Review written by Christian Garcia
Today I'm looking at the sequel to the smash hit The Avengers with Avengers: Age of Ultron.
When I wrote my rankings of the Marvel films in 2015, I put this film at Number 1. I remember being really excited about this film and it did not disappoint. I loved this movie after I saw it for the first time and thought it was the best thing to come from Marvel yet. Now looking back on it, I was riding the hype wave as the movie had just come out at the time. I watched it again a few months later with my friends and I still loved it then. I have not watched it since then and a lot has changed. More movies have come out and I have changed.
After 7 years of more Marvel films, is this film still as great as I remember it? Let's take a deeper look and see.
The Avengers' Journey
The ongoing theme throughout this film is confronting one’s fears. The Avengers are shown their greatest fears and it takes a toll on each of them. Tony Stark’s arc after the events of Avengers continues with his paranoia of not doing enough and wanting to protect people. In Iron Man 3, he was having panic attacks thinking about what he saw in space in Avengers. Since then, he seems to have gotten his stress under control but that fear of a threat from outside their world still lingers in his mind. In the film’s opening, as he tries to retrieve Loki’s staff, he is shown his worst fear by Wanda Maximoff which shows all the Avengers dead except for him. The fear of an unknown threat inspires him to create Ultron to be a metaphorical suit around the Earth. Tony’s decision to create Ultron is an example of him letting his worst fear get the better of him. There’s a saying that when you fear something so much you end up manifesting it into reality and that’s what happens here. Initially created as a plan to protect the earth, Ultron decides it better to destroy the Avengers and the Earth. In trying to protect the world from his fear, he wound up creating one.
Captain America’s fear is of the unknown. He is back in his own time and is about to finally have his dance with Peggy but then she makes the comment “the war is over” and suddenly the room clears and he’s alone. As we saw in Winter Soldier, Cap has been struggling with adjusting to the modern world and feels as though he does not fit it. He always wants something to fight for or against to keep him going. This scene highlights his great fear of not having anything to fight for and therefore having nothing in his new home. For a man who has spent his life fighting for others, he has done so at his own personal cost. He sacrificed himself to save the world and woke up in a world that he doesn't fit into. Everyone he knew and cared about is gone and he is an island in himself. Even though he considers the Avengers friends, he still feels out of place and this scene where he is standing in the dance hall by himself shows how alone he truly feels.
Thor's biggest fear is the destruction of Asgard and his people. He like Tony wants to protect his people and the thought of not doing so terrifies him. For a prideful warrior and honorable God such as Thor, this breaks him because knowing that a threat is on the horizon and not being able to stop hurts him. However, he confronts his vision head-on and later in the film journeys to see the vision in full to see if there was something he missed that could help him out. He is the only one of the Avengers to do so and that choice to do so helps them out in the end.
Black Widow's nightmare gives a glimpse into her past. We witness her tormented upbringing as an assassin and the horrors she had to witness and endure. She is also racked with guilt over her past and constantly tries to run away from who she used to be. She is haunted by her past which is what drives her to keep fighting for what is right. In her mind, everything she does from that point on is to redeem herself yet her refusal to let go of the past makes that task of redemption seem impossible. For a character who always acts strongly in the face of everything, this is the most vulnerable that we get to see her. We also get a really touching moment with her and Banner where they plan to run away together after the fight is over. They talk about how they both have done horrible things and can never have a normal life. They are both alone in that aspect but that’s also what makes their connection strong and work. Some critics were not fans of the romance between them, but I felt that it worked. They are two people haunted by their past and holding back a harmful being within them and they are constantly trying to atone for their past. But their refusal to let the past go is what ultimately holds them back from truly being free.
These nightmare sequences are the most vulnerable that we see in all the Avengers (except for Hawkeye who bested Wanda). Even though they are the world’s mightiest heroes, they are still people at the end of the day (technically not Thor who is a god, but you know what I mean). They have fears and pains just like the rest of us do. Showing our heroes at their most vulnerable takes the Avengers a step further in their growth. The first movie was great because we got to see them all come together, and it was fresh. Now that we have seen them together, the next step is to grow them as individuals and as a team and they do an excellent job with that here.
