WASHINGTON —听“You’re stalling to protect the people.”听“Isn’t that the mission?”
After听four straight weeks atop the box office throne, “Furious 7” is about to be dethroned by Marvel’s “The Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Go ahead and call it now.
Writer/director Joss Whedon will surely follow in听the footsteps of his 2012听superhero assembly, which became听the听top-grossing movie of the year听and the 27th all-time ().
But while “Age of Ultron” will听be a similar听Hulk Smash听— likely remaining the听year’s top grosser until “Star Wars: Episode 7” in December —听the box office success will mostly stem from built-in brand recognition, rather than anything of merit this time around.
After years of anticipation, “Age of Ultron” feels less like the glorious culmination of its Phase 2 predecessors听and more like a flawed flick at the middle of the Marvel pack, exposed by the quality of gems like “Iron Man 3,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
What听a shame, because the premise itself听is a winner. Tony “Iron Man” Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) wants to achieve “peace in our time” by creating a听“suit of armor听around the world” using artificial intelligence.听He听enlists the help of听Bruce “Hulk” Banner (Mark Ruffalo) to upgrade his dormant A.I. system J.A.R.V.I.S. into an experimental A.I. system named听Ultron (voiced by James Spader).
The duo hides the high-risk experiment from the fellow听Avengers — Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) — so when Ultron turns evil and threatens the world, the superhero gang is understandably upset.
From there, fasten your seat belts and hang onto your 3D glasses — there听is a lot going on in “Age of Ultron,” both visually and narratively. For a movie that’s听supposed to be mindless entertainment, it听requires an awful听lot of thought — and not in a good way. It actually becomes hard to follow.
Thus, the excess of the film’s three biggest strengths become听its three biggest weaknesses:
Comic Camaraderie vs. Crowded听Cast
To start, there听are so many听character arcs that each听can only receive听lip service.听On the “good guy” side, we get hints of Iron Man’s restless ambition; Captain America’s loss of human frailty; Thor’s other-worldly guilt; Hawkeye’s quest for work-life balance; and a love story between Black Widow and Bruce Banner that redefines “it’s complicated.” On top of that,听throw in Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), War Machine (Don Cheadle) and The Falcon (Anthony Mackey)…well, just because.
When these characters are bantering, the film is at its absolute best. The laugh-out-loud听quips work in high-octane action sequences (like Captain America telling Iron Man to watch his potty mouth) and slow-paced hang-out sessions (like the group hilariously taking turns trying to lift Thor’s hammer).
On the “bad guy”听side,听Ultron is set up as an effective听villain with evil听intentions and a likable smartass personality, donning an impressive CGI robot body while creepily singing听“I’ve Got No Strings” from Disney’s “Pinocchio” (1940). Unfortunately, his apocalyptic motives become hazy as the film progresses and听his听demise is so sudden during the climax that听it comes across as听ridiculous.
Somewhere between the “good and bad” lie a pair of orphaned twins, the lightning-fast听Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and the mind-bending Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen).听Played by a pair听of “Godzilla” (2014) alums, these characters听suffer from comparisons to last year’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (2014), where听Ellen Page’s Kitty Pride performed more important听mind tricks and听Evan Peters’ Quicksilver delivered more hilarious bullet-time antics听set to Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle.”
By the time another major character is introduced — (Paul Bettany),听sporting听an extraterrestrial听headstone — our heads our spinning. Who is that again? Why is he here? Even those who read the comics will have a hard time keeping track; imagine those who aren’t familiar.
Just because Marvel has countless compelling characters doesn’t mean they all need to be in the same movie.听There simply isn’t room to explore so many听character arcs in a single听film.
Epic Spectacle vs.听Exhausting听Length
Contrary to popular Hollywood belief,听there can be too much of a good thing, especially in 3D IMAX.
For those who believe in acclaim,听consider听the only two directors to win Academy Awards听for 3D movies. Ang Lee won for听“Life of Pi” (2012) by keeping his听3D adventure to 127 minutes. The following year, Alfonso Cuaron won for听“Gravity” (2013) by giving us a听90-minute panic attack.
For those who believe in box office receipts, look to the summer of 2013. “Iron Man 3”听kept its runtime close to two hours — and grossed $409 million domestically. By contrast,听“Man of Steel” grossed $291 million, partly because it inserted too many battle sequences at听nearly 2 1/2 hours.
“Age of Ultron” suffers from the same Kryptonite, stuffing way too many CGI battles into a film that could better use its time exploring its characters.听Less is always more, but “Age of Ultron” follows a mantra of “more is more” — to exhausting effect.听After the original cut clocked in at roughly three hours, the studio thankfully trimmed it to 141 minutes, but like Superman, this feels overlong.
Visual Appeal vs.听Graphic Distraction
Length aside, the constant barrage of digital effects听teeters between听impressive and distracting.
The frenetic, computer-generated听style is established right from听the opening battle. Here, Whedon gives us a digital听single take in a snowy forest, swooping around听to introduce each Avenger in action, delivering a Hulk Smash here, a hammer crash there, a shield throw here, a crossbow arrow there.
Instantly, you’ll know听whether you’re game for this style, which听looks more like a video game than it does cinema. There’s even a point where听Thor does a “double jump” like “Super Mario听64,”听leaping into the air, then kicking into another gear to propel even further. In the land听of the听superheroes, this is a far cry from听the cinematic language of a Best Picture winner like “Birdman” (2014).
Still, there’s plenty to respect about Whedon’s vision. He听“kitchen sinks” the hell out of this one, pouring his blood, sweat and tears into a visual experience. He听deserves credit听for听a number of brilliant moments, ranging from the calm to the frantic, cutting to black at the peaceful birth of Ultron, then quick-cutting a series of听trippy nightmare sequences, introducing each character’s fears in a “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968) style of jump cuts, changing film听speeds and horrifying visuals.
Whedon isn’t phoning it in at all; he’s throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.
In the end, the good outweighs the bad — but barely. It’s an above-average movie with enough talent to听keep us engaged and enough banter to keep us听amused. Above all, it’s a thrill to see the star-studded cast reunite in a genre they defined and a release strategy听they invented. As the credits roll with a mid-credits teaser to the next installment, we get the feeling that several of our heroes听will be taking a much deserved break, while others will be promoted for their own new adventures.
This is also the last hurrah for Whedon, who retires from the franchise听like an听athlete who just left it all on the court but knows听his time is fleeting.听Toward the end, he inserts a hallowed scene where Ultron听and听Vision discuss the fate of humanity as an听analogy for the Avengers place in the听Hollywood studio system.听Whedon听insists that it’s听doomed, but it’s a pleasure being part of it while he can.
As Ultron quips, “Keep your friends rich, and your enemies rich,听and then find out which is which.”
鈽� 鈽� 1/2
The above rating is based on a 4-star scale: 4 = potential masterpiece, 3.5 = great movie, 3 = good movie, 2.5 = above-average flick, 2 = disappointingly mediocre, 1.5 = don鈥檛 waste your time, 1= terrible movie. See where this film ranks in our听. Follow him听on Twitter .听
