Rumors surrounded this film that Joss Whedon was forced to make lots of concessions to Marvel corporate to accommodate Marvel’s desire for more action and set pieces. As I watched Age of Ultron, I could almost pinpoint in every scene, the stuff that Joss Whedon probably fought for and the stuff Marvel forced in. In addition, it was reported that Joss Whedon felt like the entire shoot and creation of this movie was a little “mini hell” because it was so hard to put together and balance all the characters, special effects, and storylines. Joss won’t be doing another one because he is burned out. And that’s kind of how I felt by the end of the film, a little burned out.
Some commentators have said this is “the beginning of superhero movie burn out” but I’m not so sure. In the end, all of these superhero movies are still just movies and if a movie tells a great story and engages the audience, it really doesn’t matter what genre it falls in. And to be sure, there are great moments in Avengers but the strange thing is, with one exception, almost none of those great moments involve action. There’s a scene towards the beginning of the film where the characters are enjoying a little party together and it’s easily the best scene of the movie. The one action scene that really stands out as memorable is the Hulk vs. Iron Man showdown (featured in the trailer).
Something went wrong with the CG in many of the action scenes. It’s blurred and the physics are off. Characters move more like video game avatars instead of people. That’s not very forgivable in a movie of this size and budget. And I’m still not sure why the special effects wizards can’t make Hulk look more real? In some scenes, it’s hard to suspend disbelief because he looks so ethereal and rendered.
I found myself looking at the time a lot during the film, wishing it would hurry up and get over, especially during the action scenes which all just meld together into a blur of motion, noise, and explosions. It was wearying. The other issue was that the plot seemed so “safe”. I get that Marvel can’t kill off any of the main characters but Ultron’s threat level was pretty low (although I actually liked his weirdness). The characters never seemed like they were truly threatened or vulnerable.
The Vision comes out as the best character and has some of the best scenes in the film. I still don’t know what they are doing with his powers (totally different than the comics) but he was so odd and interesting, I wished he had been in more of the film. Everything Bettany did was a scene stealer.
Some have compared this film to Iron Man 2 but I completely disagree. Iron Man 2 is a disaster. Age of Ultron is actually quite competent and enjoyable. I don’t see myself ever sitting through it again though. If Marvel had cut down on the action and given us a few more character scenes, I would have enjoyed this more. As it is, I’d recommend it as “pretty good” but lower your expectations a bit and prepare yourself for a 2-hour wall of noise and flashing lights.
I’m probably sounding more negative than I feel about Age of Ultron. I loved the romance sub-plot. I loved the witty banter. I loved the design of Ultron (with the exception of his weird posable lips). And I loved seeing the whole gang back together. I also had no problem with Thor’s side quest (which contrary to popular chatter does actually make sense in the context of the film). This is also the most “comic book-like” of any of Marvel’s films. If you’ve read a lot of Avengers comics, this is going to feel like watching a live-action issue.
In the end, I’m just glad Joss Whedon is moving on. (BTW: I don’t blame him at all for the issues in this as I trust in Joss’ writing abilities and have a hunch that Marvel had more to do with the things I disliked than Joss). I can’t wait to see what Whedon works on next. That’s probably the best thing to come out of Age of Ultron.