Avengers: Endgame (2019) review

(I solemnly swear that there will be no major spoilers in this review. As with every review I do, there will be a general plot synopsis, but this one will be as light on the details as possible.)

After 11 years of phenomenal world-building and an endless array of excellent cinematic outings, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally reached the pinnacle of its ambitious narrative. Sometimes it’s crazy to think that it’s been that long since Tony Stark first announced to the world that he was Iron Man… and yet, here we are. Since the release of Iron Man back in 2008, audiences have been treated to one of the most rewarding cinematic experiences of all time as the MCU has very much set the new gold standard for shared universes. Sure, the idea of a shared universe is a media concept that has been around for decades, but the MCU easily outshines almost every other film franchise of this nature when it comes to its overall narrative and the ever-expansive scope of the world that it’s created. And while not every installment of the MCU has been a masterpiece, it can also be argued that none of them have been on the level of quality as some of the superhero genre’s most infamous outings (e.g. Batman and Robin, Catwoman, Fan4stic, etc.). With all that in mind, all eyes are now on the fourth Avengers film and the final installment of what Marvel Studios has now labeled as ‘The Infinity Saga’, Avengers: Endgame. This 22^nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the second half of a storyline that has been built up for a decade and officially got underway in last year’s Avengers: Infinity War. And after that film’s jaw-dropping finale, directors Joe and Anthony Russo (AKA the Russo brothers) are now tasked with bringing this epic story to its conclusion as our heroes do “whatever it takes” to avenge their fallen comrades. What follows is, as one can only expect from an MCU film at this point, an emotionally-charged superhero epic.  

At the end of Avengers: Infinity War, the Avengers found themselves dealt with the toughest loss that they’ve ever experienced. Despite their best efforts to prevent him from acquiring all six of the cosmic power sources known as Infinity Stones, Thanos the Mad Titan (Josh Brolin) managed to collect them all and use them to accomplish his plan to wipe out half the universe with just a single snap of his fingers using the Infinity Gauntlet. Thus, in the blink of an eye, the Avengers were forced to witness several of their friends and family erased from existence. After learning where Thanos ended up going afterward, Steve Rogers AKA Captain America (Chris Evans) leads a faction of Avengers that includes Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Thor the Asgardian God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth), and new ally Carol Danvers AKA Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) to confront him. In the process, however, they discover that Thanos has destroyed the stones so that they couldn’t be used again to reverse his actions. All seems lost until Scott Lang AKA Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) manages to return from the Quantum Realm, which he had become trapped in at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp when his allies fell victim to the snap. Having learned that time operates differently in the Quantum Realm, Scott proposes that they travel back in time and find the Infinity Stones before Thanos does so that they can hopefully use them to bring back those who were lost. Thus, Cap, Tony Stark AKA Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), and the other Avengers embark on their most important mission yet, which only becomes more complicated once Thanos discovers their plan.

Avengers: Endgame is a three-hour superhero epic, and it more than warrants its hefty runtime. As a follow-up to the events of Infinity War, it perfectly illustrates the devastating effects of what’s now known as ‘The Decimation’ on the MCU and, most importantly, its main protagonists. Just like its immediate predecessor, this film is easily one of the most emotional installments of a franchise that’s been very consistent over the years with its emotional depth. Sure, it still has all the usual aspects of an MCU film, from the snappy dialogue to the vibrant visuals, but just like every other entry in the franchise, the light-hearted elements of this film rarely have any sort of noticeable impact on its dramatic moments. In this instance, the urgency of the Avengers’ mission to ensure that ‘The Decimation’ will be reversed is strongly maintained throughout, along with the fact that because this is something that can’t easily be undone, it’s clear that they will have to make some sacrifices along the way. And because this mission sees them going back in time to key moments in the franchise’s history, this film is loaded with call-backs to previous films and a wide array of cameos. Sure, some may argue that this is blatant fan-service (which, to be fair, it technically is) whose success rate will depend on how familiar one is with the franchise, but at the same time, Marvel Studios has quite frankly earned the right to show off at this point given the continuing success of their franchise. And without spoiling anything, it all leads to one of the most satisfying bits of payoff ever witnessed on film.

