MANILA, Philippines – Fasten your seat belts as the newest action packed installment of Marvel hits Philippine Cinemas.
Last April 22, I got the chance to secure seats for the Block Screening of PMCM Events Management where our dear Astig.ph is one of the online media partners.
As an Avenger fan, I am really excited to watch the Marvel masterpiece and upon having a glimpse of it, I can’t help myself but to compare this from the previous installment. A lot has transpired and changed in this new movie and yet, a lot remained the same. The first movie, we saw an group of incredible mighty individuals who were obliged to form a group to stop a common enemy that threatens the earth. In the Age of Ultron, they are pretty much a unified battle unit doing good around in saving the world.
The difference now maybe is that the relationships became more complicated which I guess, good for the group. Then factor in some new heroes to the gang and see sparks fly between Black Widow and Hulk.
The sequel revolves right out of the third “Iron Man” film, where Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) need to leave behind his superhero role. That decision (or at least his desire to do so) leads to the movie’s main conflict; Stark, along with Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), or The Hulk, creates a sentient robot to help protect the world. It goes cuckoo, however, and tries to kill everyone.
The film’s plot is severely standard superhero fluff. It barely leaves anything to flatter about and feels insignificant in the end — a stop-gap excuse to introduce new characters vital to future films and serve as a set up for conflicts to come.
Captain America (Chris Evans) takes the spotlight as the Avengers’ leader while Chris Hemsworth’s Thor Odinson is pretty much the same only with less Shakespeare in his mind. Robert Downey Jr. is still Iron Man, still Tony Stark, still snarky and funny and still the techy guy. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) were cool but they had very little chemistry IMHO and that is a saying a lot because they are a couple in this movie.
The star of the show, however, is definitely Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), or Hakweye, who gets the right end of the stick this time around. His family story were certainly one of the best and the history of his personal life makes for a compelling character study.
The Vision was a hoot although I found it “bitin” for my taste while Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) were nice if you get past the obviously fake European accent.
Add to the mix the is deceitful killer robot Ultron played amazingly by “The Blacklist” star James Spader.
Ultron was funny with some witticisms here and there and some monologues. Draw it up to experience for Spader who’s doing a bang-up job in his new TV show. My only complaint is that his motivations were never fully explored. I can’t identify where his evil intentions were coming from.
Visuals-wise; Age of Ultron is nothing short of outstanding. From the fast-paced opening sequence to that epic fight between Iron Man and the Hulk…
The final scene is also jaw-dropping while the ending is both sad and beautiful. It also paves the way for more questions and something to look forward to.
If the aim of Marvel is to merely set up future films, throwing away any intent of overthrowing or revitalizing the superhero genre, then job done. It is just that the summer blockbuster could be better than what I have seen. Nonetheless, the movie just gave me a thrilling ride that only the earth’s mightiest hero can bring.