As far as Zip Movie Hub is concerned, Avengers: Age of Ultron outdid the first campy instalment of the Marvel Studio’s superhero film in every way. Better action, superior dialogue and improved direction.
Apart from the first ten minute action scene, it was near pop culture perfection as the Avengers – Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) – battle Ultron, the A.I. supercomputer/robot who has genocidal tendencies.
Surprisingly the reviews for Joss Whedon’s second effort were somewhat more mixed than what you may have expected. What the heck the fans loved it. Here’s a collection of them below.
JUDGEMENT
“Watching the film is like ploughing through a TV box set in a single sitting. That’s meant as a compliment, and if it sounds like a criticism, you’re probably yet to experience the supreme contentedness that comes with bingeing on five Game of Thrones episodes back-to-back.” Robbie Collin, The Telegraph
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“There’s too much over-edited ‘coverage’ by multiple cameras, as opposed to true direction with purpose and flair. (Marvel farms out the planning of its action scenes to second unit crews and special effects artists long before the actors arrive on set, which might account for the choppy, incoherent, ‘just get it done’ feeling of some early showdowns.)” Matt Zoller Seitz, rogerebert.com
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“And then there are the action scenes, which are thrilling and exciting at first, but after a while lead to the mind-numbing effect of ‘battle fatigue.’ So by the time we get to the climactic showdown of mass destruction that fills the last 30 minutes, it looks and feels too much like the big blowout that closed out the last film.” Scott Mantz, Access Hollywood
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“At two hours and 22 minutes, Age of Ultron is a minute shorter than its predecessor, but it’s a bigger movie in nearly every other regard. The story is more urgent, the villain more menacing, the character dynamics more nuanced, and the action more pronounced. Avengers director Joss Whedon returns to Age of Ultron with all the confidence and purpose of someone who knows they’ve made history.” Perry Simpson, Under the Radar
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“Inevitably, the abundance of characters means constant cross-cutting between the multiple stars who all end up jostling for centre stage (strangely, Hawkeye wins). The visual effects are good, but not great, the zingers lively if unmemorable (Thor and ‘The Vision’ discussing the balance of his hammer is a fleeting hoot), the narrative arcs defined by costume rather than character.” Mark Kermode, The Guardian
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“It misses the bar of classic movie greatness but Avengers: Age of Ultron is one of the most exciting and entertaining Marvel entries so far – with some of the franchise’s best visuals. Like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, certain environments and effects appear green screened/CGI and Whedon is still fighting against TV-level techniques in the director’s chair, but the filmmaker successfully ups the ante in visual spectacle – producing bigger and more sophisticated action set-pieces, not to mention another impressive spinning team shot (this time in slow-motion).” Ben Kendrick, Screenrant
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“But Whedon, a true believer in the pleasures of comic-book storytelling, is no miracle worker. In Avengers: Age Of Ultron, his busy return engagement to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the strain of multitasking begins to show. Even at two and a half hours, this jam-packed sequel has little room for the kind of chatty downtime—the ‘off’ moments Whedon excels at—that distinguished its predecessor.” A.A. Dowd, AV Club
What about you? How do you rate Avengers: Age of Ultron?
See CinemaSins take on Avengers: Age of Ultron: