Zach Goodier
The long wait is over, and a new Avengers film has come out.
But now that the dramatic team-up has gone through the honeymoon stage, does
this team have the endurance to keep it up?
The movie starts us in Eastern Europe, where the Avengers are
attacking a Hydra base to recover Loki’s scepter from the first movie. In the
midst of the fighting, two of Hydra’s enhanced humans, Quicksilver and Scarlet
Witch, escape. After a brief engagement with the Avengers, they quickly
disappear. Tony Stark manages to recover the scepter, and while the team
celebrates for a few days before Thor returns the scepter to Asgard, Stark
examines it. Long story short, Stark uses the crystal inside the scepter (an
infinity stone) to help him complete his new artificial intelligence program,
Ultron. Ultron’s mission is to protect the world; however, Ultron quickly turns
on the Avengers, and starts working on plans of his own.
No strings on this guy. |
The story is a really exciting retelling of the Ultron tale.
It all fits very nicely, and ties in to a lot of what is transpiring within
each of the movies in the Marvel universe. Ultron is a wonderful villain, and
James Spader really brings him to life. Since Ultron’s personality is derived
from Tony Stark, he has some entertaining lines throughout the movie. The
Vision also appears in the 3rd act, as a byproduct of Ultron’s
plans. His role is relatively minor, but still significant, and it will likely
lead to more important things down the line in the Infinity War.
These two make a great addition to the film. I had no idea what to expect, but I found them both to make excellent characters. |
The action is great, with scenes like the Hulk vs Iron Man
being standouts in this film. The Maximoff twins, Quicksilver and Scarlet
Witch, both make for great additions to the cast, with interesting powers that
make some great action scenes. Nick Fury also returns, which leads into some
great sequences at the end when he joins the fight. But despite all that, a lot
of the great scenes come from those little moments Joss Whedon creates. Like
many of his other works, he has that talent for creating and/or capturing
moments that might not be outwardly significant, but are the moments you
remember long after the credits roll.
This. Armor. Rocks. |
The special effects are as top-notch as ever, but I did not
see it in 3D to know how that side came out, although I imagine it is probably
top-notch as well. I never felt that there were any weak links from the
technical end or from the cast, everyone seemed on top of their game. The final
major battle takes place back in Eastern Europe, on a city that is being risen
in order to crash it back down to Earth, in Ultron’s plan to end humanity.
The Vision is a great character, even if he shows up to the party rather late. |
The only fault I found in this film is a lot of the internal
problems amongst the Avengers felt reused from the last film. It doesn’t feel
forced, and it is still entertaining, but part of you might feel like we’ve
done a lot of this in the previous film. But this is a very minor thing, in the
midst of all the great characters and scenes. Plus, it gave Stark and excuse to
don his Hulkbuster Armor, which is amazing to watch.
Some of the minor characters from the franchise get to enter the fray this time, or at least get a solid cameo in. |
This movie is more than a worthy successor to the first
film, with all the characters coming back and doing all the things they do
best. Hulk smashes, Thor hammers, Hawkeye and Black Widow show off their
skills, Captain America gives some speeches, and Tony Stark throws out some
clever lines and kicks but as Iron Man. However, what makes this movie even
better in some ways is the addition of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, who both
bring a lot forward to this film, and Ultron is easily one of the best villains
in the Marvel universe so far, with the exception of possibly Loki. In short,
if you loved the Avengers, you will almost certainly love this movie too.
Good:
-Ultron is a great villain
-Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were done right.
-Hulkbuster armor.
-Joss Whedon’s gift of creating all those little moments
that make his works great.
Bad:
-Some of the conflict between the Avengers themselves feels
redone from the last film.
Scully Rating: 9.5 out of 10
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