Marvel’s ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ film review

So I just saw Marvel’s ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ at the Greenbelt 1 Cinemas, courtesy of Jump Digital.

I thought it was a pretty okay. It just edged out the first Avengers movie by a teeny-tiny bit, for me. I did think, however, that the plot motivator was a bit weak in comparison to the first Avengers outing, and ultimately, kind of a rehash of what got the first film’s plot rolling.

Pacing was just quick enough to be slick. It reminded me of my old maths teacher in high school… His lessons were lightning-quick, but were comprehensive enough that I understood basic algebra in about a week. Felt like Tony Stark becoming an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics overnight. But I digress.

I was pretty amazed at how they were able to cram in SO MANY cameos from past MCU flicks, and I thought each of them did not feel at all hamfisted, but that might just be me. It was so good to see the result of the extensive world building that Marvel set up. However, it did come to mind that I might not be as overwhelmed with it as a newcomer probably would, since I’m pretty much aware of all characters who showed up.

Just as well, the number of gags in this outing are far more than any other MCU flicks I’ve seen, I think. A lot of them were funny enough to get giggles out of me, but then the level of snark was just as through the roof as the number of gags. A LOT of snark-to-snark combat in this one, that it did start to grate a bit.

I do have a few quibbles, however. Aside from what I thought was a poorly executed motivator in this outing, I thought the Maximoff twins didn’t get as much screen time devoted to their motivations in the whole plot; by the second half of the film, they were just… there. Getting pulled along for the ride, just like the rest of us audience. Maybe they functioned as audience surrogates at that point? I dunno.

And then there was that romance sub-plot… now THAT felt like it was shoehorned in. I was like, “Yeah… I don’t buy it either.”

Overall, I’d give it a 3.85 out of 5. Splendid action sequences (on par with Iron Man 3’s House Party Protocol sequence), lots more gags and in-jokes but a bit too much snark-to-snark combat, and slightly less compelling villain/s.