Director: Joss Whedon
Distributor: Disney
Duration: 141 minutes
Avengers: Age of Ultron (Blu-ray) – Movie Review
Age of Ultron was already present in the media long before the movie was in the theatres,. the hype was real and truth be told, the trailers were captivating and it was excruciatingly hard to wait for more information about the movie. Nonetheless, when it finally hit the theatres, reactions were mixed and some loyal fans expected a tad more. That being said, we were wondering if the age of Ultron was nigh or not.
After the destructive events of the first Avengers movie, the team of superheroes still fights their battles against evil, albeit with S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer active. When their last mission, a raid on one of HYDRA’s facilities, causes them to recapture Loki’s staff, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is eager to take the staff home, where it belongs. Nonetheless, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) asks his godly friend if he is allowed to research it for a few days, until the celebration is over and Thor heads home once and for all. During his limited time window he involves Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), a.k.a. The Hulk, in his secret plan, namely designing a new ‘entity’ that embodies world peace, that keeps the world safe, especially from alien invaders. That being said, project Ultron seems to be almost impossible to accomplish but Stark lets Jarvis (Paul Bettany), his A.I. ally, run more tests in order to see if they can still come up with something. When Jarvis bumps into the actual Ultron (James Spader) in the digital world, things turn sour quite fast.
With Ultron, whose purpose is to uphold world peace, gets confused about his objective, he starts analyzing what would truly create a world in harmony. Whilst he should be supporting Tony Stark and the other Avengers, he sees the superhero posse as one of the biggest threats to the world instead. Ultron believes that humanity should evolve, step outside the boundaries of war and violence and to do so, he will have to wipe out the Avengers and those who oppose him. It seems that the team will have their hands full wiping out this A.I. with a physical body that is able to recreate himself endlessly.
Compared to the first movie, the pace of this one is a lot slower. Even with many action packed sequences and a grand finale, this movie puts its focus on the hardships heroes have to endure and how hard it is to work as a fully functional team. The mind of a weary superhero tends to wander, hoping to create a world where heroes are not needed anymore and everyone simply learns how to get along with one another. Truth be told, this topic is quite interesting, seeing that even heroes can get tired of trying to save the world day in, day out, but it’s probably not really the thing most fans had in mind when this movie was released.
Seeing this movie relies a lot on CGI, it’s actually disappointing to see, with the budget in mind, certain scenes that are quite atrocious to watch. For example, the opening battle was filled with moves and attacks that simply looked horribly unrealistic and at certain moments it even seemed as if Thor was hastily pasted in front of the screen. Whilst these inconsistencies were not always present, there were still a few of them, which hampered the overall experience.
Acting performances are, as expected, top notch. With a giant cast filled with stars, it’s only natural that this portion of the movie does not let down in any particular way. Adding other stars such as James Spader to the equation, makes sure the movie feels just as strong as the first one. Nonetheless, it’s hard to view the version of Quicksilver in this movie, after the one we’ve seen in X-Men: Days of Future Past. This version feels a tad off, from the normally very jovial Quicksilver. That being said, some of his typical traits are still there, albeit in a muted sense.
The special features on this release are rather typical, but certainly welcome. You’ll have the typical bunch of commentaries, gagreels, deleted and extended scenes. Other features offer a bit more information about certain events that occurred in this movie, that are connected with other franchises. Not really an actual special feature, but you’ll also see some other characters in the movie that haven’t been seen before the release of this one, at least outside of their respective comic books series.
Conclusion
Avengers: Age of Ultron is a great sequel to the original movie, that is also in correspondence with many of the other Marvel franchises. Nonetheless, with a storyline that is a lot slower than the other Marvel movies and the sometimes shoddy effects, this movie is probably not always what some of the fans bargained for. That being said, this movie is still a great one for those who love superhero flicks, keeping in mind the underlying topic of the movie. Fans of other movies that depict themselves in this universe will probably like it all the same.
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