California Lutheran University's Student Newspaper Since 1961

The Echo

California Lutheran University's Student Newspaper Since 1961

The Echo

California Lutheran University's Student Newspaper Since 1961

The Echo

    ‘Avengers Two’: An Absolute Blast Start to Finish

    I didn’t realize how excited I was to see “Avengers: Age of Ultron” until the opening scene began. Immediately, we see the team fighting together in some of the most astonishing visual scenes I’ve personally witnessed in theaters.  Although, I did happen to see it in IMAX 3-D (which I suggest you do unless you can’t handle the glasses – I get that).

    Writer and director Joss Whedon returns to This historic franchise in phase two of Marvel’s long list of movies to make from now until 2028.  Whedon brings back his technique of balancing over-the-top action with comedic punch lines from the superheroes themselves.

    Some may ask, “Wasn’t it just like the first one?” To that, I say yes and no. It’s the same writing formula and action, but this time there’s something in this film that wasn’t in the first: A villain who can actually stop them.

    After the team raids a Hydra outpost in Europe, they retrieve Loki’s scepter after it was used to give twins Pietro and Wanda Maximoff (Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch) super human abilities. They even have a mad grudge against the Stark name since they believe his weaponry killed their parents when they were children.

    The team takes the scepter back to Stark’s lab where his inner mad scientist comes out to play with Bruce Banner’s. Together, without the advice or consent from the rest of the Avengers, the two of them use Loki’s scepter to create Ultron: The world’s last defense system it’ll ever need.

    Voiced by the vocally talented James Spader, Ultron comes to life and immediately believes the only way to “save” the world is to destroy its one constant source of suffering: human beings.  Spader’s voice gives Ultron an uncomfortably powerful feeling.

    Ultron (able to move around freely like the Internet) places himself in some of the Iron Man prototype suits and attacks the Avengers during a party at Stark’s.  He eventually escapes, which sets the course for the rest of the film’s dynamics to play out such as the team’s lost trust in Tony, a subtle romance between Banner and Black Widow, a nemesis who’s everywhere and the forced choice of using their wit versus technology to beat Ultron.

    To make matters even worse for the Avengers, they all eventually experience hallucinations produced by Scarlet Witch that have a unique ability to unlock each of their deepest fears. We see flashbacks to each character’s past that shed light on their darkest nightmares.  Not only does this add to the story, but it also hints and foreshadows internal dynamics that we’ll explore in each character’s next solo film.

    Might there even be a whole film for Black Widow herself? I wouldn’t be surprised if they make one for her after seeing her unique flashback as a teen.

    For Whedon, fitting in as many characters and relationships on top of adding in exciting action sequences isn’t as easy as it sounds. He was very successful in the first Avengers at doing this, but unfortunately my main critique for this film was that he tried to add too much in too little of time.

    We are introduced to at least four new characters over the course of the film, along with seeing short cameos from other heroes such as War Machine and Nick Fury.  Here’s the thing about all these characters being added in too: It’s never going to stop until Marvel decides to quit making the same thing over and over again.

    At the end of the day, we still get to see Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner all on screen together. The next closest equivalent to this would be seeing basketball greats like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Shaq all playing together on the same team (I wish).

    You probably won’t enjoy this movie if you hate action movies, hate superheroes and hate funny one-liners from any of the names mentioned above. If you don’t fit into any of those categories, then what are you doing reading this and not going to see the actual movie? It’s an absolute blast from start to finish.

     

    Evan Engel is a communication major with an emphasis in film and television production. He hopes to pursue a career in screenwriting and directing.
    Evan Engel is a communication major with an emphasis in film and television production. He hopes to pursue a career in screenwriting and directing.

    Evan Engel
    Freelance Writer
    Published May 6th, 2015