Almost every MCU film to date (save for Incredible Hulk) has had the same casting director, Sarah Finn, and thanks to the woman who’s quite arguably the unsung hero of the franchise, we’ve experienced one of the best ensemble casts in cinematic history who continue to shine in every film that they appear in. I mean, there’s not much more that I can add to the discussion about how great this cast is that I haven’t already mentioned in previous reviews. Given the events of the previous film, this one focuses heavily on the original six Avengers from the first film, allowing for a perfect bookend to everything that they’ve helped create while also giving each member their own standout moment as has always been the case with these films. It also helps this film manage to be a bit more consistent with its character development when compared to Infinity War which, in that film’s defense, had a lot more characters to juggle and was more focused on Thanos’ quest for the Infinity Stones. And as one era of the franchise ends, those who will be headlining it for the next few years to come are equally outstanding. Brie Larson, for example, makes the most out of her surprisingly minor role in this film (which she notably filmed BEFORE Captain Marvel), once again exemplifying Carol Danvers’ strong charisma and powerful commanding presence. And, of course, we can’t forget about the MCU’s greatest villain, Thanos. Sure, he doesn’t play as prominent of a role in this film as he did in Infinity War, but he’s still given plenty of great emotional pathos and the film continues to epitomize why he’s truly the most dangerous adversary that the Avengers have ever faced.

Let’s be frank, folks, you know exactly what rating I’m going to be giving this film. It is, after all, the exact same rating that I’ve given to nearly half of the other films in this franchise. But as always, that’s ultimately more of a testament to what Marvel Studios has managed to pull off this past decade with their ambitious franchise. If Infinity War was a masterpiece of the superhero genre, then Endgame is MCU fandom nirvana. It more than does its job at being both a follow-up to Infinity War and the climactic outing of the ‘Infinity Saga’, as it provides great conclusions to some of the franchise’s longest-running storylines and character arcs. In other words, this is very much a love letter to the MCU’s devoted fanbase as it rewards those who’ve supported it over the years, especially those who’ve been there since the very beginning, with some of the most amazing imagery that the genre has ever seen. But amidst all the epic action, great humor, and massive amounts of grand fanservice, it still does everything that we’ve come to expect from this franchise’s extensive filmography. It fully endears us to its main protagonists, provides them with a well-layered and incredibly intimidating villain to face off against, and truly hits hard when it comes to its biggest emotional moments. Simply put, everything that happens in Avengers: Endgame is exactly what it needed to be, and because of this, it properly cements the Marvel Cinematic Universe as one of the most legendary franchises in the history of film.  

Rating: 5/5!

Thor: Ragnarok (2017) review

Thor Odinson AKA the Asgardian God of Thunder has been a vital member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its core superhero team, the Avengers. Despite this, however, many have viewed the character’s solo outings as being some of the weakest installments of the MCU. Now, to be fair, this wasn’t always the case; namely, back when the first Thor film came out in 2011. If anything, that film was arguably Marvel Studios’ first big ‘risky’ project, as it was the first MCU film to focus on a character who didn’t primarily reside on Earth. As such, there was a considerable possibility that this tale of god-like beings could’ve ended up being incredibly cheesy. However, thanks to the Shakespearean influence from director Kenneth Branagh, the film did manage to make its arguably ludicrous setting feel believable. But while the film did do solidly with both critics and audiences, I think it’s safe to say that, nowadays, you don’t see it brought up too often when people discuss their favorite MCU films. The same can be said for the 2013 sequel, Thor: The Dark World. While not technically a critical/commercial failure, many consider it to be one of the weakest installments of the entire MCU if not the absolute ‘worst’. And while I don’t think that it’s as bad as some people have put it out to be, it’s undeniably one of the prime examples of an MCU film that was heavily influenced by the studio’s infamous (and now thankfully disbanded) creative committee. After all, if it wasn’t for some highly publicized creative differences, the film could’ve been directed by Patty Jenkins who, thankfully, would go on to direct a far more successful superhero film four years later with DC’s Wonder Woman.

