You know summer is near when the first Marvel movie of the season makes it way to your local AMC theater. For whatever reasons, I haven’t gotten around to seeing any of them recently. I still haven’t seen “Guardians Of The Galaxy” or “Captain America: Winter Soldier.” Though I do hope to rectify that on both counts very soon. Nevertheless, a serendipitous series of unfortunate events along with a desperate need for a temporary escape put me in the back row of a movie theater to watch this special effects free-for-all. Damn, was it good!Joss Whedon takes the reins again in writing and directing this story of characters from the Marvel universe masterfully much like a game of Twister. Only in this analogy, the characters are the limbs and the the storylines, plot twists, relationship dynamics, are the colors. You have to keep up, and yet, it’s not hard to. Whedon does a great job with giving all these characters an equal amount and importance and development with their screen time. At least one of the ten “main” characters are in every frame of this 2 hours and change film. Add to that the half dozen more “minor” characters that equally push the plot forward with relevant purpose.
The whole cast of the original “Avengers” film from three years ago are all back to take down Ultron, an alien artificial intelligence with a warped ideology on how to make the world a better place. Voiced by James Spader, if you close your eyes and listen to any of his monologues, you’ll immediately see in your mind Raymond Reddington from “Blacklist” or even Robert California from “The Office.” Spader gives off the same hyper-intelligent egomaniac verbiage that just demands you hang on to his every word.
The relationship dynamic between all of The Avengers is a multi-faceted and fascinating one. Unlike the original film, they don’t all see eye-to-eye on everything. It gives the characters much more space to evolve in a story you will appreciate. The newcomers of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are inviting. I was specifically pleasantly surprised with Elizabeth Olsen (yes the baby sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley), take on her role with a sinister yet innocent face forward.
At the end of the day, I enjoyed “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” much more than the original. Each action scene is more spectacular than the one before it but you have to pay attention to the story to get its full effect.
My Three-Act Structure Called "Life" 