Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2015, Marvel Studios. Directed by Joss Wheadon. Starring Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo and James Spader.

Let’s talk about Marvel’s streak; it’s incredible. In the past three years they’ve not put a foot wrong, learning from previous mistakes to polish the superhero formula until it shines - and the best thing is no film is alike. Since Avengers Assemble, we’ve had: a one man army action movie, an end of the world epic, a global conspiracy thriller and a space western comedy and they all rock so incredibly, uniquely hard (my previous low opinion on Winter Soldier changed dramatically from ‘Meh’ to ‘Wow...’ on a second viewing). Can they keep it up? If Age of Ultron is any indication, yes, yes they can. 

Avengers Assemble had Earth’s Mightiest Heroes basically snipping at each other in an airborne office and then punching their way through Lower Manhattan because one guy in a silly hat was in a sulk. In Age of Ultron, Tony Stark unwittingly creates an unstoppable monster robot hell bent on destroying the Avengers, humanity and the world to create peace in our time. The stakes are higher and the canvas is broader, encompassing Hong Kong, Royal Holloway and ‘The African Coast’ (the one thuddingly bum note in the film comes from this bizarrely vague caption). It’s a welcome expansion as the Avengers taking their place as world’s protectors, not just the USA’s.

More impressive than the map are the characters, who are also massively improved from Assemble. No longer does Iron Man hog all the good lines – now, everyone gets in on the act, the opening fight scene allowing our protagonists to strike a flippant, pumped up tone for the film to follow, including a running joke at Captain America’s expense that lands every time. Joss Wheadon, clearly unsure of what to do with Hawkeye before, has him behave more like the snarky, charmingly exhausted agent of the comics, making him someone to actually care about and (more importantly) enjoy having on screen. Thor is louder and happier than ever before, Chris ‘Touched by Angels’ Hemsworth providing the gratuitous male toplessness now expected of every Marvel movie. Black Widow, no longer carrying the only major female role in this series, is allowed to show some heartbreaking vulnerability (as far as Black Widow can) and Bruce Banner... well, Bruce Banner still doesn’t really do much. The Hulk has the best action scenes though, so it’s a fair enough trade. 

Newcomers Wanda and Pietro Maximoff are convincingly corrupted by a juicy backstory and kickass powers, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olson game for the silliness unfolding around them. Ultron himself is simply a masterstroke; following Loki can’t be fun for any Marvel villain, but Ultron is both entirely human and entirely robotic, with all of Tony Stark’s wit and occasionally some of his empathy. Wheadon has surrounded himself with fantastic actors, their skill in smaller moments giving as much depth to their characters as any grand standing speech could.

All this character development could make Age of Ultron fall into the dreaded ‘darker, grittier’ sequel trap, but instead it becomes more contemplative. It slows down in some places and lacks Assemble's breakneck pace, but it works. It feels more mature, more thoughtful, but never at the expense of fun. Turns out you can have it both ways. Take an early exchange where Thor and Tony Stark extol upon Pepper Potts and Jane Foster’s achievements in business and science. It’s a fun aside, but shows not only their awe at their smart, powerful girlfriends, but reminds us of their emotional centre at the heart of their one liners and rippling muscles.

Thor? More like 'Phwoar', ammi right ladies? Ahem.

 

You won’t find much in the way of po-faced navel gazing at the human psyche, nor any real query along the lines of ‘Who Watches the Watchmen?’; refreshingly Age of Ultron doesn’t try to ask any questions deeper than ‘How do you calm down a huge green rage monster?’. But by fleshing out the characters and giving them an emotional momentum gives the flash bang fireworks more meaning, more power. Avengers Assemble made you cheer because despite all the odds, it worked as a film. Avengers: Age of Ultron will make you cheer because you care about these characters.