There is so much appreciation for a film that can give each character a fair amount of time to build. Joss Whedon, once again, able to do this in his summer blockbuster Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Whedon was able to make every character have a place in this film. This time, however, he takes each character, and gives them the depth that was not as prominent in the first Avengers film. He opens up each individual’s worlds, especially the characters who don’t have the kind of spotlight that comes with solo films. This allowed each character to feel real, in the sense that these people have lives in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This helps viewers understand the character, but not necessarily relate to them.
There was also deep connections between each character, where in the previous film these heroes were still getting acquainted. Now, they’re much more comfortable with each other, and have built important relationships. The viewers begin to realize that all of these superheroes need one another. This breathes humanity into these characters and makes them easier to relate with.
Whedon does an excellent job with the character of Hawkeye. Without spoiling too much, they explain why he is needed in a team of superhero beings, and who he is outside of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The villain himself, Ultron, is the best villain in the second phase of the MCU thus far. Surprisingly, this character, created with artificial intelligence, has possibly the most enigmatic personality in the film, drawing more attention from viewers than Tony Stark or Thor. James Spader does a good job of making this character menacing, and did what he could to make Ultron feel like the Avenger’s biggest threat yet.
The one critique this film has to face is, even with Whedon’s attempts to stay away from it, this film is overcrowded. Not so much with characters, but events. The film is telling the story of what’s happening now, but Marvel Studios has to put elements in the film that tease the following movies in the continuity. This takes away time from the film, and doesn’t give any answers as to what the viewers are seeing, most likely to get the viewer to watch the next film.
According to the director himself, there were ideas he really want to work into the movie, but Marvel Studios demanded the scenes they wanted be placed in the film. He also mentions that the studio nearly threatened to get rid of the scenes in the film which created personality for the characters. It could be assumed that incidents like this is the reason why Whedon has stepped away from Marvel Studios after Age of Ultron.
Even the new characters, although creating a foundation for the characters, there was not very much revealed about the personalities of them. Hopefully, their personalities will grow as the MCU unfolds.
With all of that said, watching this film was still an incredible time. It is without a doubt, a summer blockbuster everyone should go see.
