Has the point of every Marvel movie become nothing more than to plug the next Marvel movie? So it would seem with Avengers: Age of Ultron, a perfectly enjoyable actioner that is part sequel to 2012’s megahit but mostly prequel to whatever Marvel has planned next. The winning formula of its predecessor is back, as the squadmates struggle to maintain team cohesion in order to overcome a foe that threatens them all. Yet this time around, it feels like just that: a formula.
Joss Whedon’s freewheeling, sentimental wiseassery is still faintly detectable, but is mostly reduced to cracking a few jokes in between studio-mandated plot points and fun but unimaginative battle scenes. It’s rarely more than just O.K., which is part disappointment and part testament to the wildly successful experiment that is the Marvel cinematic universe (MCU).
For the last 10 films, the triumph of the MCU was that the films were getting steadily better yet always teased at bigger things, and for the most part they delivered. Nobody would have been excited for an Avengers movie if they didn’t know who half of these weirdos were, but by and large the introductory movies exceeded their obligatory nature. By the time the 2012 ensemble film opened, we actually cared about the heroes’ individual stories, and the second batch of stand-alone adventures managed to outdo the first in almost every way. Sure, Marvel’s long-term marketing plan was wholly transparent and we often knew key plot points ahead of time due to the Internet hype machine, but until now even the worst MCU movie has been at least as good as, if not better than, the average summer blockbuster.
Though the MCU has been the product of many great writers, directors and creative minds, its core has always been rooted in Whedon’s ability to turn the silliest, zaniest story into a heartrending tale of sacrifice and overcoming adversity, physically and mentally. Great care was taken to show the origins, meanings and limitations of each person’s power or backstory, where they intersect and where they collide with the others. In Age of Ultron, everyone just happens to be in the same place at the same time, often with over-explained reasons as to why they might not be back in the next movie. Loki’s machinations are replaced by evil-for-some-reason Ultron’s vagaries, almost to the point of feeling like the single-use foes of the individual films. The action is more confusing, the supporting cast is entirely incidental, the gaps in narrative cohesion are too massive to overlook for it being a comic book movie and the joy that has driven the franchise to this point is all but nonexistent.
Age of Ultron is fine. See it and enjoy. But it comes apart in key ways that could potentially threaten future movies in this series that has won over audiences and critics despite all odds and prejudices. Edgar Wright’s last-minute departure from Ant-Man and Whedon’s apparent lack of enthusiasm here casts an ominous shadow for Marvel’s strategy of recruiting established directors like James Gunn, Kenneth Branagh, the Russo brothers and Joe Johnston. If Age of Ultron is any indication, these auteurs may soon be nothing more than hired hands that connect predetermined plot points instead of the visionaries who propelled the MCU to greatness in the first place.
Playing this week
The Age of Adeline
Cinderella
Ex Machina
Furious 7
Home
Little Boy
Monkey Kingdom
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2
The Water Diviner
Woman in Gold
Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX
244-3213
