Given the name of this
blog, you may not be surprised to hear that I was somewhat excited about Age of
Ultron. My all-time favourite villain, the Adamantium Jesus himself (or
vibranium, in this case – damn you, Marvel/Fox legal wranglings), a character
that has intrigued me for more than 30 years, appearing on cinema screens,
voiced by an expert at playing creeps and sociopaths – and a sequel to one of
my favourite comic-book movies of all time. There’s no way this could
disappoint, right?
Right?
The most honest answer I
could give is: I don’t *think* it did. It’s a little difficult to tell. It’s
just so relentless. The opening moments of the film hurl you straight into a
massive – and impressive – action set piece that leads, more or less directly,
to the creation of Ultron himself. And once the Big Shiny Sexyboy arrives on
the scene, surprisingly early on, we’re off. There are few opportunities to
pause for breath as the peril mounts, the action spirals out of control, and
things just become exceedingly, unashamedly comic-booky. There are several
points that are not jump-the-shark moments per se, but which may push
suspension of disbelief a little far for casual audiences. If you’re willing to
go with it (and hell yes, I am), it’s a wild and wonderful ride.
However, this unbelievable
sensory bombardment, over a prolonged period, leaves you reeling, and makes it
difficult to determine exactly how well the film holds together. My instinct is
to say ‘Really bloody well’, but then again I’m easily impressed by lots of
bright colours and loud noises. It’s a long film, but never feels like it –
Whedon packs in a hell of a lot of, well, everything. Quieter conversational
moments may be few and far between, but that’s not to say that he skimps on
character. Far from it. Rather, the team’s and their antagonists’ personalities
are at the fore and drive the story.
The cast are outstanding,
with no weak links in the core team (Renner gets much more to do this time),
and a big impact made by Paul Bettany as the Vision and, of course, Spader as
the bad bad robot. It doesn’t give anything away to say Spader’s interpretation
was not quite what I expected, but he inhabits the role with much devilish
glee.
A second viewing will be
essential to unpack exactly how successful a film Age of Ultron is, but suffice
to say that as a cinematic experience it’s massive, beautiful, funny and
dangerously exciting. I’m not sure that it has quite the individual ‘Wow!’
moments that stood out from the original, but a) some of that may have been
shock of the new; and b) maybe there are, but the pace, scale and scope of Age
of Ultron doesn’t quite give you the space to appreciate them, as six more come
along a second later. There are several shots and sequences straight out of
George Perez’s wildest, most fat-packed dreams, which it’s impossible to unpack
or even fully comprehend without a pause button. Essentially, it adds the
unfettered, way-out comic-bookiness of Guardians of the Galaxy to the central
Avengers concept, turns the dial way into the red zone. It makes the first film
look as still and contemplative as a Jim Jarmusch joint.
