Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron is directed by Joss Whedon and stars... Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, James Spader & Samuel L. Jackson. It was released on the 23rd April 2015.

'Age of Ultron' is the follow-up to the HUGELY successful 'Avengers Assemble', and is the 12th movie in the titanic moneymaking machine known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU for short. This means it has a lot to live up to, especially since in many people's eyes, Marvel hasn't yet put out a truly bad film, but is this one a different story? Or in fact, does it up the anti to never before seen heights that will truly change films forever?

Well, neither really. While it is definitely not bad, and probably even good, it certainly doesn't live up to expectations and all feels somewhat rushed, as if the Marvel bosses were looming over Joss Whedon telling him that he needs to fit absolutely every story arc into the film.

The film opens with a great scene set in Sokovia, a fictional eastern-european country. In it, the Avengers are raiding a HYDRA base in search of Loki's sceptre from the first film, fighting their way in through a snowy forest. Whedon opens with what looks to be one continuous shot that still covers the actions of all the characters, concluding in a fantastic group shot that was probably made specifically for the trailers. As usual with movies of such a large budget, the CGI is almost photorealistic, highlights being Iron Man and the Hulk, who is believable despite being an "enormous green rage monster".
This scene also begins what some feel is a more negative feature of the film, the incessant quipping and joking from all the characters, including the villain Ultron, no matter how serious the situation they are in. While these are mostly funny, and are there to make sure younger viewers will still enjoy the film, they feel a little excessive after a certain point in the film.

Age of Ultron globe trots a lot more than its predecessor, visiting New York, Wakanda (another fictional country, this time in Africa), Seoul, London & a farm in rural America as well as Sokovia. This means that there is great variety in the cinematography of the film, with some locations being bright and vibrant, and others dark and dull. The vast amount of locations also provides numerous situations for the characters to get stuck in, upping the anti from Avengers 1's singular main location of New York.

As you may expect, the performances are all great- all the returning cast retain their previous standard, most notably Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, who has a lot more to do this time with a much more fleshed out character. The new additions to the cast are also good: Elizabeth Olsen turns in a great performance as the mystical Scarlett Witch, as does Aaron Taylor Johnson as Quicksilver. Many people as criticised him in this film because the same character was portrayed 'better' by Evan Peters in 2014's 'X-Men: Days of Future Past', but I feel that both performances are incredibly different and therefore shouldn't be compared. Finally, James Spader's titular character 'Ultron' is witty, threatening, and surprisingly emotional for what is basically a glorified robot.

In conclusion, Age of Ultron is a good follow up to the Avengers, and while it doesn't quite reach the same heights as before, it still provides a fun 2 hour adventure across the world, even if it is a bit heavy on the humour at times.