3.5 stars. Rated PG-13, for intense action violence
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 5.1.15
Fans will be delighted, and it’s
certain to make a fortune.
Writer/director Joss Whedon once
again delivers a crowd-pleasing blend of thrills and snarky humor, along with
enough quiet, character-driven moments to remind us that — in some cases,
at least — we’re dealing with (to quote the Hulk) “puny humans” who, valiant spirit
notwithstanding, wearily realize that they’re way outta their league.
And that, in a nutshell, is a
fairly blatant problem with this second Marvel superhero mash-up. Avengers:
Age of Ultron may have sidestepped the usual sophomore slump pitfalls, because
Whedon is a highly skilled purveyor of action-oriented entertainment; this
definitely isn’t a case of same old/same old.
But the sense of scale has
climbed off the chart, and that is troublesome. By the time we reach this
saga’s chaotic third act, we’re dealing with three new characters who appear
able to level continents, not to mention an attack by hundreds of killer
robots, urban renewal on a jaw-dropping scale, and a celestial, physics-defying
scheme to plunge our entire planet into a new Ice Age.
It’s the familiar Superman
problem, writ even larger: How do you concoct a threat sufficiently dire to
give an invulnerable hero more than a moment’s pause? And once a threat of even
greater magnitude does loom on the horizon, how can our champions endure?
Only by finding an even stronger
ally, of course. And so forth, and so forth. Until we have to throw up our
hands, admit that things have gotten totally silly, and go with the flow.
It’s a testament to Whedon’s
considerable talent, that we are willing to go with that flow.
Credit his insistence on
narrative subtext, not to mention note-perfect casting and performances that
we’ve grown to love. Robert Downey Jr. remains the epitome of arrogant,
condescending genius, although — as we’ve seen, in Iron Man’s most recent solocinematic outing — the emotional cracks are starting to show. Even so, he
remains the master of the snide put-down, and his “public face” as Tony Stark
has become difficult to endure.
In great contrast, Chris Evans
stands tall as the icon of selfless virtue: a retro goodie-two-shoes whose
Captain America would be jeered as a hopelessly old-fashioned throwback to
so-called gentler times ... were it not for the utter sincerity with which
Evans delivers even the corniest lines. We can’t help but smile, early on, when
Captain American chides Iron Man about “language.” It’s a cute line, and it
sets up an amusing running gag.
Chris Hemsworth radiates the
regal bearing we’d expect of a Norse god, and his Thor similarly gets away with
stilted “high speech” because Hemsworth retains the steely eyed gravity — and
Shakespearean authority — that director Kenneth Branagh established in his
first solo outing.
Mark Ruffalo, bless him, nails
Bruce Banner’s tragic Jekyll/Hyde nature perfectly, as was the case when his
Hulk was introduced in 2012’s first Avengers adventure. (Third time lucky,
thank goodness, after lesser Bruce Banners attempted by Eric Bana and Edward
Norton, in earlier films.) Ruffalo exudes unspoken paranoia like a clammy
second skin, persuasively conveying the jumpy, lonely nature of a good man
terrified by what might happen the next time he unleashes the rage-beast
within.
Which brings us to the gracefully
athletic and highly skilled — but decidedly “ordinary” — characters, Natasha
(Scarlett Johansson) and Clint (Jeremy Renner), better known as former Russian
assassin-turned-good gal Black Widow, and the bow-wielding master of a thousand
trick arrows, Hawkeye. These two are the “Batman” characters, who must rely
solely on cunning, swift reflexes and (well, yes, OK) some nifty high-tech
weaponry.
I’m pleased to see how Whedon has
greatly expanded both their roles here, particularly since Hawkeye was MIA for
much of the first Avengers outing. We discover that he’s a guy with much to
lose every time he suits up alongside his godlike companions — a truly nice
touch, in Whedon’s script — which makes him that much more admirable. Renner
makes a great Hawkeye, who in his own way proves to be even more of a
team-builder than Evans’ Captain America.
Johansson is appropriately sultry
as the coy, vampish Black Widow, although her third-act gymnastics stretch
credibility rather far, even under these exaggerated conditions. Whedon also
drops significant hints about Natasha’s back-story, which grants Johansson a
few moments to display some acting chops. Natasha’s attraction to Bruce — a
notion that horrifies him, although not for lack of reciprocated desire — is
another nice touch.
But — very minor point —
Johansson is saddled with way too much makeup during an early, celebratory
party scene. She looks ludicrous, and I can’t imagine what All Concerned were
thinking.
