Film Review: AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

Google Images: Artificial Intelligence Vision (Paul Bettany)

The film is rife with action from beginning till end

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgård. James Spader, Samuel L. Jackson
Director: Joss Whedon

I saw this movie 15-20 days ago. With A-Z April Challenge 2015 in full swing, I got to blog the review only now.

The Film

The Avengers go in search of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) who has Loki’s sceptre. He’s been experimenting with it, the results being twins Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) who have acquired superhuman skills. While Pietro moves faster than lightning, Wanda can manipulate minds. The twins hate Tony Stark, convinced that it was his bomb that had killed their family. Tony Stark aka Iron Man (Robert Downy Jr.) manages to retrieve the sceptre.

Tony and Bruce Banner aka Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) find out that the sceptre’s gem contains artificial intelligence. They decide to use it to complete Tony’s Ultron programme – without consulting the other Avengers. Inadvertently, they create a terrible danger to the very existence of the Earth. Ultron, the AI created by them, believes that wiping out humanity is the only way to save the earth. The first thing Ultron does is destroy JARVIS, the artificial intelligence that Tony had created before. Jarvis used to guide Tony in a number of his activities.

When Ultron goes on a rampage, will the Avengers be able to save the Earth?

My Perception

I have developed a taste for sci-fi and enjoy watching films on extra-terrestrials. That’s how I landed up seeing The Avengers and thoroughly enjoyed it.

While Avengers 2 is a superbly made film, I found the non-stop action tiring. It was fight and death from beginning till end. Of course, all the actors have performed very well. But still it was tough to swallow with the amount of dust flying around from the constant battles. A little bit of quiet is shown at Hawkeye’s (Jeremy Runner) safe-house, while the feeling of sitting on a time bomb refuses to leave the viewer.

What I really liked was the new Avenger who’s born amidst the older ones – an artificial intelligence with super powers – going by the name of Vision (Paul Bettany). Vision is what becomes of Jarvis when he comes up against Ultron. Vision is like the calm oasis in the middle of a desert, giving the Avengers hope while fighting Ultron, immediately connecting with the audience.

VERDICT: Not as good as The Avengers, but a must-see if you like non-stop action. I wouldn’t have minded not seeing the film.

*Silly
**Shaky
***Smart
****Snazzy
*****Super

Film Review: THE AVENGERS

What a movie! Simply superb!

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Glegg, Samuel L. Jackson, Stellan Skarsgård
Director: Joss Whedon

Vignesh has been telling me about this film since before its release. Somehow, I was not sure that I would enjoy it. All his friends had watched the film in the first week itself while he had been out of town. Finally, yesterday, the two of us decided to go to Imax Big Cinemas to watch the film at 8 pm on the big screen. Am I glad we did!

THE STORY:

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is not of the earth. He is keen to have a territory to rule over. S.H.I.E.L.D. is an espionage agency run by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Just then, their research department headed by Scientist Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård), is testing out a Tesseract. This is a glowing object that appears to have extraordinary powers.

They lose control over the experiment when the Tesseract turns into a portal and Loki enters earth. Loki mesmerizes Selvig and The Hawk (Jeremy Renner) to work for him.

Fury gets together Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) to rescue humanity from Loki. But the four are constantly at loggerheads. Moreover, Loki’s adopted brother Thor (Chris Hemsworth) walks in through the same portal. Is he friend or foe?

Watch the film to find out whether The Avengers will be able to see eye-to-eye in fighting Loki. Will the earth be saved?

MY PERCEPTION:

What a picture! It’s a cute story that has been handled so well. Every actor plays his part to perfection. It’s not just the heroes who have performed well. Tom Hiddleston as Loki was simply amazing. The evil smile to his mean expression is nothing short of perfect. Clark Glegg as Agent Phil Coulson touches your heart with his sweet smile and quiet efficiency. I shed tears when he died in the movie.

Then there are the heroes – Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man was just great. Chris Evans plays Captain America who is from the 40s. The hair-cut and the make-up were perfect and the acting was equally good. Mark Ruffalo is excellent as Dr. Bruce Banner and also as Hulk. Chris Hemsworth as Thor looks absolutely gorgeous befitting the role of a Greek God and has done a commendable job of his role.

Scarlett Johansson not only looks beautiful as the Agent Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow, but also performs superbly. Her expressions – especially in the eyes – change so fast that it’s just amazing. Samuel L. Jackson is as cool as a cucumber in his role as Nick Fury.  

The cinematography, the 3D effects, the editing, direction and more – everything was perfect.

I don’t much care for violence for the sake of it, but simply love the baddies getting bashed up by the goodies. I am sure most of you agree.

The war between The Avengers and aliens in the climax has been shot so well. With the stunning 3D visuals, it feels as if anyone from the audience needs to just raise a foot to jump into the fray.

VERDICT: You must surely watch it if you have not seen it yet. You can definitely watch it a second time, same as I am planning to do.

RATING: *****Super

*Silly
**Shaky
***Smart
****Snazzy
*****Super