REVIEW: Avengers: Age of Ultron

   Or as it could alternately be called, "Avengers 2: Would You Like Fries With That?"

    Let me preface this by saying I *loved* the first Avengers movie.   However, over the past few years, I've begun to worry about the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) becoming yet another victim of Disnefication...the process wherein Disney takes an existing artistic work or property, dumbs it down, and prostitutes it for an increasingly uncritical audience, yielding gobs and gobs of cash.  As novel and exciting as the MCU has been at points, there have been signs along the way of a slide into mediocrity.

   In this case, I really hate being right.  Let's take a look:

The official poster.  Which is basically the first film's, just more populated.

   Avengers: Age of Ultron is a colossal disappointment.  It's not new, it's not different; it follows the same formula as the first film.  It ignores developments of prior MCU entries, and leaves gaping plot-holes in the larger narrative.  It's loud, it's redundant, it's overly long, it's crowded with unnecessary cameos.  It substitutes Witty Banter for character development.  It's more concerned with chugging on to the next "Phase" of the MCU then with establishing its own tone or dealing with the ramifications of characters' actions to date.  It feels rushed, obligatory and trivial - it reminds me of several episodes of an Avengers cartoon strung together.  And ultimately, it's only real purpose is to (re-)introduce a handful of supporting characters, without any kind of growth for the major ones.  Frankly, I felt let down upon leaving the theater.

   The analogy that springs to mind is a comestible one, to wit: Disney/Marvel is producing fast food.  It's cheap, visually appealing, and easy, but packed with unnecessary calories and devoid of any nutritional value.  It's got a litany of simple ingredients (two all-new teammates, special Hulk, Widow, Cap, Thor, Hawkeye on an Iron Man bun), and comes preprocessed, with a devoted customer base ready to gulp it down and suck the grease from its fingers.  Sure, it might be enjoyable once in a while, but not when you go into dinner thinking you're getting a home-cooked meal.   And of course, it comes with a premium - in this case, with purchase of every meal, you get a killer robot.

   I wouldn't argue that any of the MCU movies are works of art, exactly, but several of them have managed to be fun and entertaining while possessed of some artistic merit.  This is not one of those - in fact, rather than having a beginning and ending, it just starts and stops, as if the audience were walking in to the middle of something ongoing.  Which in a sense is true, given the grander scheme of these interconnected movies, but that should still entail that each movie works on its own merits.  What we actually got should, by rights, be bookended by "Last time, on The Avengers..."  and "To Be Continued."

   What's really galling is the complete absence of consequence from the prior entries, in particular, Iron Man 3 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  Those films ended with certain predicaments, or changes to the characters, which are completely ignored in AoU.  For example, at the conclusion of Iron Man 3, Tony Stark had walked away from his role as Iron Man and destroyed his suits of armor.  Now, suddenly and without explanation, he's back as if the prior movie had not occurred.  Similarly, the events of Winter Soldier had serious ramifications for Captain America, and even more so, Nick Fury, which are laughably disregarded here.   Strangely, however, there is an oblique reference to events in Guardians of the Galaxy, which by logic should not be known to the characters in AoU.  It may be that in time Marvel, in a future entry, will retcon explanations in for these types of things, but that flies in the face of film logic...an audience shouldn't have to go do research or wait years for an oversight in the plot to be filled in.  Even more annoying, if you have an audience that is already committed to every entry in your ongoing process, and you STILL leave things out, or assume they'll just excuse it or wait for some later clarification, that's just insulting.

Bucky?  Bucky, where are you?

   

Wait, I thought I wasn't doing this anymore?

The movie seems to move from one loud, repetitive action sequence to the next, with a wearying effect.  It felt like the film was simply repeating the same types of stunts and effects, and just changing the locations.  A little past what I later realized was the halfway point, I started wishing the film would just hurry up and reach its conclusion.  And while the visual effects were as always top-notch, they were more like bombardment than entertainment.  I will say that the final-reel action sequence, in which the assembled Avengers take on the hordes of Ultron, is superbly rendered.  The phenomenal tracking shot of all the Avengers in action, used to such great effect during the battle of New York in the first movie, is re-applied here, with all nine of the team members in grand dynamic form.

      Most of the cast of the prior movies appear here.  Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner, the titular team in the first installment, are all back and share roughly equal screen time.  We also see more of Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Don Cheadle, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgard (in a completely pointless cameo), and of course the requisite appearance by Stan Lee.  Tom Hiddleston filmed a scene which was cut, as director Joss Whedon felt that was the point of overkill.   There's not a whole ton to say about the performances of the returning cast; most of them are exactly as we've seen in prior movies.  Jeremy Renner is the one exception to this, as he gets more to do this time around - his only prior appearances having been a cameo in the first Thor film, and spending more than half of the first Avengers under mind control, so we actually get to know a bit about Hawkeye.  It also bears mentioning that some very bizarre choices were made involving Johansson's character, her role in the film being relegated to flirting with/mooning over one of her male teammates, before being captured and tossed in a jail cell by the main baddie, and therefore requiring rescue.   Honestly, I was a little embarrassed for her.