The highlight of the film is after they are beaten down and broken mentally, they go to Hawkeye’s farmhouse to hide and recover. We learn more about Hawkeye here where it is revealed that he has a family. The moments at the farmhouse are great because they give the heroes time to sit and reflect on their issues. This is the first moment for all these heroes where they can take a breath. They have had to endure conflict after conflict with very little to no time to sit and reflect. Now they are taking that time and it is helpful for them to confront their fears and figure out how to get back into the fight.
In my review of the first Avengers film, I mentioned that their motivations weren’t as strong. Their reason for coming together, in the end, felt forced and their reasoning wasn’t strong enough for me to buy into. This film fixed that problem and then some. Their motivations are clear and more defined and getting to see them at their worst only makes us more excited to see them get back up and be better after having endured it.
The Villain
Ultron is an artificial intelligence program created by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner to serve as a peacekeeping initiative.
Ultron was created out of Tony’s desire to have a “suit of armor” around the world to protect them from any outer-planetary threat. However, upon his creation, Ultron looked through Earth’s history and deemed humanity to be the greatest threat to Earth. He believes that humanity won’t be saved if it's not allowed to evolve, and he believes the best way for it to evolve is for the extinction of the Avengers. He recruits Wanda, and Pietro Maximoff to assist him in his plans although he does not tell them of his true intentions of all-out genocide.
James Spader does the voice of Ultron, and he puts in a great performance. His cadence and delivery get across as that of an individual who knows a lot yet still understands little. He is intelligent and very intimidating. Spader brought a similar performance as Robert California on the Office where he came off as very smart but also scared people. However, like Ultron, instead of doing so for laughs, he does instill a sense of terror. The idea of someone very intelligent with radical ideas is scary. He is artificial intelligence, so he has access to all the information in the world yet the way he processes that information and absorbs it shows he still has a lot that he doesn’t understand. While you do not agree with his thought process, you can understand how he came to that conclusion. When you can have the audience understand the villain’s motivation, you have a strong villain. Also, another aspect that makes him interesting is the fact that he was created from the minds of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. Two of the strongest minds of the Avengers. That gives him an advantage as he can think like them. However, it also brings weakness in him as he hates being compared to Tony Stark. When Ulysses Klaue tells him his way of thinking sounds like Tony Stark, he gets very offended to the point that Ultron cuts off Klaue’s arm.
Ultron is the first villain in a while to feel like a real threat. While the idea of an A.I. going rogue and wreaking havoc is nothing new, Ultron does so in a way that hammers home the message of manifesting one’s fears into reality. Tony feared a great threat to the world and in his quest to prevent it, he ended up creating what he wanted to avoid. Ultron’s actions in this film also do have lasting consequences that affect the MCU in later films. Although he is defeated in the end, his actions and the Avenger's response to them, plant seeds for future events that have major consequences for the Avengers and for the rest of the world.
The Film's Pros
The Safehouse Scenes
As I mentioned earlier, the emotional highlight of the film takes place at Hawkeye’s safe house. After being broken down mentally and physically, the Avengers (minus Thor) take refuge at Barton’s safe house. We learn that he has a family that he chooses to keep a secret to protect. I said this is the moment where the Avengers are allowed to sit down and take a breath. After all the fighting they have endured, it’s nice to see them have moments that remind the audience that they are human. Natasha and Banner have their scene where they plan to run away together knowing neither can live a normal life and that they would rather do it together.
There is also a moment where Tony and Steve are talking and chopping wood. Stark makes the point about fighting to end the fight so they can go home. Rogers reacts to this by breaking a piece of wood in half with his bare hands. The line struck a chord with Rogers because he knows that even when the fight is over, he has no home to go to. Watching this scene again knowing that inner struggle Cap goes through, makes this scene more powerful. Rogers and Tony have very different ways of thinking and those differences make them work great but also slowly tear them apart.
The time at the safehouse is a great reminder that even the mightiest heroes are human and have flaws. They have fears and flaws just like the rest of us and watching how they deal with them and grow them is a great inspiration for the audience. It endears the Avengers to the audience more seeing them at their most vulnerable. It took them from a group of badass superheroes to being real people that we can get behind and root for. It takes the idea of being a hero to the next level. It was an important step in evolving the Avengers and a step that would carry them into later films.