So with all this in mind, it’s safe to say that there’s been a lot of pressure on Thor’s third solo outing to, shall we say, ‘redeem’ the franchise. And thus, here we are now with Thor: Ragnarok. Fans of the comics, as well as those familiar with Norse mythology, will no doubt recognize the subtitle for this film as the plot is based around the fabled apocalyptic event known as Ragnarok. In both Norse mythology and the comics, this was a major event in which the kingdom of Asgard was destroyed and several of its most notable inhabitants were killed. But while the film does focus on the prophesized destruction of its main protagonist’s home-world, do not expect a huge and serious fantasy epic going in. Instead, Thor: Ragnarok can arguably be described as an 80’s-inspired ‘road trip comedy’ starring not only Thor but also the Incredible Hulk, whose plotline takes influence from the character’s popular Planet Hulk storyline from the comics. In the director’s chair is Taika Waititi, who is arguably the biggest ‘out of left field’ director that Marvel Studios has ever hired… which, for them, is saying a lot. Over the past few years, the New Zealand native has become well-known for his work on several critically acclaimed films. This includes 2014’s mockumentary horror comedy What We Do in the Shadows, 2016’s adventure dramedy Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and a few episodes of the hit HBO comedy series Flight of the Concords. And as for Thor: Ragnarok, his first big-budget feature, he proceeds to give us a highly entertaining film that not only stands as the best Thor film yet but also one of the best MCU films to date as well.

At the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor Odinson AKA the God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth) left Earth to embark on a quest to try and find the mystical objects known as Infinity Stones that he had seen in the visions that he had during the film. As this film begins, it has been two years since then and Thor has not had much success with this current endeavor. To make matters worse, when he returns to Asgard he learns that his treacherous adopted brother Loki AKA the God of Mischief (Tom Hiddleston), who had been presumed dead during the events of Thor: The Dark World, has been impersonating their father Odin (Anthony Hopkins), ruler of Asgard. And then if that wasn’t enough, Thor and Loki soon find themselves dealing with a new threat in the form of Odin’s firstborn, Hela the Goddess of Death (Cate Blanchett). After being imprisoned for several eons due to her ever-growing ambition, Hela has now returned and is hell-bent on conquering the Nine Realms. When Thor tries to stop her, she ends up destroying his hammer, Mjolnir, and he ends up getting stranded on the planet of Sakaar. There, he becomes a prisoner of the planet’s eccentric ruler, the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum), and is forced to fight in a gladiatorial arena where his opponent is his old Avenger ally (and ‘friend from work’) Dr. Bruce Banner AKA the monstrous creature known as the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).  And thus, Thor now finds himself in a race against time to return home to Asgard and stop Hela before the kingdom’s prophesized destruction, AKA Ragnarok, can occur.

So yes, as it’s been well-documented by several critics, Thor: Ragnarok is easily one of the most comedic outings of the Marvel Cinematic Universe… which, to be fair, is something that the MCU has always been known for anyway. Right from the get-go, this film is jam-packed with humorous bits of dialogue and funny sight gags. This, however, has proven to be a rather controversial development for some fans due to the fact that, in the comics, the Ragnarok storyline of which this film takes its name from was more serious in tone. Ultimately, though, this doesn’t prove to be as big of a problem as those fans may have feared, because while Thor: Ragnarok is undeniably one of the funniest MCU films to date, that doesn’t mean that this is all that it has going for it. When the story delves into the whole Ragnarok prophecy and Hela’s takeover of Asgard, the film does take these events seriously. Plus, for a film that is part of the allegedly so-called ‘kiddie’ franchise that has been the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it isn’t afraid to pull a few punches here and there to once again prove that long-standing argument wrong. Simply put, while the film is an absolute riot when it comes to its humor, director Taika Waititi establishes a solid tone that does, in fact, manage to keep it from just being a straight-forward comedy. And don’t even get me started on all of the great minor touches that he adds to the film to make it all the more memorable, from the implementation of the scores from the previous two Thor films to a scene that, no joke, pays homage to the infamous tunnel scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

As noted earlier, Thor: Ragnarok mainly revolves around the duo of Thor and Hulk, a crossover that excited many due in no small part to some of the great interactions between the two of them in the Avengers films (e.g. the scene in the first Avengers where Hulk abruptly punches Thor off-screen after an intense battle… need I say more?). It’s also quite good that these two were paired together for this film seeing how, as far as the MCU films are concerned, we haven’t seen either of these two in more than two years. Not counting Thor’s cameo during the mid-credits scene of Doctor Strange (a sequence that is expanded upon here with Benedict Cumberbatch returning, of course, as the titular Sorcerer in a brief cameo), these two haven’t had a major role in an MCU film since Age of Ultron. But even after all this time, Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo both do excellent jobs once again in their respective roles as the film allows the two of them to utilize their comedic timing to its full potential. This, in turn, results in some of their best performances as Thor and Hulk (definitely Hemsworth’s best and arguably Ruffalo’s best). Another major returning player to the MCU is Loki, and heck, he hasn’t been seen for longer than Thor and Hulk combined. His last appearance was in Thor: The Dark World… all the way back in 2013. He almost appeared in Age of Ultron but his scenes ended up getting cut. Still, just like Hemsworth and Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston is still great as always as the cunning but deeply-layered God of Mischief who continues to maintain a strenuous relationship with his brother.

