REVIEW - AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

I went to see Age of Ultron nearly a month ago - the first weekend after release. I went expecting an awesome action film from Marvel, which builds on the plots and stories established throughout the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When I walked out of the theatre, I felt that was exactly what I had received. I thought it was more interesting that the first film, and I felt the action was even more beautifully and engagingly choreographed than that of the first Avengers film. After this first viewing, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to say about it. Mainly positive things, with my main criticism being the fact that it was too short - or rather that certain scenes and explanations felt like they were missing. I am talking, of course, about Thor's dream sequence subplot, which Whedon has admitted he wasforced to change, dramatically shortening the length of the film (to appease Marvel Studios executives). As Thor is my favourite Avenger (the comics I collect are Thor) I was bound to notice this lack. However, I felt the film still delivered. 

But then I went on the Internet. Through social media I encountered an onslaught of articles and reviews strongly criticising the film. The main flavour of this criticism seemed to be disappointment in Joss Whedon for not portraying the film's female characters the way the audience felt they deserved. Particularly, viewers expressed frustration at the decision to dredge up the fact that Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff) was sterilised at The Red Room Academy as part of her assassin training. Viewers felt that by including this piece of information, and writing Romanoff as expressing sadness towards her infertility, Whedon was somehow denying Black Widow her femininity. Yes, Black Widow can be bad-ass, the critics seemed to say, but only at the cost of her being presented as less female. One of the first ways I encountered this view was through an excellently written piece on The Mary Sue which, like me, did not agree with this point of view. The review, by Sam Maggs, ‘Sorry To Disappoint, But I Actually Really Loved Avengers: Age of Ultron’, provides a logical counter explanation for Widow’s grief:

“The thing people seem to be the most disappointed about with regards to Black Widow’s representation in Ultron is the side-plot about her distress over the Red Room. But where some viewers read that moment as a devaluing of her self-worth, I interpreted it more to mean that Nat felt an anger and a moroseness over having her ability to make those choices taken from her at such a young age – an age when you shouldn’t be able to voluntarily consent to such a procedure. Nat’s experiences in the Red Room left her without agency; brainwashed, coerced, and made, out of necessity for survival, into the weapon she is today – and part of that involves her lack of remorse for killing. I think a moment of vulnerability for Nat doesn’t make her any less of a Strong Female Character, but instead helps shape her into what we’re all constantly demanding anyways: a complex and nuanced female character, with emotions and a traumatic past and an imperfect reaction to present circumstances."

This paragraph sums it up perfectly for me. All of the supposed subtext of female oppression in Ultron went totally unnoticed by me during both my first and second viewings of this film. In fact, one of the main reasons I felt I needed to see the film again before writing about it was to ensure that I had not missed this supposedly highly significant aspect of the film. Like Maggs, I believe that the reason for Widow's frustration has less to do with her womanhood, and more to do with the fact that an important choice was taken away from her at an early age, via an operation she did not decide to have - as any human being would be! If anything, I found the way Black Widow becomes a damsel in the final act of the film to be more insulting than her sterility. Even so, I did not go to see Avengers expecting a ground-breaking work which pushed the boundaries of female representation in film forward. I expected an action film of epic proportions. And that is what I got.

Moving on from this sticky area of Internet controversy, let us discuss the rest of the film.

The first film of a franchise possesses the difficult obligation of introducing and explaining who all the characters are and why they came to be that way. This means that by the time the second film is released, the assumption can be made that the audience already knows who everyone is and can jump straight into the story. Guardians of the Galaxy was remarkable in that it managed to avoid the soliloquy that often accompanies origin stories, instead explaining the characters through almost nothing but action - but it was the exception, rather than the rule. Avengers: Age of Ultron sees the Avengers released from their 'origins' shackles and let free to tell an exciting tale.  

Avengers: Age of Ultron is the first major Marvel film where it really would serve you well to be in-tune with the wider plot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe before you watch it. The events of Captain America 2: The Winter Solider and Marvel TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D have a strong bearing on the state of affairs in Ultron. However, Marvel somehow achieves this great balance between acknowledging all those changes, and telling the story in such a way that, assuming you weren't up-to-date, you could still enjoy the film. They have mastered mass appeal. Ultron is easily as action-packed as Guardians of the Galaxy, but has a plot that tackles the psychological impact of war, as much as the physical.

