once again prove that the chemistry is still there and is a pleasure to watch. Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr are still my favourites, but Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johannson, and Chris Evans all provide great performances. Newcomers Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Wanda and Pietro Maximoff; otherwise known as Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, also give good performances, though slightly limited due to their role in the story. However you can't have an Avengers movie without a good villain, and James Spader as Ultron definitely delivers. Unfortunately even a great cast can't save a mediocre story and slightly forced jokes, which is the core of Age of Ultron's problems.

The premise is simple enough, The Avengers recover Loki's sceptre which is then used by Tony and Bruce in an attempt to create Ultron to protect the planet. While they seem to fail in even creating an AI, they accidentally create one with some homocidal tendencies. Ultron teams up with Mutants "Enhanced" humans Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver to bring down the Avengers. What follows is a predictable storyline very reminiscent of the first film. In fact the similarities are what make it that all the more obvious that the writing and jokes just aren't up to snuff with the film's predecessor.  Yes, there are still very funny moments but what we see is a movie that is trying way too hard to recapture the magic we saw three years ago. In addition there are some odd storyline elements that don't really make sense when everything is put together. I will give them credit for making a Hulk and Black Widow romance see plausible, or at least as plausible as it could have. Perhaps the movie was doomed to be lackluster in this area, however you can't but feel that it all feels a bit forced.

Is Age of Ultron worth seeing? Yes, absolutely. It's still a ton of fun and the awesome fights are alone worth the price of admission. Is it a sign that we need new avengers? Also yes. One of the reasons why Guardians of the Galaxy was so successful was the introduction of characters we'd never seen before. As much we love our current roster, it's better to change up now then hate them while they're still here. Without spoiling too much we do see a new Avengers line up at the end of the film, and I'm more excited about that prospect that I was throughout most of the entire duration of the movie.

Score 7.5/10