Complaining about Avengers: The Age of Ultron may be as futile as complaining about the weather, but next to the first film in the series, the new installment is a dull cloudy day compared to its relatively sunny predecessor. Basically a non-aficionado who merely dabbles in the Marvel world, I identified with the deer-in-the-headlight gaze of the film’s two new rather indistinct characters, the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), who often seem lost. Hankering for a kick-in-the-pants approach similar to the refreshing Guardians of the Galaxy, I was treated instead to a $250 million banging and whirring replete with an overly dense plot and copious artificial intelligence gobbledygook (For the real thing in A. I., rush out to see the excellent Ex Machina).
Sadly, it’s most interesting character, Vision (an excellent Paul Bettany) doesn’t appear until three-quarters of the way in, and despite the film’s 141-minute length, his screen time is curtailed. Instead, director Josh Whedon makes sure his central characters get plenty of screen time: Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, the. Black Widow, Hawkeye. The all-star cast all do a credible job of portraying their comic book counterparts. What’s missing is the film has little soul. It almost seems like a parody of a clunky, stiff, overly serious superhero film.
While the witty bantering from the first Avengers is still present, with the exception of the steadily reliable Robert Downey as Tony Stark/Ironman, the quips often seem forced. It’s somewhat moving when the Black Widow Natasha (Scarlett Johannson) and Hulk Bruce Banner (Mark Rufalo) stake out an oddly unrequited romantic thing. Natasha’s matter-of-fact mix of seduction and tender patience with Banner’s reluctance possesses a plausible haltering rhythm. Yet even here the half-baked, inert tone of their conversations suggests Whedon’s real goal is sacrificing what might have been any real substance in their relationship for the laying of the groundwork for a sequel.
And now for the obligatory, “But if you’re a Marvel freak, go ahead and see this and knock yourself out.” You may even find Ultron (the voice of James Spader) a fascinating character. His ability to replicate himself insures he hangs around awhile despite the dire danger he presents to the human race. All these superheroes are indestructible, right? Maybe, but all the characters in the Marvel Encyclopedia are not as omnipotent as The Marvel Franchise itself. With the Avengers: Age of Ultron the proceedings have become downright labyrinthine, and not a little patronizing.