The Avengers trying to lift Thor's hammer
While the safehouse scene was the emotional highlight of the film, this scene is the comedic highlight. The last lighthearted scene before Ultron’s reveal has the Avengers just sitting down and talking and joking around. It’s a moment where the Avengers really feel like a group of friends. Their conversations lead them to a challenge where they each attempt to lift Thor’s hammer, Mjollnir. It leads to a funny montage where we see Hawkeye, Tony, Rhodey, and Banner attempt and fail at lifting the hammer.
However, the funniest part of the scene and the movie comes when Captain America takes a crack at it. It’s not a joke or a cheesy sound effect. It’s just a look. Cap makes the hammer budge just slightly and the look on Thor’s face is priceless. It’s a subtle look that always cracks me up every time I see it. Hemsworth captured the changed expression perfectly to such great comedic effect and it is easily one of my favorite moments in any Marvel film.
The Introduction of Wanda
One thing I enjoy about Marvel films is the introduction of new characters. Getting to go back and see where some of my favorite characters got their start has been a great treat. And one of the characters I’ve been looking most forward to seeing debut was Wanda Maximoff. Her introduction here is one of the best in the Marvel films and deservedly so for a character as powerful and important as she is. Elizabeth Olsen does a great job in this film and in later films and it’s fun to get to see her grow into the character (yet lose her accent along the way). She is first introduced as an antagonist to the Avengers and uses her powers to make them see their greatest fears. This breaks the team apart mentally and physically and establishes her as a force to be reckoned with. She honestly comes off as more of a threat to them than Ultron. She is so powerful and such a threat to them that it makes it even sweeter when she and Pietro join the Avengers. Unfortunately, Pietro’s time with them is cut short and his death plays a big role in Wanda’s arc which gets even more tragic as the films go on. Having watched later films and Wandavision, Wanda has become one of my favorite Marvel characters and it was great to see where she got her start.
The Film's Cons
Predictable evil A.I. plot
While Ultron is a good villain, the plot of an A.I. going rogue and wanting to destroy the world is nothing we have not seen before. Unfortunately, they don’t do much different with it here and the minute A.I. is mentioned in the film you know exactly where it’s going to go. Watching the scene again where Tony convinces Banner to help him make Ultron, the minute they brought up using A.I. to do so I knew exactly what was going to happen. The A.I. was going to go bad and the whole thing would blow up in their face. What makes this recycled plot even more hurtful to the film is that it makes Tony Stark look dumb. While he’s not immune to making dumb decisions (cough..cough.. Iron Man 3.) this was a decision that felt out of character in a way and made him look bad. While I do understand the idea of him letting his fears get the better of him and him creating a problem in trying to make a solution, it still had me going, “come on Tony, you’re better than that.”
It also affects Ultron as a character because again the idea of an A.I. misunderstanding the intentions of man and deciding that man must be destroyed is a plotline that’s been done in so many other sci-fi films. It’s been done to a point that whenever A.I. is introduced in a film I groan and wonder how they have yet to think that maybe A.I. isn’t a good idea. And I had the same reaction to this film. Yet while the idea of A.I. is cliched and tired, Spader as Ultron still carried a good enough performance that I was interested in seeing how the Avengers were going to stop him. However, it would have been nice if they could have thought of a cleverer way of getting there.
Final Thoughts
Avengers: Age of Ultron still holds up as a great sequel and a great Marvel film. It is still deserving of the praise given to it back in 2015. Getting to watch it and experience it with my girlfriend was a great treat for her and me.
Now is it still my number 1 Marvel film? No.
While I still think it’s a great movie, even greater films have come since. It was an important next step in the evolution of the Avengers and the MCU. It laid the foundation for future films to continue growing the MCU to greater heights. Later films would take what it laid out and improve upon it and really carry it to the next level.
Despite being lost in the shuffle of greater Marvel films that came later; Age of Ultron is still a great Marvel film that is worth checking out. From the opening scene onward, you get exactly what you want to see. The Avengers are in action kicking butt and saying some funny one-liners while doing so. It is full of great action, humor, and emotional moments that make it an all-around great experience. Give it a watch and see for yourself.
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