I like to think that we are currently experiencing the golden age of the comic book movie.
Ever since Sam Raimi’s Spiderman 2 hit the big screen back in 2004, moviegoers have been treated to a slew of superhero flicks that feature rich characters, compelling drama, breathtaking action spectacle, and, perhaps most impressively of all, a brain.
Marvel Comics has been leading the way in this department This brand, with the help of its latest offering Avengers: Age Of Ultron, has just become the highest-grossing film franchise in cinematic history, displacing the Harry Potter series from the No.1 spot.
The message is clear that people around the world are embracing what is being offered in these films, and they want more of these features.
Ultron does not disappoint in providing all those qualities mentioned above. It is certainly a difficult task for writer/director Joss Whedon to successfully follow-up a predecessor that ranks as the third most profitable film of all time.
He ultimately succeeds in doing so in multiple ways.
First, he plays on the great chemistry among one of the coolest ensembles in films today in interesting ways. For example it is neat to see how a somewhat adversarial relationship among some characters have evolved to one of ‘buddyship.’ There is a lot of well-placed character-driven humour at play as well.
Secondly, the action has been amped up in this film quite a few notches. The fighting is relentless through the film and it takes place in many different locations across the globe. All of these sequences are exhilarating.
Thirdly this film does inject some strong new characters into the film. James Spader oozes evil charisma in a voice-only performance as Ultron. Elizabeth Olsen succeeds as the Scarlet Witch, a character that is a catalyst for the developments that take place throughout this film. There are also welcome appearances by Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes from the Iron Man films, Anthony Mackie’s Falcon from the Captain America films and Stellan Skarsgard from the Thor universe. The only newbie that doesn’t do well is Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Quicksilver. He exudes no charisma and thus the audience really doesn’t feel invested in his plight.
While this is a strong film there are some drawbacks. The pace of the film is sometimes clunky. There are some scenes that are overlong mixed with scenes that feel rushed. The slow scenes really do screw up the film’s momentum at times. There are also some emotional moments that fall flat as well. There is a courtship that takes place between Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johannsson) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) that is presented in a really contrived manner. The scenes that are supposed to indicate a burgeoning romance between the two fall flat.
Despite the flaws I had a lot of fun watching the Avengers gang save the world again. I recommend you go down to Elite Theatre to see it too.
Four popcorn buckets out of five.
