‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ (2015) a step down for Whedon

This blog series chronicles my first viewing of the complete MCU movie saga. I’ll examine each film under various categories that reflect popular discussion points. Next up is the 11th film, “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015):

STRENGTHS

Again written and directed by Joss Whedon, the second “Avengers” coasts by with a team of superheroes we love hanging out with, starting with their attack on a Hydra base in wintry mountains and culminating with their rescue of people in a city that Ultron (voiced by James Spader) has lifted into the sky. We get our first intra-Avengers romance, as Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) has eyes for Bruce (Mark Ruffalo). As a fan of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (1990), I’m a sucker for mid-film retreats to farmsteads, so that segment won me over.

WEAKNESSES

“Avengers” is Whedon’s A-game; “Ultron” is his B-game. The eponymous villain is a sci-fi cliché – evil sentient technology — that was fascinating a half-century ago in “2001: A Space Odyssey” but now feels too obvious, especially since there’s no new wrinkle to Ultron. He comes about from an arrogant mistake by Tony (Robert Downey Jr.), but we don’t get a strong arc about Tony learning from and/or paying for that mistake.

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HEROES

Tony/Iron Man does not have his finest hour as he sloppily brings to life a modern Frankenstein’s monster who kills tons of people. It’s fun to meet new heroes like the twins Wanda/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), who can make people see horrible visions of possible futures and can also wield self-created energy blasts, and Pietro/Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), who can run fast.

They grew up in a Hydra lab and work for Ultron at first but soon realize the sentient computer is a nutjob. Interestingly, another version of Quicksilver is featured in the “X-Men” film universe, although his superpowered sister is not.

VILLAINS

Ultron is essentially the embodiment of Skynet (as also seen in “Terminator Genisys” later that summer), but the MCU doesn’t earn this villain. He’s the runaway viral version of Tony’s vaguely defined security wall around Earth. Maybe Tony was hoping for something more like Vison (essentially the good version of Ultron, growing out of Tony’s digital pal Jarvis).

But Vison (Paul Bettany, who had also voiced Jarvis) is just another superhero, not the be-all end-all. The film may have missed an opportunity to have Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver be in villain roles for a longer period.

WOMEN

Yes, the main female character’s main storyline is about a man. But it’s refreshing to see Natasha – raised to be a cold warrior — follow her heart and pursue a relationship with Banner, trying to draw him out of the loner shell he has built around himself (so much so that he walks away from his first love, Betty, in “Incredible Hulk”). Unlike the first “Avengers,” “Age of Ultron” passes the Bechdel Test, albeit barely, via Natasha and Hawkeye’s (Jeremy Renner) wife Laura (Linda Cardellini) talking about the latter’s impending baby.

MIRROR TO REALITY

It’s an old sci-fi fear that technology will gain sentience and wipe out the human race, and Ultron is the MCU’s entry in that pantheon.

BEST ACTION SCENE

As clunky as Ultron is as a villain, the final battle on a city floating in the sky is still viscerally thrilling. The climax also peppers in requisite character moments as Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver find their heroic sides and Hulk chooses between Natasha and his loner lifestyle. Plus, what used to be S.H.I.E.L.D. is resurrected in a dramatic way.

BEST COMEDIC MOMENT

It’s cute when Tony and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) brag about their respective girlfriends’ career achievements at the party. Thor gets the last word: “Jane’s better.”

WORLD BUILDING

“Ultron” introduces Wakanda, the African nation that’s home to the rare metal of Cap’s shield and Ultron’s soldiers; we’ll get a fuller picture of this society in “Black Panther.” With Hulk and Iron Man becoming less interested in being Avengers, we meet rookies such as Vison and Scarlet Witch, and a final scene suggests old allies War Machine (Don Cheadle) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) will be part of this new lineup as well.

While S.H.I.E.L.D. was wiped out in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” sacrificed because of the Hydra cancer within, the good parts of the agency return, led of course by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Functionally, this seems to be the Avengers’ military support arm. The alien Thanos (Josh Brolin) keeps popping up in the middle of credits to say something menacing, so I expect he’ll be a threat down the road.

FINAL THOUGHTS/EXPECTATIONS

In a parallel to “Buffy” Seasons 3 and 4, Whedon transitions from a masterful character-centered piece to a clichéd Frankenstein’s monster story spiced by dream visions. Ultron is a singularly uninteresting villain and Tony doesn’t pay for his arrogance in creating him, but the film works as spectacle and has some nice character growth for Hawkeye and Black Widow. If veteran Avengers such as Hulk and Iron Man want to bow out, I’m up for learning more about the newcomers.