Moving on to the new characters that are introduced in this film, first there’s Tessa Thompson as one of the Grandmaster’s assistants who, as we learn, is an Asgardian who was once a member of the kingdom’s elite Valkyrie squadron. However, we also learn that she is the only survivor of the group following a devastating battle with Hela long ago, which gives the character a solid backstory and character arc as a hard-drinking warrior turned scrapper who’s trying to escape her past. Plus, Thompson works excellently alongside Hemsworth, Ruffalo, and Hiddleston and proves to be a great new badass addition to the MCU’s lineup of female leads. As for Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster… well, he’s the Jeff Goldblum that we all know and love, simple as that. Finally, we come to the main villain of the film, Hela AKA the first lead villainess of the MCU films. And while I admittedly wouldn’t call her one of the ‘best’ MCU villains to date, Cate Blanchett certainly kills it in the role. Sure, the final conflict between her and Thor’s team sort of concludes rather quickly but, as noted before, the film does treat her as a serious threat throughout. She also gets a great henchman in the form of Skurge (Karl Urban), an Asgardian warrior who allies with her when it gives him an opportunity for the attention that he has long yearned for. And he ends up getting a surprisingly layered character arc as a result, effectively making him one of the MCU’s greatest henchman characters.

For many years, Marvel Studios tended to get a lot of flak from critics who argued that they often limited the creative visions of the directors that they’ve hired, resulting in a few ‘copy and paste’ installments. And while I don’t fully agree with that argument, I think it’s safe to say that this hasn’t been as much of an issue since the studio’s controversial creative committee was disbanded. Case in point, Thor: Ragnarok gives us one of the most creatively visionary installments in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the previous two Thor films stumbled a bit when it came to their overall tone, this film decided to just fully embrace the silliness of its cosmic-based premise. Because of this, Thor: Ragnarok is yet another highly entertaining installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks in large part to it being one of the funniest entries of the franchise. With that said, though, the film’s primarily comedic tone may throw some people off given the generally serious nature of the Ragnarok story arc from the comics. However… that’s the whole point! Director Taika Waititi did state that his overall intention with this film was to make a ‘fun’ superhero adventure, and that is exactly what he did. Sure, maybe it doesn’t have the best overall plot of these MCU films, but seriously… what’s so wrong about a ‘fun’ superhero flick?

Rating: 5/5! (And yes, I’m well-aware that I’ve given this rating to every major superhero film that has been released this year. Now it’s time to see if Justice League will also earn that rating and officially confirm 2017’s status as one of the genre’s greatest years ever… though, to be perfectly frank, this will still be the case even if Justice League doesn’t turn out that good (though, of course, hopefully, it IS good!))

Now You See Me 2 (2016) review

May 2013 saw the release of director Louis Leterrier’s Now You See Me, a magic-themed caper centering on a group of magicians known as the Four Horsemen who performed a series of elaborate heists during their performances, gave the money they stole to their audience, and always stayed one step ahead of the FBI. While the film received generally mixed reviews, with some criticizing the film’s twist-filled screenplay, it was actually a surprise hit at the box office, grossing over $350 million worldwide. I say ‘surprise hit’ because, to reference the review that I wrote for the film, I have the feeling that magic acts a la David Copperfield (who’s actually one of the sequel’s producers) and Penn and Teller haven’t really been as popular in recent years as they once were. However, that didn’t end up affecting Now You See Me in the slightest and of course, that’s now led to a sequel: Now You See Me 2. The majority of the first film’s cast return for this new film, with the only major exception being a change in female leads, but this time around there’s a change in director. Instead of Louis Leterrier, Jon Chu (director of another franchise sequel, 2013’s G.I. Joe Retaliation, as well as last year’s rather infamous critical/commercial bomb Jem and the Holograms) steps in to direct the Four Horsemen’s next adventure. And believe it or not, Now You See Me 2 actually manages to be a superior sequel to what was already a pretty solid magic-based thriller. Like its predecessor, this film is full of twists and turns as well as plenty of really cool magic-related visuals. Ultimately though there are some things that this film does, namely in terms of pacing and plotting, that actually help make it a stronger film as a whole.

