'You're all puppets, tangled in strings.'
There is no denying that The
Marvel Cinematic Universe is something to be commended, from a storytelling
and business standpoint. The work that must go into creating these cohesive
and fluent storylines, thread through all these vastly different comic book films
boggles the mind. The question on everyone’s lips concerning the sequel to the
biggest comic book movie of all time is: ‘can they capture that lightning in a
bottle once again?’
Age of Ultron sees The Avengers trudging through their
darkest path yet. Ultron is on a mission to destroy them, on a bigger and more
intricate scale than Loki before him. The entire cast returns from the last
film, with new faces: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen and James Spader to
name a few.
Guys, I am happy to tell you that the follow up dish Joss
Whedon serves to us is just as tasty as his last one. Age of Ultron is an
absolute treat, a challenging new story, a plethora of incredible characters,
captivating visual set pieces and fan service in all the right places. Whedon
never takes his ensemble for granted, again using his actors’ flawless onscreen
chemistry to his advantage.
The character of
Ultron is nothing short of the ultimate villain for this team. Strikingly performed
by James Spader he chews up and spits out every scene he’s in. My only
criticism is that he’s maybe not on screen enough, however with this many
mouths to feed I understand why he is used sparingly and I can’t fault the film
for that. The new characters are for the most part well utilised, blending in
well with the already established team but also creating new dynamics.
However I did find the edition of Taylor-Johnson as
Quicksilver mildly distracting. I’m not entirely sure why this was and I can
only really blame it on the fact that I personally don’t find him that
engrossing as an actor. It could also be that his character was the only new
player who I felt was underutilised.
If you go and see this film because you love Marvel, loved
the original Avengers team and want to see more on a grander scale you won’t be
disappointed. If you’re going in hoping for this film to be a giant leap
forward for the cinematic universe as a whole you may leave slightly hollow.
For me, I was keen to see where the wider story was going to lead and there was
less of that overarching story I was hoping for. I remember Whedon discussing
the prospect of an Avengers sequel three years ago and he was talking about
drawing influences from The Godfather
Part II and The Empire Strikes Back.
This is not a sequel that is going to challenge its fans like those films did.
But it’s a brilliantly fun ride nonetheless and I can’t wait to see it again.
Assemble on my Twitter - https://twitter.com/MaxBezant
