Avengers: Age of Ultron: Film Reviews #4

Ultron: How do you hope to stop me?

Tony Stark: Like the old man said - together.

                There are lots of different opinions on the new Avengers movie but the question that is most asked is: “Is it better than the first one?” Well, in short – yes! Read on for more on the subject.

                The movie starts off with a massive and beautiful battle in the snowy forests of Fuck-knows-where. We are instantly shown the entire assembly and without words explained how much they have bonded after the events of the first movie (especially Black Widow and Hulk, who are eyeball-fucking each other every chance they get). We get lots of sweet moves from the team as they tear down what is explained to be a yet another Hidra hide-out. What is especially enjoyable are the fighting moments where Cap and Thor double-team against the poor, probably under-paid bastards that have been send to stop them. It is in this opening scene that we are also introduced the twins – Wanda and Pietro Maximoff (from the not-so-friendly country of Fuck-knows-where, in case you missed it earlier). I have to say – they were so annoying in the first half of the movie I actually hoped Hulk would dick-slap them out of the overused accents. They do grow on you as the movie goes on, actually… But the accents do not. Well, you can’t have everything.

                Once the setting is… well – set, we witness the birth of Ultron and are sent on a real action rollercoaster with twists and turns, great character storylines and spot-on comical moments. James Spader is amazing in his portrayal of Ultron. He actually does so well that you end up craving every line with sincere impatience. It’s kind of like “Yeah, yeah, STFU, Tony, let the robot speak!” This time around Joss Whedon has found time for literally everybody to have a special moment on screen. Hawkeye aka. Clint Barton has a big role in this one, which is actually a breath of fresh air. His significance in the story brings forward the question as to whether the super powers/costume make the hero or is he somewhere deep inside the one who wields them. We get to learn more about him and his personal life and this time around we can actually connect with him (and care about him).  

                What really separates the second installment is the sense of doom it carries. The first Avengers also had its threats to Earth’s well-being, but all the way through you knew it was all gonna be okay. Not this time – up until the very end it could go either way. The sense of disaster is so strong it will have you in a chokehold up until the very last climactic blast has cleared the air. Sounds intense, right? Well – it is! Nice thing Whedon put lots of funny moments and dialogue right in the mix with the action or drama that is going on. It seems the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously which is nice with it being a comic book movie and all (The Dark Knight excluded) and also it makes it that much more enjoyable knowing that should the world actually end up being destroyed it will do so while Hawkeye is half-jokingly threatening to shoot Quicksilver and blaming it all on Ultron (“No one will have to know. I could do it, you know. 'Where's the kid?' Oh, last I saw him, Ultron was sitting on him. Shame, really. Miss the little bastard already.") It all just works and does so in a fantastic way.

                In case you didn’t catch my drift – the movie ROCKS! It easily floats between drama and comedy and squeezes the best out of its cast and story. And now we wait for Thanos to get his fat ass off of the damn chair.

                PS Thor’s hammer rules!

~G.