Avengers: Age of Ultron Review

Kyle Smith of The New York Post takes issue with the film’s multiple historical and biblical references and clichés used by the main villain Ultron as a repetitive dialogue device. Smith argues that “ The way Whedon sprinkles would-be intellectual references — “Peace in our time”; “Upon this rock I will build my church”; a nod to Nietzsche — without pursuing any of them suggests not a guy who reads, but a guy who watches “Jeopardy!” (Smith). His opinion that historical references appear to be thrown in for no reason would be more valid, if not for a contradicting viewpoint from Lisa Kennedy of The Denver Post who observes in her video review that “The sometimes quirky dialogue between the different heroes and the use of historical clichés by the villain, help to remind us as a viewing audience that this is a comic book based film and that much of the same dialogue devices can be found in the pages of any Marvel comic book.” Kennedy’s viewpoint is most likely shared by longtime comic book readers who in the past, have felt that most movie critics fail to understand that they are essentially watching a live action graphic novel. The use of clichés and catchphrases can often times degrades typical films; comic books are different because they use these dialogue elements as part of the main story. Character development is another area of critique that varies in opinion depending on the critic. Bryan Bishop of The Verge expresses disappointment with what he felt was a lack of proper development and growth for each of the heroes in the film explaining that: The moral confusion Captain America went through in Winter Soldier is nowhere to be seen. Tony Stark is yucking it up despite the journey of self-doubt he took in Iron Man 3. Thor... well, Thor’s always exactly the same, but even if he wasn’t, it’s hard to take any of the interactions seriously when they all seem pulled from some superhero sitcom that just reset itself the previous week. (Bishop)

In contrast, Kevin Smith of Smodcast Internet Radio takes the opportunity to remind listeners in his weekly movie review podcast that Age of Ultron is a sequel to the first Avengers film released in 2012, and also points out that, “The majority of character development occurred in the first movie, so there was obviously no reason to rehash details that most viewers probably already know. Marvel Studios also likes to spread out character arcs over the course of several movies, so we still have more to look forward to in the next few years.” (Smith)

Lastly, most of the mixed reviews appear to focus on the overall story line and plot details. In his review for The Atlantic, Christopher Orr admits that even though he enjoyed the film, there were scenes towards the end movie that either dragged on for too long, or seemed to lack a reason for being in the film at all. Orr cites the film’s last major battle scene as a reason for his critique: “The battle with an army of innumerable CGI opponents felt altogether too familiar, even if this time Whedon exchanged aliens for robots.” (Orr) On the other hand, David Edelstein of VULTURE remarks that “Marvel fans want extra characters, extra subplots, in-jokes that pander to their supposed breadth of knowledge. They don’t want closure.” (Edelstein). He understands that even though he himself might not fully comprehend different references from the various comic books and the other films, he recognizes the fact that most these references are part of the film in order to serve the most devoted comic book fan and therefore, can appreciate them as part of the film.

In conclusion, there were many key elements needed to make Avengers: Age of Ultron a blockbuster success at the box office. Critics in general seem to be pleased with the overall film production, minus a few specific details covered in above paragraphs. The average review rating for this film on IMDB is 4.5 stars, which is an extremely high rating for a comic book based film. Despite mixed reviews and feelings from critics, Whedon’s presentation of the classic comic franchise is sure to keep die hard fans marveling at his film making abilities.