Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

IMDb Rating: 8/10

*Caution: Spoilers Ahead

First of all, I used a picture of Black Widow for this review because it always seems like she is left out of some promotional materials, while the four main men who all have their own movie franchises are always included. Hawkeye seems to be left out too, but who cares about Hawkeye, right? I’m kidding! But seriously, when is Black Widow going to get her own movie?

I’ll admit, when the first footage of The Avengers came out, I was skeptical. Could it actually work to bring several franchises together to create the ultimate team up? It just seemed like a fanboy drool fest and not something that would be quality filmmaking. Thankfully, I was wrong, and The Avengers had me believing in superhero movies again.

A little bit of my skepticism resurfaced for the sequel, however, and had me asking questions like: Can the magical chemistry between characters be replicated in Age of Ultron? Will Disney’s monopoly on all things amazing somehow taint Marvel? It turns out that Joss Whedon can replicate a good thing, and I didn’t think this film was any better or any worse than it’s predecessor.

Maybe I would have a stronger opinion if I watched it a second time. The story was jam-packed, and I felt like a missed a lot. (It might have to do with the fact that I’m an old lady trapped in a 22-year-old’s body and can’t stay up past 10pm and my showing was at 9:45). If I had a second viewing, I might be able to pick out a few plot holes or other flaws. Overall, though, I thought they did a great job and it was absolutely fine, especially as the second movie in a trilogy.

No one could have pulled off the role of Ultron as well as James Spader. His voice alone is terrifying and the character’s animation was phenomenal. He was so human while being not-human, and it was a very chilling effect. The visual effects in general I would give an A+. Two new characters were also introduced, genetically enhanced (ahem, mutants) twins Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. Days of Future Past Quicksilver > Age of Ultron Quicksilver. Sorry, Aaron Taylor-Johnson. I had no problem with your character, but that slow-mo scene from Days of Future Past is hard to top. (*Spoiler) His character was starting to grow on me, right up until they killed him off.

Scarlet Witch, however, was freaking awesome. I thought her powers were so cool, and her surprising pep talk from Hawkeye gave her the courage to make a kick butt entrance into the fight and become a physical force to be reckoned with, not just a mental one. I’m glad they decided not to kill her off and hopefully they will keep her on for future installments. It was nice overall to see more female characters in this very male-driven franchise. I think this passed the Bechdel Test, which the first Avengers film did not.

I wasn't really a fan of the Bruce/Natasha relationship. It seemed kind of forced, like they were trying to shove a romantic subplot into the puzzle. It's annoying that it's assumed if she's part of an all-men team, she's bound to fall in love with one of them. Once again the female character is defined by her romantic choices. At least she is defined by so many other things so I can forgive it. One of my favorite parts of the movie was the hallucination montage brought on by Scarlet Witch’s manipulation of the Avengers’ minds. We got to see a glimpse into Natasha’s mysterious past, which I absolutely loved and now crave more of. SERIOUSLY WE NEED A BLACK WIDOW MOVIE!!! Mr. Whedon, can’t you make this happen?

And so the film ends with the Avengers unassembled once more. Hawkeye goes back to live with his wife Velma Laura for a while. Thor leaves again to do some Asgard stuff. Tony is off to be Tony. Bruce is probably meditating on Dagobah or somewhere. And Cap and Natasha are left to train new recruits.

There are so many other things I could discuss (Iron Man’s faceoff with Hulk, the return of the helicarrier!, Paul Bettany’s awesome transformation from Jarvis into Vision) but I think I’ve said enough. This movie was certainly imaginative and entertaining, but I wasn't really blown away either. I will be looking forward to the Infinity War and all the other Marvel universe stories in between.