So, to the story:
During a prologue of sorts, the
Avengers tackle a heavily guarded fortress protected by soldiers of the evil
Nazi offshoot Hydra, all operating under the strict orders of Baron Strucker
(Thomas Kretschmann). Hydra has obtained the powerful scepter snatched from
Thor’s twisted half-brother Loki, the primary villain in the Avengers’ previous
outing; after a battle royale, our heroes manage to recover this Asgardian weapon.
Naturally, Tony wants to study
it; with Bruce’s initially reluctant but eventually eager help, an attempt is
made to graft the scepter’s inner “intelligence” into an artificial frame. Tony
hopes to create an ultimate peacekeeper: a being better able to protect Earth
from the increasingly powerful adversaries that inevitably come calling.
But Tony’s reckless nature always
overpowers his minimal dollop of common sense, and — correctly deducing that
his comrades would frown on such activities — pointedly fails to tell anybody
else what he and Bruce are up to.
Sadly, their efforts succeed.
Enter Ultron (voiced with grim glee by James Spader), a soulless machine entity
that injects itself into the world-wide web, and then into an ever-expanding
series of super-strong robots. If one is destroyed, Ultron’s consciousness
simply flits, via the ether, into another waiting body.
No surprise, then, that Tony
Stark loses the love from the rest of the gang.
The first Avengers film, in part,
concerned the difficult task of building a team from a collection of such
disparate, self-involved individuals. Having done that, this time Whedon
focuses on the even harder challenge involved with keeping such a team
together.
The Marvel Comics universe was
built on this sort of realistic interpersonal squabbling, back in the 1960s;
while Superman, Batman and their Justice League colleagues all seemed to get
along peachy-keen in the DC Comics realm, the Avengers were forever sniping at
each other.
It worked back then, and it works
here.
Tony, all but ostracized after
having betrayed everybody’s trust, struggles to decide whether he — and Iron
Man — even need the others. Bruce and Natasha wonder if the world would be much
better off without their dual, badly damaged psyches. And so forth.
Meanwhile, Ultron has
orchestrated the theft of massive quantities of vibranium, the “strongest metal
on Earth” that was used, in part, to create Captain America’s indestructible shield.
The robotic monster’s soulless approach to “peace in our time” — the credo
under which Tony hoped to create it — has just become even more dire.
As this saga’s primary Big Bad,
Ultron is quite malevolent, given to acts both capricious and horrific. There’s
an intriguing sense that it doesn’t fully understand human beings, which
prompts occasionally arch asides. All that notwithstanding, Ultron isn’t wholly
satisfying as an evil mastermind; its robotic face lacks the nasty
expressiveness that Tom Hiddleston brought to his wonderful portrayal of Loki.
Ultron’s snarky one-liners simply don’t have the same bite.
The already massive cast is
augmented by two “experiments” from Strucker’s lab: the fleet-footed Pietro
Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, recognized from the Kick-Ass franchise), able
to run at superhuman speed; and his twin sister Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen), a
telekinetic/telepath who can “mess with your mind.” Both are formidable
adversaries and intriguing “young blood” additions to the mix ... but neither
Taylor-Johnson nor Olsen quite manages the necessary Eastern European accent.
Continuity fans will appreciate the-gang’s-all-here
appearances by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), James Rhodes/War Machine (Don
Cheadle), Agent Hill (Cobie Smulders), Sam Wilson/The Falcon (Anthony Mackie),
Asgard’s Heimdall (Idris Elba), Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) and even Agent
Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell).
Paul Bettany, until now only
heard as the voice of Tony Stark’s computer assistant, Jarvis, earns an
unusually expanded role. Andy Serkis pops up as an arms dealer — an apt
description, given what happens to him — and Linda Cardellini, late of
television’s E.R. and Mad Men, pops up in a welcome new role.
And, yes, Marvel “big kahuna”
Stan Lee makes his usual cameo.
The production work and special
effects are sensational, as always, and Whedon is adept at choreographing even
the craziest battles in creative ways that don’t become boring. Even when a few
skirmishes go on ... and on ... and on.
But one does wonder about all the
devastated real estate and demolished infrastructure. Who pays for the
necessary restoration? Somehow, I can’t imagine that even Tony is that rich.
Nit-picky nonsense, of course.
Savvy viewers enter this realm hoping for no more than a great ride; anything
else is a bonus. Whedon delivers that ride, along with some much-appreciated
character angst.
Given the final scene, however,
we can’t help wondering if cinematic life is about to imitate comic book life
... because, on the printed page, the Avengers’ roster changed constantly.
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