Iron Man! Thor! Hulk! Captain America! Black Widow! Hawkeye! Various and sundry other Avengers!
ASSEMBLE!
It’s time for Bookshelf Q. Battler’s review of Avengers: Age of Ultron!
Dun…dun dun da dun…dun dun…dunnnnn….dun dun da dun dun dun!
Sorry, that was me trying to sing the Avengers’ theme song. Doesn’t translate well through the written word.
The summer movie season is has arrived and Hollywood is coming out swinging with this superhero extravaganza.
If you SPOILERS make you angrier than Bruce Banner with a stubbed toe, you might not want to click below:
After 2012’s breakout Avengers movie, director Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame and the rest of the cast had two hurdles to leap over with this latest installment of a blockbuster franchise:
1) Beat a movie that blew everyone away.
2) Have a sweeping, ensemble cast and somehow still manage to not give anyone short shrift.
In this movie reviewer’s opinion, Whedon et. al. succeed on both counts.
The setup? Tony Stark aka Iron Man is so afraid that his teammates might one die at the hands of evildoers that he develops Ultron, the end all/be all artificial intelligence.
Naturally, Ultron immediately turns super evil. In fact, he’s voiced by the uber snarky James Spader and there are times you end up thinking Red from NBC’s The Blacklist somehow turned himself into a robot.
That’s not a complaint. Spader’s “I’m the smartest guy in the room” personality jives well with Ultron’s. Ultron’s the baddie that you love to hate and in an ironic twist, he believes the only way to save Earth is to destroy it (thus taking out all those troublesome humans along the way).
Romantic sparks are flying between Banner and Black Widow, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver make fine additions, while old fan favorites like The Falcon and War Machine round out the cast. Of course, there’s also Vision but, well, I’ll let you find out about him on your own.
We learn a bit more about Hawkeye and come to think of it, Scarlet Witch’s tricks gives us insight into what makes our favorite heroes tick (and not in a good way).
Isn’t it great to live in a day and age where special effects have evolved to a point where films like this one are possible? Sometimes I feel like this must be how people felt in 1977 when Star Wars hit the screens for the first time and changed the game.
While trying my best not to dish out spoilers, let me just say that extra-strength Iron Man aka “Hulk Buster” vs. Hulk was one of bad assiest (I’m allowed to invent words) moments I’ve seen on the big screen. Go for that sequence if for nothing else.
If I have one complaint, it would be there are times when it would be great to get a little more explanation (hence the challenge of having an ensemble cast). Still, I didn’t feel like I was short-changed either. Whedon gives you just enough breadcrumbs to lead you down the trail of awesomeness and I realize that unlike yours truly, the average moviegoer isn’t a poindexter who yearns to know every last bit of science behind the various inventions that are introduced throughout the film.
Plus, while watching it I was struck with the feeling that it would be a good film to watch twice as there isn’t enough time to catch appreciate all the subtle nuances the first time around. The details are there, but the action flies at your face warp speed and you end up feeling like an epileptic disco dancer trying to catch it all. At least I did. You probably didn’t.
Two big thumbs way up from this movie buff. Now my only complaint is I worry Hollywood sent its best straight out the gate and maybe Avengers 2 won’t be topped.
Although the previews I saw of Terminator Genisys, Jurassic World, and Tomorrowland all look promising.
Have you seen it yet, bookshelf battlers? If so, let me know what you thought in the comments.
Until next time, “excelsior!” (as Stan Lee would say).
STATUS: SHELF WORTHY
Bookshelf Battle 
You had me at a stubbed toe :o)
It doesn’t take much to bring out the Hulk.
Loved it! Do I need to say more? I think you said it all.
I only have two regrets.
1. I live in Germany, so I had to see it in German with my friends. And I hate dubbed versions.
2. I really had to go to the bathroom right about when the final battle began. That’s what happens if you get a giant bag of salty popcorn and drink 1.5 liters of coke.
I’m really excited about the next one and all the Marvel films to come in between. 😉
“Auch dun liebe! Eis un Hulkensheizen!”
You know, that’s funny, I too had to pee extremely badly, so much so that it dawned on me I should write a column about whether one should leave a movie to pee or soldier on and hold it till the end.
I was literally about to float away when I finally walked out when – SPOILER- Hawkeye and the gang visit the “safe house” and assumed this would be the best part to go, seeing as how now fight scenes seemed imminent.
Couldn’t read it all as I haven’t seen the movie, but read far enough to see that you really liked it an thought it beat the previous Avengers movie. Really excited about what I’m hearing about the movie, thanks for the review.
Some critics are panning it. One was like “I had no idea what I just watched” and yeah, I mean at times I was like “I am confused” but that’s when I just sit back and enjoy all the pretty colors.