     I came into this movie really wanting to see what had affected these characters since last we saw them.  How would Captain America deal with his world, from which he already felt alienated, being turned upside down by the ending of Winter Soldier?  What made Tony Stark decide to return to the role of Iron Man, and how did he rationalize it to himself?  How has Bruce Banner adjusted to life as a public hero, being accepted by friends instead of being hunted?  How do the other Avengers deal with the constant fakeouts and deceptions orchestrated by Nick Fury, including his "death"?   I didn't get answers to these questions, mind you.  On the other hand, we did get a new plotline with Thor becoming obsessed with a vision of some kind of weird orgy, which, as it references two-thirds of the Infinity Gems, I assume will be germane to his upcoming second sequel.  I say assume - based on this current movie, they may decide to forget all about that particular plotline.

Black Widow: Now with 50% more Tron.

Already looking for the next film.

     Most of what bright spots there are in the movie come from the new additions.  James Spader voices the nutcase robot Ultron, whose programming leads him to decide to annihilate the population of the Earth in order to save it.  Ultron is a fun addition to the roster of supervillain heavy-hitters; he's a smart, dangerous, interesting foe, and Spader's delivery is delightful.   We also get two classic Avengers team members - Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, better known to comic fans as Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, though those more colorful names are never used in AoU, and are true to their comic roots of appearing initially as villains before changing sides.  They're played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen (whom I last saw as a married couple in last year's Godzilla), and are fun new additions.  We also get an appearance by the fantastic Andy Serkis as the weapons dealer Ulysses Klaw; his role here is incidental, but is clearly a set-up for a future appearance in the upcoming Black Panther film.

   My favorite part of the film was actually the other "new" Avenger, The Vision.  Paul Bettany, who's been voicing Tony Stark's A.I. program JARVIS since the first Iron Man film, now gets to appear onscreen in a remarkable realization of the comics' resident synthetic man.   Though he doesn't appear until fairly late in the movie, Vision is a fine addition, as a character as well as a visual.  While the rest of the film is crammed to the gills, Vision is the one element of which I wish there'd been more.

   There are plenty of funny moments in the movie, very much in keeping with what we've come to expect from Joss Whedon.  The interplay between his characters has always been one of Whedon's strong points, and most of the dialogue is sharp and clever.  Unfortunately, there are too many points when the movie calls attention to the fact that it IS punchy dialogue, as the film practically flashes a little sign alerting us,  "Witty Banter here.  Please note, the Banter is Witty.  We Are Clever Boots."  I could have used more of some type of enterprise of great pitch and moment, and a little less of the cutesy stuff.

Evil Robot Backside - might be a first.

One Vision - fortunately NOT fried chicken.

When the film actually did end, (ironically, about two seconds too soon for my taste) and the audience had waited for the expected credits scene (which in this case is going to be understood only by comics fans, or those lucky enough to have a comics fan to explain the significance), I realized that with the exception of adding a few characters to the lineup, nothing had changed.  We leave the team with a few characters on sabbaticals of a sort, with new characters standing in, but as far as the broader universe is concerned, we're pretty much exactly where we came in.  That's in keeping with the directive of Stan Lee from back in the days when he was the boss at Marvel - change things up a bit, but always make sure you don't change too much, as it affects the marketability.  In a movie, though, if there's no growth or development, then ultimately - what's the point?  Beyond, of course the cynical answer: money. 

     And let's make no mistake - this movie is going to make boatloads of money.  It will likely be either the highest or second-highest grossing film of the year, depending on Star Wars Episode VII's box office returns, and will certainly dominate the summer revenues.  But as we've learned from the works of people like Michael Bay and Stephenie Meyer, enormous revenue streams are not at all a guarantee of artistic quality or integrity, just a phenomenal marketing strategy.   And that's why I'm so disappointed with this movie, because I don't want 'more of the same', ordered off the menu of numbered meals.  I don't want cheap junk, especially not when it concerns a source about which I care.  I'm fond of Captain America and the Vision in particular, and the fact that Spider-Man will be joining the cast of characters next year has me even more apprehensive.  They merit better, and I'd like to see them get it.

Believe it or not, this image understates how crowded the movie is.

    Instead, what we did get was this - a sequel for sequel's sake, to cash in.  There are going to be those who will clap and cheer and ooh and aah at all the appropriate moments, and who will walk away from the movie extolling awesomeness, thinking they've just been served a banquet.  These are exactly the kinds of viewers Disney and Marvel want, who are willing to take whatever comes off the conveyer belt and scarf it down without even knowing or caring what they're consuming.   And that's my frustration - I wanted more, I wanted better, not just empty calories.  But as long as there's an audience for bread and circuses, that's what will continue to be mass-produced.  And I'm afraid that's what's in store for us: a stifling of creativity, innovation or development in favor of more of the same.

   Except next time, they'll just Super-Size it.

FINAL RATING: 4 PAWS (OUT OF 10)