The highly anticipated Avengers: Age of Ultron is finally here, and expectations are riding high for the 11th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Ever since the highly successful The Avengers raked in $1.5 billion in 2012, many studios have since tried to replicate the all-star formula, with Warner Bros kick-starting their DC Universe with Batman v Superman next year, and Sony attempting an oddball Ghostbusters universe (Honourable mention should go to the Fast & Furious franchise, who did the whole all-star assemble gimmick with Fast Five in 2011 - a year before The Avengers did).

Again directed by Joss Whedon, Age of Ultron assembles our heores on a more international journey, spanning from an orange-hue Johannesburg to the blue-hue Seoul, while introducing new team members and a robotic villain to an already big roster of characters. The hype for this film has been ongoing since its big reveal at Comic Con 2013, hence, does the massive sequel manage to outshine the well-received 2012 installment?

The most prominent difference was that the story pace in Age of Ultron is much better than The Avengers, which wasted a lot of time getting the team together. Right off the bat in Age of Ultron we get an amazing one shot of Earth's Mightiest Heroes attacking a Hydra base in a winter forest to retrieve Loki's scepter from the previous film. With the MacGuffin in hand, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner decide to use the scepter to finalize their designs for their artificial intelligence (AI) army meant to help them protect the world. Instead, their new creation had other means in mind for world peace: human extinction. What we got in the end product were multiple straightforward battles of the team facing off against Ultron and whoever he has on his side. Again, the movie's climax ends with a battle with a faceless robot army, very much similar to Loki's Chitauri army invasion three years ago, and yet again, we see our heroes argue with each other leading to massive fistfights. Weren't these all too familiar elements from The Avengers? While it's a good enough story to distinct itself, one can't help but feel that Age of Ultron has recycled a lot of plot points from its predecessor.


The set pieces, from the Hydra assault to the juggernaut Hulk vs Hulkbuster battle in South Africa, culminating in the final battle in a fictional Sokovia, are by far the grandest and most exciting scenes ever witnessed in any of Marvel Studios' 11-film journey. The film wastes little time moving on from each scene, and the fast moving pace of the film makes the film feel rather short, despite the two and a half hour run-time. Some special effects, mostly involving Ultron's Iron Legion, felt wonky at times, but that's a slight misstep amongst the many great yet chaotic VFX shots throughout. 

The film pulls its strength from the great chemistry formed between the members of the Avengers, with the hammer lifting scene the best display of their witty banters with each other. While Iron Man, Captain America and Thor still take the limelight, Joss Whedon has allowed for more character development for the characters not to have their own solo movies (we've already seen the others enough in their own stories). The big surprise is the blossoming romance between Bruce Banner and Black Widow, with each of their murky pasts adding up to their "will they, wouldn't they" relationship. Hawkeye was perhaps the most refreshing character among the six, as his role has been expanded further from "brainwashed for half of The Avengers" to an important team player with some of the coolest scenes in the film.

And if cramming six Avengers wasn't enough, a further handful of new characters are introduced. Early on we were introduced by the mutant super-powered Maximoff twins Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen respectively (they played husband and wife in Godzilla, which I quote from Flickering Myth was slightly 'incestuous'). Both characters were welcome additions to the Marvel universe, both as initial adversaries and eventual heroes, sans Johnson's weird Eastern European accent. Many secondary characters from previous movies were also around, such as James Rhodes (War Machine), Sam Wilson (The Falcon), and Peggy Carter, but the inclusion of so many characters already limited them to mere cameo appearances.

The main draw was definitely the titular Ultron, the evil AI program created by Tony Stark and voiced by James Spader. This is quite a different beast seen in the trailers, with Spader delivering a brooding Ultron capable of being playing God and delivering less than flattering jokes. While he supported by a very strong introduction, his impact diminished with every set piece, and his involvement in the climatic battle was minimal at best. Joss Whedon lost the chance here for a baddie who could rival Loki's villainy while solving the MCU's problems for weak villains. Another new villain was Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue, a character most likely reserved for future film appearances in the universe (likely Black Panther in 2018). Finally, we get the rarely advertised Vision, played by JARVIS voice-provider Paul Bettany (making this his first physical debut seven years after Iron Man), who factors pretty heavily into the story and was a very likable scene stealer.

Through and through, while Age of Ultron might not be the game changer for superhero genres as the original was, but don't let that take away the fact that on its own, the sequel embraces more of its comic book roots by giving us what we've come to love in the MCU - action, excitement and a dash of fun peppered throughout. As Joss Whedon said has mentioned in interviews that this film aims to be the "Empire Strikes Back" of the Marvel universe, he delivers a mix result, with the film story being departure from its original, however it wasn't layered, relying on a simpler and more streamlined experience. Personally, Age of Ultron is the superior film to The Avengers.

The film does struggle over the enormous expectations, but while the film doesn't exactly set up anything for the next phase in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, at least Whedon did not prioritize the need for foreshadowing future films (look at Iron Man 2). Even without them, Age of Utron instead leaves us quenching for more solo adventures (particularly Civil War next year) and eventually the two part Avengers: Infinity Wars in 2018/2019. Hopefully, the Russo brothers, will be deliver an even larger movie event with the many new characters introduced by then, along with a sure to be exciting pair up of The Avengers and last year's Guardians of the Galaxy.