For the obvious demographic, this movie is perfect.
The Marvel Comic book heros, their many layered fantasy worlds, and the faithful depictions of the paper comic books from the 1960s are all here. The special effects and the battle scenes, the bravado and the super human powers are vivid and engulfing. For those with a deep affection for this genre of movie, and for the young who enjoy flying robots and death rays, the movie is perfect. The opening scenes have the look and feel of a video-game (it was almost like watching 300), however, the cinematography moves away from that approach as the plot takes shape.
On the surface, Avengers: Age of Ultron has little to offer movie-goers who aren’t entertained by futuristic battle scenes, ‘blowing up the world’ style special effects, and one-dimensional comic book characters. Movie-goer Ken Bryan, who had no previous fascination nor interest in comics, 21st century or otherwise, said about the movie: “Very boring; it was just the same battle scene, over and over again. I completely lost interest in the story.”
But with a little bit of patience and willingness, non-Avenger fans can learn to appreciate what has kept this series alive for over fifty years.
A piece of the larger arch of the human experience weaves through this story and is a primary reason that this series has endured. The piece is this: All the Avengers have a dark side, and with the obvious depiction of their failings, a fundamental truth – that all human beings have a dark side – is explored. The myth aspect of this film teaches that if we find, encounter, and genuinely acknowledged our darkness two things can happen: It can crush us, or we can re-channel that darkness into good. The movie lays-out another element to this truth. That as humans, we usually can’t transform our darkness alone. We need others who are loyal enough to acknowledge our dark-side, yet at the same time reflect back that this is not who they really are. In the Avengers: Age of Ultron, this act of compassion occurs many times. The easiest example is found in the character of The Hulk. In the story, the Hulk, fueled with anger and rage, carries out unspeakable acts of violence and violates the Avengers’ moral code of protecting human beings, and yet, the other Avengers do not abandon him. They care for him and continually remind him of his inherent goodness. Also look for a pivotal moment between the Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye. This is not the “big moment” for fans of action, but for those of us who are fans of the human experience, this is the one to watch for.
The acting is very good. If you asked Robert Downey Jr., Elizabeth Olson, Mark Ruffalo, and James Spader to do their best acting, no matter what the setting, they nail it with these performances. Scarlett Johansson could have brought more depth to the role of the Black Widow. Cobie Smulders’ fine performance as Maria Hill is all the more satisfying because it differs significantly from her T.V. character on “How I Met Your Mother.””
If you are no fan of the comics, you still might be surprised by how much you enjoy this tale – or maybe not. But if someone begs you to take them, and you go along, I’d be interested to hear what you think.
Rating: PG -13
Run Time: 141 minutes
Featuring: Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Don Cheadle, James Spadder, Samuel Jackson, Chris Hensworth, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olson, Cobie Smulders
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Ann Marie Bryan
Staff Writer
eCoronado.com
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