Avengers -- Age of Ultron: A Review
It has been nearly a year since my last posting; and, of course, it is about something trivial and a first world distraction -- a movie. Admittedly, I am a complete dork when it comes to big budget summer movies, especially the big budget comic/scifi/action flicks. I, of course, will see the comedies, romantic-comedies, and "chick flicks" with a little motivation. With that stated, Avengers: Age of Ultron, for the most part, lived up to the hype.
SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT
Big special effects, big explosion, and even further definition of characters made the movie appealing to all ages. Mark Ruffalo, Bruce Banner/Hulk, and Scarlett Johansson, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, play tortured souls who are now romantically linked in this sequel with Jeremy Renner, Clinton Barton/Hawkeye, having a family squired away in a secret safe house.
The story begins with the Avengers recovering the scepter of Loki from Hydra's Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) secret base near Scovia, a place of experimentation and research, and the Maximoff's twins -- Elizabeth Olson, Wanda Maximoff/Scarlett Witch, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver. After the recovery, the Avengers "revels" in celebration but not before Bruce Banner, and, Robert Downey Jr, Tony Stark/Ironman make a life changing (if not planetary) discovery about the scepter of Loki.
The foreboding Neville Chamberlain line from Tony Stark, "Peace in our time" sets up the premise and the message of the movie. Age of Ultron messaging are about the extremes. Those who wish to "manage" others choices whether through "oppression" or through "good intentions" and both sacrifice the innocent citizenry to fulfill their outcomes.
At this point in the movie, the super dork in me realizes the possible metaphors from modernity to post-modern angst. The themes within Age of Ultron are important retransmissions of cultural values: family, justice, faith, duty, and loyalty to friends and community; and, these themes are the focal point of the movie.
Joss Whedon the writer (along with Stan Lee ) and director of Ultron ability to reconvey the themes are surgeon like and in the end makes the audience feel good and even the dark periods within the film are properly angst. The integration of the Maximoff's into the ranks of the tribe (Avengers) and the culmination of personal responsibility, tragedy, duty, and "light" to "fight the good fight" to defend the innocent are important transformative moments.
Avengers: Age of Ultron stories romps through these themes with certainty and clarity all the while employing the Marvel Universe's interconnective comic tissues that tie-in the folklore, the other movies, and television programs. The inside baseball comments are very present in the dialogue and themes, while the inclusivity of the popular cultural western-American dynamics are all in full display. For instance, there is a moment when Captain America/Steve Rogers, Chris Evans, chastises Ironman for his "language" and throughout the movie referenced as a way to tie the characters together. And in the end, the tying together of themes, big action, big effects, and compelling stories make Age of Ultron a good start to the summer blockbuster season.
SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT
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| from Marvel's image page |
Big special effects, big explosion, and even further definition of characters made the movie appealing to all ages. Mark Ruffalo, Bruce Banner/Hulk, and Scarlett Johansson, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, play tortured souls who are now romantically linked in this sequel with Jeremy Renner, Clinton Barton/Hawkeye, having a family squired away in a secret safe house.
The story begins with the Avengers recovering the scepter of Loki from Hydra's Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) secret base near Scovia, a place of experimentation and research, and the Maximoff's twins -- Elizabeth Olson, Wanda Maximoff/Scarlett Witch, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver. After the recovery, the Avengers "revels" in celebration but not before Bruce Banner, and, Robert Downey Jr, Tony Stark/Ironman make a life changing (if not planetary) discovery about the scepter of Loki.
The foreboding Neville Chamberlain line from Tony Stark, "Peace in our time" sets up the premise and the message of the movie. Age of Ultron messaging are about the extremes. Those who wish to "manage" others choices whether through "oppression" or through "good intentions" and both sacrifice the innocent citizenry to fulfill their outcomes.
At this point in the movie, the super dork in me realizes the possible metaphors from modernity to post-modern angst. The themes within Age of Ultron are important retransmissions of cultural values: family, justice, faith, duty, and loyalty to friends and community; and, these themes are the focal point of the movie.
Joss Whedon the writer (along with Stan Lee ) and director of Ultron ability to reconvey the themes are surgeon like and in the end makes the audience feel good and even the dark periods within the film are properly angst. The integration of the Maximoff's into the ranks of the tribe (Avengers) and the culmination of personal responsibility, tragedy, duty, and "light" to "fight the good fight" to defend the innocent are important transformative moments.
Avengers: Age of Ultron stories romps through these themes with certainty and clarity all the while employing the Marvel Universe's interconnective comic tissues that tie-in the folklore, the other movies, and television programs. The inside baseball comments are very present in the dialogue and themes, while the inclusivity of the popular cultural western-American dynamics are all in full display. For instance, there is a moment when Captain America/Steve Rogers, Chris Evans, chastises Ironman for his "language" and throughout the movie referenced as a way to tie the characters together. And in the end, the tying together of themes, big action, big effects, and compelling stories make Age of Ultron a good start to the summer blockbuster season.
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