The Avengers: Captain America (Evans), Iron Man (Downey Jr.), Black Widow (Johansson), Thor (Hemsworth), Hulk (Ruffalo), and Hawkeye (Renner); have been raiding Hydra bases to recover Loki's scepter. They find it in the country of Sokovia, where they learn that Baron Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) used the scepter on humans to give them enhanced abilities. The only survivors are twins Pietro (Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda (Olsen) Maximoff, who gained super speed and telekinesis / mind manipulation respectively. The Avengers recover the scepter and Tony Stark and Bruce Banner use it to create a peacekeeping program called Ultron (Spader).
Ultron feels that the real problem with the world is the Avengers and wants to destroy them. He destroys Stark's A.I. JARVIS (Bettany) and recruits the Maximoff twins to set his plan in motion. With his consciousness downloaded to the internet and Wanda destroying the team from within, can the Avengers set aside their differences to once again save the planet?
After the success of 2012's The Avengers, it seemed only natural for Marvel Studios to greenlight a sequel as part of their Phase 2 films. Phase 2 began with Iron Man 3, which picked up a few months after the events of The Avengers. Next was Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and The Guardians of the Galaxy which had the difficult task of introducing new characters and a new world with minimal crossover to the previous Marvel films. Phase 2 will end with Ant-Man, which is set to premiere later this year.
This film had the difficult challenge of following up The Avengers. It had to keep the stakes high, juggle a large and popular cast of heroes, maintain character development, and add new characters. Joss Whedon returned as the writer and director of the film, and had a hand in all of the Phase 2 films. In addition to serving as sequel, it also needed to tie up dangling plot lines from the previous films and set up the stakes for the next phase of MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). Whedon managed to do all of that, while delving a little more into the lives / backstories of the heroes. He also kept his voice while still maintaining the distinct personalities of all of his characters. I enjoyed the humor and other Whedon touches.
Yes, the story is a little jumpy, but it is a fun ride. The cast work well together and bring their characters to life. The casting of the new characters was spot-on. James Spader is the perfect (only) choice for Ultron: his voice is charismatic with a trace of menace. I had reservations about the introduction of the Maximoff twins, but they were the right additions. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who previously suited up as a hero in the Kick-Ass films. He doesn't say much in the film, but he is a fun character. Elizabeth Olsen brings a weight to Wanda / Scarlet Witch, making her likeable while still making her a threat. It was nice to see Anthony Mackie as Falcon, although I wish he had more screen time. And I enjoyed Don Cheadle's expanded screen time as War Machine. It was also nice to have Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye get more to do (and more personality). He is much more interesting here. I also appreciated getting a little more information about Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow. Since Renner and Johansson and Mark Ruffalo don't get their own films, it worked well to give them more development here. Paul Bettany is excellent as JARVIS and now as the Vision.
The film sets up the conflicts for Marvel's Phase 3: Captain American: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Infinity War - Part 2, and Inhumans. There is also the potential for a Spider-Man film. Whedon will not return for the next Avengers film... it will be directed by Anthony and Joe Russo who directed the last Captain America film (along with the next Captain America film).
I suggest going into the film without reading spoilers about the film. Based on the trailers I knew which super heroes would appear, but I didn't have any other information and was pleasantly surprised by the direction of the script and the surprises that popped up.
An enjoyable film that you should experience on the big screen.
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) 141 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action, violence and destruction, and for some suggestive comments
Director: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye
James Spader as Ultron
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
Don Cheadle as James Rhodes / War Machine
Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Pietro Maximoff / Quicksilver
Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch
Paul Bettany as JARVIS / Vision
Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Falcon
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