After absolutely ages I went for a movie with friends last week. Like almost half the world, our choice of movie watching was Avengers: Age of Ultron, and we decided to watch it in IMAX to get the full 3-D impact.
Movie Synopsis
When Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) jumpstarts a a peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s heroes (Chis Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlet Johannson, Chris Evans, and Jeremy Renner) are put to the test to save the planet from the villainous Ultron (voiced by James Spader).
My Thoughts
I saw this movie last week and I loved it. People tell me it’s not as good as the first one, but to this Avengers novice, it seemed like a pretty good movie, and I do plan to go back and see the first one.
I loved the interactions between all the lead characters and thought the characters were incredibly well-developed considering it is an action movie. In particular, I who didn’t have a background of all the superheroes could so easily have got lost, but thankfully that was not the case. I could watch the movie, and very quickly gauge who was who, and the motivations and relationships of everyone in the movie.
Two new characters are introduced – that of Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Aaron Taylor Johnson as her twin brother Pietro / Quicksilver and they form a big addition to this movie. In the first half of the movie, they are pitted against the Avengers and they make a formidable enemy. I loved how just Ultron and the two of them are able to completely overcome the Avengers. In the second half, they change sides, and fight on behalf of the Avengers and are crucial in the battle against Ultron.
Normally, superhero movies aren’t my thing, but I’ve been a huge fan of the director Joss Whedon ever since his Buffy days, and in my eyes, he can’t do any wrong. He always manages to hit the sweet spot between over the top action, and the softer sentimental scenes. And I think he hit bulls-eye with the tender scenes between Black Widow and Hulk, and the protective relationship between Wanda and Pietro.
If there was one thing I disliked, I thought some of the action was a little over the top, and I was like fine, just get over it already. Some scenes such as the fight between Iron Man and Hulk seemed to go on forever.
What I loved were the softer scenes – the romance between Hulk and Black Widow, some of the existential angst by the Avengers, Hawkeye’s family life. All these were the appealing points, and formed a strong buffer from the crazy over the top action.
So, overall, while I enjoyed the movie, I think I want more of a plot, a little more tension, and a little less action in the next one.
What about you? Have you seen this movie? What did you think of it?