It has been a year since the Four Horsemen; street magician J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), mentalist Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), sleight of hand illusionist/card throwing expert Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), and escapist Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher, who did not return to reprise her role in the sequel) pulled off a series of elaborate heists all across the country, all of which were revealed to have been orchestrated by FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) in order to strike back at those who were directly and indirectly responsible for the death of his father, magician Lionel Shrike. When the team, now including new recruit Lula May (Lizzy Caplan), is reunited to pull off another heist, this time against a tech magnate, they are suddenly exposed when a mysterious figure publicly reveals their secrets, including the fact that Jack faked his death in the previous film and that Dylan is their ‘leader’. As they try and escape from the FBI, the team suddenly find themselves halfway across the world in Macau, China and are forced to work for tech prodigy Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe), who was the one who publicly outed them. Walter blackmails them into stealing for him a special computer chip that he had developed with his former work partner, the aforementioned tech magnate, before he had been ‘screwed over’. With no other options for them to get back on their feet, the Horsemen agree to steal the chip for Walter and find themselves having to pull off their biggest heist yet in order to set things right.

Like the first film, this film’s plot is full of twists and turns and admittedly you might end up figuring some of them out from a mile away before they happen. Either that or you’re probably going to notice some plot-holes if you really start to look deeper into the plot. But even with that in mind, like the first film Now You See Me 2 benefits greatly from its unique premise of combining a heist plot with the art of magic. And while I’m very much well aware that quite a few of the ‘tricks’ pulled off in the film were done with CGI, it still results in some really cool visual moments, from the Horsemen tossing a playing card containing the computer chip around so that guards won’t notice it to Daniel manipulating rain during an appearance in London (and for the record, the film does explain how he was able to do this). Ultimately though there are two main reasons why this film actually manages to surpass its predecessor. For one thing, Chu gives the film a much more energetic atmosphere as well as stronger pacing, which definitely helps keep things lively at all times. And second, this film actually focuses more on the Horsemen this time around. Because in the first film, the focus was split between the Horsemen and the FBI, prior to the reveal that Rhodes was the ‘fifth’ Horsemen, and admittedly it felt like the latter group were focused on more, which turned out to be quite a bit of a detriment in regards to the Horsemen. Now that Rhodes is revealed to be working with the Horsemen, this film very much gives them more screen time while the FBI is more or less a non-factor this time around. And ultimately that is a good thing as it allows for the group to have stronger character development and for the film to spend much more time on them pulling off heists.

As noted earlier, of the original Four Horsemen, only Isla Fisher is absent this time around due to her recent pregnancy. And admittedly the way that the filmmakers handle her character’s absence is the usual ‘relationship issues with the main character’ card that always tends to get pulled in a situation like this (e.g. Mila Kunis in Ted 2). Thankfully, Lizzy Caplan proves to be an excellent replacement for Fisher. Caplan works well with her main co-stars and her character’s extremely chipper personality ends up being one of the many contributors to the film’s livelier feel. Of course, like last time, the main quartet that make up the Horsemen (Eisenberg, Harrelson, Franco, and now Caplan) are excellent. They work off of each other well and they all benefit from being given more focus plot-wise. Heck, Woody Harrelson even gets to be in a dual role this time around as the film introduces Merritt’s twin brother Chase, who is shown to not really be on the best of terms with his brother. Now a part of the team for good, Mark Ruffalo actually gets a lot of good material to work with here as the film further fleshes out Dylan’s character. While he may not get to do anything magic-related like he did in the Harry Potter films, Daniel Radcliffe proves to be a pretty darn enjoyable villain who can be both hilarious and even a little odd at times. Finally, the film also sees the return of Morgan Freeman, who’s character Thaddeus Bradley, a magic debunker who frequently crossed paths with the Horsemen in the first film, once again proves to be a wild card in the film’s plot, and Michael Caine, who like in the first film is admittedly barely in this film as the Horsemen’s former benefactor Arthur Tressler.

