Saturday, 2 May 2015

Film Review - Avengers: Age Of Ultron


Last Action Heroes

Film: Avengers: Age Of Ultron
Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson
Directed by: Joss Whedon
Duration: 2 hrs 22 mins
Rating:  *  *  *

As far as studios are concerned, the best way to make money is by making super hero films and if you have multiple superheroes rolled in one, irrespective of the content, a bonanza is assured.  If you have a good screenplay then it is a bonus. 

Director Joss Whedon returns with the next installment, Avengers: Age Of Ultron. It treads on familiar grounds and opinion will be divided while comparing it with the first film; I didn’t find it any better or worse than the previous one. 

Moving at a leisurely pace and clocking almost two and a half hours, Age of Ultron is redeemed by a worthy climax, otherwise, most of the film is so very generic. Besides, it is also disheartening to see special effects and green screens take over a film.

The villain this time around is Ultron (Voiced by James Spader) an artificial intelligence program that goes ‘rogue’; incidentally it was a peace keeping program created by Tony Stark aka Ironman (Robert Downey Jr.)  Ultron is convinced that peace can be achieved by purging the Avengers.  Barring Tony and Dr.Banner (Mark Ruffalo) the other Avengers are not in the loop as to what exactly is going on. 

Since S.H.I.E.L.D has dispersed, Captain America (Chris Evans) takes charge and leads the Avengers along with the usual suspects. Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) gets more mileage than before and the twins, Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) who can literally play mind-games are two other significant characters. There is also a suggested romance between Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Dr. Banner. 

Given the amount of characters that Whedon has to deal with, they all have to share the screen time and none of the sub plots are particularly interesting. The villain is not particularly menacing and neither is convincing in why he is doing what he is doing. 

There is also one long fight scene between Iron Man and Hulk which starts off well but goes on till the cows come home. Despite of there being so much action and destruction there is hardly any memorable action scene. And is it mandatory to have a clichéd scene where the superhero has to risk his life to go a save a child in distress? 

There are some smart one liners but it is the climax that gives you your money’s worth and fair to say that the film ends on a high. All in all, if you don’t expect something sensational, you won’t be too disappointed.

Published in The Navhind Times, Goa on 26th April 2015




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