Age of Ultron Review

I finally got to see a film I have been wanting to see for quite some time: Age of Ultron. I figured that the film had to be better than the mini-series it got its name from. The mini-series never appealed to me, nor did it make me want to buy it. But the film...I wanted to see it. I wanted to see this movie, and now I got to. So, I decided to write down my thoughts on it.

I have to say, I really enjoyed this film. I think it was just as good as the original, if not better. The original cast of the Avengers returns, along with some new faces, and a couple actors reprising their roles from other Marvel films.

James Spader takes up the voice of the mechanical maniac known as Ultron. His Ultron really runs the gamut of emotions, choosing to portray the robot menace as a mix of megalomaniac and a little kid throwing an epic tantrum. He has some great moments in this film. The only thing that I didn't really like was that due to the changes in Ultron's origins for this film, I felt his motivation to wipe out humanity was a bit weak...or at least the film didn't really communicate it to me that well. To me, Ultron's hatred for humanity should've come from his hatred for his father, but I felt this version was a bit lacking in that motivation. Ah, well. Spader's performance more than made up for it.

Alongside a new villain, we get some new heroes fighting alongside the Avengers: The superfast Quicksilver (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and the hexcasting Scarlet Witch (played by Elizabeth Olsen). I loved the Maximoff twins' arc in this film, and it was more like the comics than one would think. I especially liked the scenes with their interactions with Hawkeye.

Speaking of Hawkeye, I'm very glad this film gave him some more spotlight, as the last film didn't really give him much. Jeremy Renner really took advantage of it, and Clint felt like a much richer character and more three-dimensional. I also loved that he got to crack wise just like in the comics.

The final battle was epic in every sense of the word. One detail I really loved was that the Avengers put priority in protecting and saving civilians. These guys are heroes, and it's nice to see them acting like heroes should. I only wish that there was an opportunity for Thor to spit out one famous line when it came to Ultron.

My only real complaint with the film is, as I said earlier, I felt Ultron's motivations were a bit weak. Ultron's one of the Avengers' greatest nemeses, and I would've like a much more personal connection between Ultron and his creators. His altered origins could've still allowed for such a connection, so I felt it was a bit of a waste.

I do highly recommend this film, especially if you liked the first Avengers film and/or action movies. It's got some nice funny bits, some sweet moments, and a lot of heroes being heroes. It's a worthy sequel, and it's got me eagerly awaiting Avengers: Infinity War.