You’ve probably noticed in my past few reviews that I’ve covered quite a few sequels recently that I feel actually managed to outdo their predecessors and that is very much the case with Now You See Me 2. I really liked the first Now You See Me because while it did have some flaws, I quite enjoyed it for its magic-based premise, which led to some pretty darn cool visual moments. As someone who grew up with the Harry Potter films (which is a fitting reference by the way considering that Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, stars in the sequel), I’ve always liked the concept of magic and quite enjoyed the idea of a heist film about magicians, which probably explains why I ended up liking the film as much as I did. And as for the sequel, it actually manages to outdo its predecessor. Not only does this film benefit from a much more energetic feel, both in terms of pacing and its overall tone, but the fact that the film spends more time on the Horsemen and doesn’t try to split focus up between them and the FBI actually helps give the main characters, and the film as a whole, more dimension. Sure at the end of the day the film may still be a bit predictable at times and you’ll probably notice some major plot-holes if you really start to analyze the plot. But thanks to Chu’s confident direction and a stronger sense of kinetic energy, Now You See Me 2 ends up being not only another highly entertaining magic-themed caper but also a superior sequel in almost every way. So in other words, if you didn’t like the first Now You See Me, there’s a good chance you might actually like this one more.

Rating: 4.5/5

  

The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) review

Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a… interesting run to say the least. I say interesting because in some ways it didn’t exactly start out on the greatest note. Immediately after ‘The Avengers’ in 2013 came ‘Iron Man 3’ and ‘Thor: The Dark World’. While both films did fine with critics and were solid successes at the box office, with ‘Iron Man 3’ becoming the second MCU film to break the billion dollar mark, they received a far more polarizing response from fans. Of course, as we all know, with ‘Iron Man 3’ it was due to the infamous Mandarin fake-out. As for ‘Thor: The Dark World’, basically many consider it to be the weakest MCU film to date. Not only that but the MCU’s first major TV series, ‘Agents of SHIELD’, had a really rough start in regards to attracting an audience. Thankfully, 2014 was a much more successful year for Marvel Studios as they gave us two of their greatest films to date. Those two films were ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, which made a huge impact on the future of the MCU with its big ‘HYDRA’ twist, and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, which showed that Marvel Studios wasn’t afraid to go outside the box when it came to their films as this one centered around a much more obscure team of superheroes. To make things even better, ‘Agents of SHIELD’ benefitted greatly from the ‘Winter Soldier’ twist, allowing it to get the buzz and attention that it finally deserved. Then to top it all off, then we got two more awesome Marvel shows in the form of ‘Agent Carter’ and ‘Daredevil’.

And now, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are back again, once again under the direction of Joss Whedon, for the second Avengers film; ‘The Avengers: Age of Ultron’. This time, they’re joined by not only some new allies but also a brand new threat in the form of Ultron. Simply put, the stakes are much higher than they were back in 2012. And does ‘Age of Ultron’ succeed in being another Grade-A effort from Marvel? You bet your ass it is (“Hey! Language!” “I’m Sorry!” (You’ll understand these references when you see the film)). Despite the fact that the film currently only has a 75% RT score, believe me when I say that it is much better than that rating suggests. Now with that said, does that mean that it is better than the first film? Well… at the time I am writing this, I wouldn’t necessarily go ‘that far’ yet. But at the same time, I’m not going to hold that against this film. Instead, I can safely say that ‘Age of Ultron’ is yet another extremely entertaining foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And that is because, like its primary predecessor ‘The Avengers’, it benefits from many things; great direction from Joss Whedon, a phenomenal ensemble cast, a highly memorable main villain, and a great script that provides us with loads of both hilarious dialogue and insanely epic action set-pieces. What more can you ask for?

