'Avengers: Age of Ultron'

In cinemas now in the UK and on May 1st in the USA!

This new instalment of the Marvel universe has predictably been met with huge excitement and anticipation. Kevin Feige and his crew have carved out a massive market for themselves within the comic book movie world using a mixture of well established and loved characters, flawless action sequences and sharply written scripts. 'Avengers: Age Of Ultron' is no exception.

After the Avengers discover a hidden artefact during a raid of a Hydra bunker, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) tries to use the information they have found to kick-start a pioneering peacekeeping program. The plan goes awry when a new evil, in the form of villainously advanced Ultron (James Spader), is released and the Avengers must band together to fight this new threat to human kind.

The action sequences, as always, are impeccable. With every new instalment of the Marvel universe, they seem to take a step up, reach new highs and push a little further. There are parts of this movie that quite literally raise the earth. For me, a key part of the success of these films has been the actors chosen to play such larger than life characters. There is a tendency amongst high action movies to focus purely on the action and side line the quality of the actors and character development. This is a mistake. To have a story that really works and really sucks the audience in, you absolutely need to have the whole package. 'Age Of Ultron' has done this brilliantly.

The actors who have already been established in previous movies are universally good. We’ve seen it from them before and they have certainly not dropped the ball here. The new members have served to raise the bar yet again. Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as brother/sister duo Wanda and Pietro Maximoff have great chemistry. Communicating a hundred emotions in just one look, there is no trouble in believing that these two have spent their entire lives together. There are times when they even seem to think in unison, subconsciously mirroring or weaving around each other.

James Spader is magnificent as Ultron. To play a character that is essentially completely synthetic but imbue it with enough humanity for the audience to accept it and even empathise with it at times is no easy feat. He brings a wonderful mixture of light and malice that is both funny and terrifying. He also plays beautifully on the idea of Ultron’s relative newness. There are parts where he is completely child-like. Put in the context of his actions, these moments are thoroughly horrifying.

The one person that disappointed me a little was Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow. Normally a fabulous actress and having shown her prowess in this role in previous movies she seemed, to me, to lack energy for the role this time around. She was good, don’t get me wrong, but while the rest of the cast almost universally upped the ante, she remained on a plateau. I can only hope that she steps it up in her next outing.

What makes this movie really stand out is the writing. Joss Whedon is well revered for his ability to write great female roles. I’ve always felt that if you read one of his scripts with the character names removed, they could literally be played by anyone. He does not write men or women, he writes people. This keeps him in good stead when writing the fantasy characters of 'Age Of Ultron'. Yes, they can do unfathomable things with their bodies, have superhuman intelligence and strength, but they are always rooted in reality with very human flaws and emotions. It gives the audience the opportunity to empathise with them, share in their highs and commiserate in their lows.

On top of all of this drama and emotion is what I love most about the Marvel movies; the humour. This is possibly one of the funniest instalments so far. Tony Stark was often the lead player in the majority of the humour in 'Avengers Assemble' but here he shares the spotlight more and more as the other characters are allowed to develop and find the humour in their relationships and situations. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Captain America (Chris Evans), previously more sombre characters, were two that surprisingly lead a large amount of the humour. A long running joke involving Thor’s hammer provided much mirth and gave Chris Hemsworth the opportunity to show subtle comedy skills I never knew he had.

I’d go as far as to say that this is possibly the best Marvel movie so far. Expertly introducing new characters, bringing in the mystical element to the established physical constituent and moving the story, characters and relationships on significantly yet naturally. Every aspect is more developed and improved upon. Ultron is exactly the villain needed for this further development, providing a bigger more terrorising threat to the world at large and to the Avengers themselves, forcing them not only to fight the physical danger outside of themselves, but also the inner demons that they each struggle with.

I’d strongly advise finding a nice big screen to settle down and watch it ASAP!

Review by Melanie Crossey.