It's
rather counterproductive at this point to post a pure review of Avengers: Age
of Ultron. You've either seen it once, twice or more. Or you will see it, armed
with a certain set of expectations based upon (hopefully spoiler-free) thoughts
from others who have seen the flick.
I'll
spare you the details and spoiler exploration. Avengers: AoU is a great movie
but definitely not an improvement upon the original. We're not in Empire
Strikes Back or Godfather II territory here. Indeed, Avengers: AoU is more of a
setup for the other Marvel cinematic universe films to come, leading up to
Avengers: Infinity War.
No
doubt, Avengers: AoU goes full throttle from the start and the action
sequences, particularly - as expected the confrontation between Hulk and Tony
Stark/Iron Man in Hulkbuster armor - are stupendous. Does some of the CGI of
the action, when the crap really hits the fan, look more like a video game or a
comic book? Yes.
Parts
of the storyline (if you will) delve into darker questions and angles
concerning the Avengers, who are really a fragile bunch to an extent. When
they're fighting together, they're clicking on all cylinders. At the other
times, their vulnerabilities can be so exposed to a dangerous degree.
Even
if the movie Ultron doesn't seem as cold, calculating as some of the comic book
Ultrons, James Spader's voice and mannerisms set a great, creepily fun tone to
the proceedings. The introduction of The Vision, for as short a time he's on
screen, is glorious. The introduction, also, of the Maximoff twins -- Avengers
Quicksilver (as opposed to X-Men Quicksilver) and Scarlet Witch was fun and
appropriate. Yes, I do have a thing for Elizabeth Olsen (aka the “good” Olsen
sister).
There
are the nice touches that reflect the state of the Avengers team members, how
one believes his ingenuity and resources can bring about a global "peace
in our time" when it really brings Earth to the brink of destruction; how
two other people are drawn to each other when they know they can never truly be
together; how a fourth desires simply to be back with his young growing family
in their tiny peaceful corner of the world. Then there's the ever-present
question about artificial intelligence, its potential for good or for bad.
It
does feel overstuffed at times with so many characters appearing, crossing
paths with each other often, but thanks to Joss Whedon's guidance and comedic
timing, Avengers: AoU still entertains. He'll be missed in the director's seat
from here on out. Indeed, the pace at which Marvel Studios are churning out
films is amazing, perhaps hard to keep pace. By all appearances, the cast size
and scope of Captain America: Civil War is approaching It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad
World/Ten Commandments level. And only Avengers: Infinity War, split into two
parts, could only be bigger than that.
So
many more movies to come between now and then. It all seems still like a dream,
these Marvel properties coming to life before our eyes, in our lifetime. Even
outside of Avengers: AoU, there's enough to talk about away from the storyline,
namely Marvel, ahem, "forcing" Whedon to insert and maintain
questionable scenes, such as Thor's dreamscape, for the sake of satisfying the
meddling, naive suits back at the studio.
Then
there's backlash that MAY HAVE compelled Whedon to abandon Twitter. The
suggestion is that Whedon betrayed the feminist ideals and strong female
characters he's instilled in practically all of his TV shows and movies by
having Natasha Romanov/Black Widow reveal, in a moment of openness and
understanding with Bruce Banner/Hulk, a man she "adores," that she
was made sterile at a young age while undergoing training as an assassin.
Natasha
is saddened by something that took place against her long ago, yet as she goes
to work, romance and never being able to conceive a child are rare thoughts in
her mind. She does have a tender, extended family side -- again, one of the
fairer flourishes of Avengers: AoU.
It's
a notion worsened as Jeremy Renner "jokes" (as he notes in the press)
that Black Widow/ Natasha is a slut for perhaps having slept with several of
her colleagues. Meanwhile, other critics call out Marvel for a seeming
inability (or lack of desire) to make a standalone movie with Black Widow or
other heroine in the Marvel universe.
If
that's not bad enough, Avengers: AoU toys somehow leave Black Widow out of her
own key scenes. How does that happen? (Not that DC and Warner Bros. have been
rushing over the years to give contemporary audiences a fitting on-screen
interpretation of the likes of Wonder Woman or Supergirl, but that's another
story.)
Anyways,
so much has Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios given us, especially in the last
15 years or so, the comics and now TV shows and films are more than special effects-driven
blockbusters. We help to create cultural icons that help to give us address, if
not totally adequately, complex issues of the day. It's indeed a golden era
we're living in.
Meanwhile...DC...I
hope for the best when more of your properties hit the big screen. I also fear
for the worst.