After receiving a troubling hallucination from Wanda Maximoff AKA Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) in which all of the Avengers have been defeated and the Earth is being invaded by aliens, Tony Stark AKA Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), fearing that The Avengers aren’t powerful enough to combat all of their adversaries, begins to develop a new and more powerful line of defense with his friend Bruce Banner AKA The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). With the help of a special A.I. system found within the gem of the scepter owned by Loki in ‘The Avengers’, they develop a new sentient A.I. defense program which they name ‘Ultron’. However soon after he is created, Ultron (James Spader) turns against his creators and the Avengers, believing that the only way to achieve peace on Earth is to eradicate all of humanity. Enlisting the aid of Scarlet Witch and her twin brother Pietro AKA Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Ultron starts to carry out his plan of destroying the world, which includes attempting to tear the Avengers apart with the help of Scarlet Witch’s mind-control powers. With the odds stacked against them, the Avengers; Tony, Bruce, Steve Rogers AKA Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) must team up yet again to stop this mad robot’s plans from succeeding.

The stakes are no doubt higher in ‘Age of Ultron’ than they have ever been in any MCU film that has come before this. From the multiple locations that the film goes to, from South Africa to Eastern Europe, to the amazing action sequences, including the duel between Iron Man (in the Hulkbuster suit) and the Hulk and the truly epic final battle, this is easily the biggest film that Marvel Studios has done to date in terms of overall scale. So obviously that does mean that there’s a risk of the film being too overstuffed giving all of the characters in the film. But personally I never found the film to be overcrowded at all as, like with the last ‘Avengers’ film, every major character in the film had their own chance to shine. Ultimately ‘Age of Ultron’ provides us with yet another fun adventure following our favorite superhero team. And really it’s because of Joss Whedon’s direction that the film manages to stay cohesive even with all that is going on. Whedon’s screenplay is well-constructed and full of hilarious dialogue, just like it was with the first film. This hilarious dialogue helps liven up the mood, which is good considering that this film’s story is a bit more serious in tone than we’re used to seeing from the MCU. But even with that in mind, never does the film veer too far into being dark and serious that it ends up being a total downer of a superhero flick (I’m looking at you, DC!). If I’ve said it a million times before, I’ll say it again; Marvel knows when to lighten things up.

Of course we all know how great the main cast of these films have been as proven by all of the previous MCU films. Obviously the same applies here as well, as all returning members of the cast; Downey Jr., Evans, Hemsworth, Ruffalo, Johansson, Renner (who thankfully gets a much more substantial role in this film compared to the first ‘Avengers’), and so on all are great once again. The newcomers to the cast are pretty damn excellent too; Elizabeth Olsen shines as yet another great female MCU lead in Scarlet Witch while Aaron Taylor-Johnson brings his own unique spin to the character of Quicksilver, who we previously saw in last years’ ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’. And then to top it all off, the third act brings in the incredibly badass Vision, played by Paul Bettany, who becomes the first major actor to play two different characters in the MCU. Bettany of course has been providing the voice of Tony Stark’s A.I. Jarvis since the beginning. Like how the Hulk was effectively used in ‘The Avengers’ in a limited time span, Vision really stands out even though he doesn’t show up until the finale. And finally, there’s James Spader, who gives the Marvel Cinematic Universe another fantastic villain in the form of Ultron. Not only does Spader succeed in giving the character quite the intimidating/villainous presence, but he surprisingly also brings a lot of humor to the role as well, which I wasn’t expecting.

I’m not going to compare ‘Age of Ultron’ to the first ‘Avengers’. I mean, at the moment, I can’t really say that this is the ‘better’ film. But even with that said, I did not go into ‘Age of Ultron’ expecting that because you’re not always going to get that with sequels… and that’s perfectly fine. Instead, I went into this hoping that it would be a fun and entertaining superhero flick and folks if you’ve been following me these last few years on this blog and on Twitter, I’ve very much made it clear that Marvel Studios has yet to let me down in that regard. I highly disagree with the fact that this film is only at 75% on Rotten Tomatoes. This film deserves a better score than that. ‘The Avengers: Age of Ultron’ gives us exactly what we want to see; our favorite Marvel superheroes, portrayed by a fantastic ensemble cast with even greater camaraderie, in a kick-ass superhero flick with phenomenal action sequences, a great villain in James Spader’s Ultron, and most importantly the great sense of fun that has defined the Marvel Cinematic Universe from the very beginning. For what looks to be his last foray in the MCU (‘Winter Soldier’ directors Anthony and Joe Russo will be helming ‘Avengers: Infinity War’), Joss Whedon goes out on a high note with yet another top-of-the-line superhero film that once again proves why Marvel is the current king of superhero films.

Rating: 4.5/5