Avengers: Age of Ultron, directed by Joss Whedon, has a charismatic cast, eye-popping action scenes and astounding special effects. And if you’re familiar with the Marvel Universe, you will find yourself cheering for the sheer spectacle that it is.
The plot is nothing groundbreaking and is mostly formulaic. Tony Stark and Bruce Banner look to build some sort of shield for the earth to save it from evil forces, but they do the math wrong and create an artificial intelligence monster called Ultron. And what does Mr. Frankenstein want to do? Yes, you guessed it right - assemble an army of sentinels and wipe the human race off the face of the earth, starting with the Avengers. Our superhero pack - containing ego-centric characters like Stark and Thor - now have to sort out their differences and work as a team to stop Ultron.
As expected in any big-budget Hollywood flick, sleek high-octane visuals and jaw-dropping action sequences are the main draw here as well, and most of the heavy-lifting is done by the digital team. Chaos and destruction become the order of the day, with multistorey buildings being reduced to a rubble pile on a regular basis.
However, not all set-pieces appear fresh and inventive, and sadly 3D acts as a buzzkill. But the Hulk vs Hulkbuster fight, featuring the angry green fellow and Iron Man, is spectacular and has been captured magnificiently; so is the single-shot opening battle that pits the Avengers against Hydra's forces.
The first Avengers installment was celebrated for its humour element. But unlike that film, not all wisecracks in Age of Ultron are funny; in fact, some of them fall flat. That first time charm of watching all the big Marvel superheroes coming together onscreen is also a big miss this time. And that's not saying the movie doesn't offer a few good laughs. Whedon succeeds in integrating witty lines even in the middle of major battles. A scene where the Avengers try to lift Thor's hammer during a party is particularly chuckle-worthy, so is a running joke about the hammer.
But after getting a dose of some top-level ingenious humour, provided mainly by Rocket - the fast-talking genetically engineered raccoon voiced by Bradley Cooper - in last year's brilliant Marvel superhero flick Guardians of the Galaxy, nothing less clever feels good enough.
Meanwhile, Ultron, for all its artificial intelligence, cannot think of a better, smarter way to end the world other than lifting a large landmass in the fictional country of Sokovia skyward using a machine built using Vibranium, so that he can eventually crash it into the ground to cause global extinction. Tada!
The much-awaited finale - a sentinel orgy - is a bit of a let-down as well, especially after watching a sentinel overload throughout Marvel's X-Men: Days of the Future Past just last year. Not to mention it's pretty similar to the Chitauri invasion from the first Avengers film's final act. Well, guess there are not many ways to keep all your superheroes occupied during a 30-minute climatic action scene.
Among the cast, Robert Downey Jr once again walks away with the best lines as Tony Stark aka Iron Man. Chris Evans is convincing as Steve Rogers aka Captain America, the leader of the group, but Chris Hemsworth as Thor does nothing more than an extended cameo this time.
However, it's the backbenchers in the group who get the opportunity to showcase some of their acting skills in Age of Ultron. Mark Ruffalo is excellent as Bruce Banner, the genius scientist who is terrified about his future, while CGI takes care of Hulk. Scarlett Johansson does justice to the complicated Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow, and we finally get a glimpse into her backstory. The budding romance between Natasha and Bruce has its moments and does not look out of place.
Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are the new additions to the franchise as Wanda and Pietro Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. “He is fast, she's weird”, and they get a convincing storyline and enough screen time.
Franchise regulars Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Don Cheadle as (James Rhodes aka War Machine) and Stellan Skarsgard (Erik Selvig) also make appearances, while there are cameos from popular actors like Idris Elba (Heimdall), Andy Serkis, (Ulysses Klaue), Julie Delpy (Madame B) and Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson aka Falcon).
But it's Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton aka Hawkeye) who is the biggest beneficiary in Age of Ultron. From pretty much a sidekick in first movie, he comes to the forefront in the sequel, with the film spending considerable time on his domestic domain and dependable personality. It even makes you wonder if he'd do a better job than both Captain America and Iron Man combined as the leader of the group.
Bad guy Ultron, who keeps humming Pinocchio, has an imposing presence and James Spader does the voice acting part ever so well, but the film badly needed a human super-villain. And that's where you miss the menacing Loki the most.
Avengers: Age of Ultron isn't what it could have been. It's repetitive and undramatic, but when the dust settles, it will do fine. And to be fair, Guardians of the Galaxy was always going to be a tough act to follow.
You know what to expect when you walk in for an Avengers movie and you get exactly that from Marvel's latest offering - enough bang for the buck. I'm going with three-and-a-half stars out of five for Joss Whedon's Avengers: Age of Ultron. It's not the best superhero movie or the perfect sequel to The Avengers but it's still the kind of movie you would gladly watch on the big screen with a big bucket of popcorn.
Rating: 3.5/5