Ultron is the name of an Artificial Intelligence program created by Tony Stark (Iron Man), intended to oversee a force of peace keeping 'Iron Legion' robots. Disaster strikes when the AI becomes independently far too rapidly. Misinterpreting the purpose with which he was created, Ultron embarks upon a determined mission to wipe out humanity - which he believes is the only true way to ensure peace, and fulfil the purpose with which he was made. Before this dastardly motive is revealed, he recruits two 'enhanced-s' (in the Marvel Comic Universe they would be referred to as X-men, but copyright complications [Fox owns X-men, Fantatic Four, Wolverine and Deadpool, Marvel owns almost everything else] mean they are instead referred to as 'enhanced' in Avengers) - Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. The two new characters are twins who have a grudge against Stark as their parents were killed by missiles developed by his company - leading them to believe that he was responsible for the attack which destroyed their family. Early in the film, in order to recruit the twins, Ultron conceals his true plan, instead professing a desire to wipe-out the Avengers to achieve peace (rather than the entire world).

The twins, Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) and Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff) are awesome introductions. She has reality-altering powers with unknown potential, and he is extremely fast. Scarlet Witch was probably my favourite thing about Age of Ultron. Her powers have so many different, interesting implications that I could not help but find her fascinating. Not only is she able to shift reality in a physical sense, she is capable of reading and altering minds. Introducing her at this point was timely. All of the Avengers have been struggling with complex psychological problems during recent films, making Scarlet Witch's powers particularly potent against them. Not only did I love Scarlet Witch's influence on the plot of Ultron, but the way she is stylised in the film is awesome too. Throughout the comics she is costumed in your typical way-too-sexy-and-impractical, skin-tight, obviously-drawn-by-men style outfits. In Ultron she is still gorgeous (of course), but does not look quite so uncomfortably tight. Instead, she looks and acts like a crone-style witch – the one who gave Snow White the apple, or the one who owns the House Made Of Gingerbread. She does not look old and decrepit, but the way she moves and acts, and the way she uses her powers, are strongly reminiscent of a wise old witch, living in a small and freezing hut somewhere in Eastern Europe. Her outfits too, although made up of modern clothing, are stylised to fit this image.

The writing in Ultron is as witty and tongue-in-cheek as ever. It possesses a great sense of humor, and the style is highly self-aware. Exchanges such as the following, which takes place in a Hydra base as the Avengers begin their siege on the stronghold, are memorably hilarious. Baron Strucker, the man running the operation, asks his men if they can hold the attackers off, to which one worker responds in a baffled tone “But they’re the Avengers”. Ignoring this Strucker turns to the rest of his men to rally them, “We will never surrender!” He yells. “Never surrender!” echo the men. Once they have dispersed Strucker turns to confide in one of his higher-ups: “I’m going to surrender,” he blandly states, before issuing further orders.

Contrasting the quality of the dialogue, the plot of this film isn’t particularly impressive. It is engaging and interesting enough to allow for plenty of action and drama, but in ways it does not feel like the main act the way the original Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy felt. It feels like it is leading up to something more important. That being said, this in-between feeling the film has, allows it plenty of time for some much needed character development. We learn more about Hawkeye, Black Widow and Hulk in particular. Stark’s psychological problems, which we saw him tussle with in Iron Man 3, receive further exploration. At its core this is a film explores the thin line which separates Heroes and Villains. Both kill people and meddle in affairs as they see fit – so what sets one apart from the other? Ultron sees all its protagonists struggle with this question following the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.

As a high budget film from Marvel, Ultron possessed everything you would expect of such a film – quality casting, acting, action and adventure. And something else noticeable, which sets them above many modern action films is the attention given to the civilian perspective. Consistently throughout Ultron, screen time was dedicated to showing the effect that all the epic battles and clashes were having on the lives of ordinary people – an important consideration, and one often neglected in action films. The studio truly has perfected the entertainment part of film-making. Now that has become standard, I think I stand as one amongst many expectantly waiting to see what the company will do next to continue improving upon the superhero-film genre.