MovieRob Milestone Marathon – Countdown to 6K (#11 of 23) – Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) – Encore Review

“You didn’t see that coming?” – Pietro Maximoff

Number of Times Seen – 2 (23 Aug 2015 and 9 Dec 2019)

Link to original review – Here

Brief Synopsis – As the Avengers try to get themselves organized a new threat appears in the form of an AI computer that wishes to cleanse the world of… everyone.

My Take on it – This is a great ensemble chapter in the MCU yet despite being done really well, it still is the least impressive of the 4 ensemble films in the series (so far).

The plot is a very timely one and the way that they deal with the dangers and benefits of Artificial Intelligence in this day and age is done quite well.

The choice of James Spader as the voice of Ultron was a great one because even though we only get to hear his voice, he is able to give off a certain gravitas for his character.

At the same time, he is able to play this character as both an innocent and a menacing threat at the same time.

The overall plot of this film isn’t a very original one and has been done numerous times in the past, but the added benefit of this being a film where superheroes must deal with the threat of AI adds enough to the idea that helps make it at least seem more fresh and original even if it truly isn’t.

The fact that this film doesn’t have the need to develop the characters is a bonus because since we know most of them from previous films in the series, they are able to jump right into the action from the very beginning.

The actions scenes are presented really well and allow us to see these various characters in action.

The story is layered and this gives us the chance to see how these characters each deal with the various issues presented to them as they encounter new and dangerous problems along the way.

The film does a nice job juggling the story line between the specific one that the characters are dealing with here and with the overall umbrella plot of the MCU as a whole which is always just a heartbeat away from the way things are going.

Bottom Line -Very timely film that despite not having the most original premise still manages to do things really well. Spader is great as the voice of Ultron and gives his character both gravitas and the feel of something quite innocent yet menacing at the same time. The fact that the film doesn’t need to develop most of the characters is a plus because it can jump right into the story. The action scenes are done really well and the film is quite layered in the various problems that the characters face along the way. The story does a great job dealing with the overall storyline of the MCU while also dealing with the specific story line of this film at the same time. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Because Ultron was eight to nine feet tall, the five-foot ten-inch James Spader had to wear an antenna-like contraption made out of a thick piece of wire, with two red balls attached to the top that went up his entire back and three feet above his head. This was done so that the cast members that shared scenes with him would have a reference point for where his eyes would be. The two red balls represented the placement of Ultron’s eyes. Elizabeth Olsen stated that this was actually distracting, because Spader would be giving an intense performance and out of instinct, she would look at him rather than the balls representing his eyes. Much to everyone’s amusement, whenever this happened, Aaron Taylor-Johnson would yell “Red balls! Look at his balls, Lizzie!” at her in order to get her to look in the right direction. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10) (downgrade from original review)