An unexpected romance between Natasha Romanoff and The Incredible Hulk leaves the female spy questioning the initial intent behind her assignment. By sending her to the reclusive scientist, did Nick Fury know they would fall in love? His response: “You hope for the best then make do with what you get.”
This is the most important line in Joss Whedon’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” not so much because it justifies the story, but because it justifies the filmmaking. What a chore it must be to have to direct the sequel to one of the most well received, critically acclaimed and financially successful superhero films of all time. Gaining fans is a wonderful thing. Pleasing them isn’t always. Whedon stated personally that his job got harder with this one, so his desire to shift the film’s direction is eminent. I think a lot of fans projected their love for the first film onto their expectation of the second. Friends of mine considered “Age of Ultron” to be an underwhelming, messy experience, citing various differences with the first they considered better. The films are different. They are not better or worse from each other.
To understand “Age of Ultron” in a fair and unbiased light one must purge their mind of personal convictions and passions for the first film, without comparison. Literal things such as character and plot are of course comparable, but viewers often retain their experiences of a great first installment and expect to relive the sensation. They set themselves up for disappointment.
Several things are different. The dialogue is copious and heavy. The script features an astounding array of characters, some of which we’re seeing for the first time (Scarlett Witch, Quicksilver, Ultron). Character development is also heavy, ranging from the simple budship of Thor and Captain America to the beauty and the beast romance of Black Widow and The Incredible Hulk. The character scenes are patient and concentrated. The action is not. Whedon employs several cutaways, parallel edits and medium close ups to intensify sequences. It’s overwhelming, and at times confusing.
Take, for instance, the finale. Ultron literally takes the town of Sokovia to the sky and wants to use it as a meteor. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson)’s helicarrier collects the town’s evacuees. Half our heroes are in the town while half hangout on the ship. Some are flying in the air. The first time around, it was extremely difficult to pinpoint where exactly each hero was and how they contributed to the battle. Additionally, the particulars of the plan were hardly retained because there was just so much dialogue to follow.
There is also the absence of the remarkable Silvestri anthem. Instead, a string-based score composed by Brian Tyler and Danny Elfman accompany the scenes and create a dark tone. To complement this are the visuals, considerably dimmer than the first; color palette, production design and cinematography. There is an artistic intention to these contrasts. Why should Whedon give fans a complete rehash of the first film? He doesn’t have to. Here, his decisions make a big difference to the team, and trust me, there’s a lot going on here.
Let’s look at the plot. In this adaptation, Ultron is a peacekeeping program created by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), perfected by an artificial intelligence found in Loki’s sceptor. Stark, drunk on a haunting premonition of the Avenger’s death, wishes to disassemble the team. The A.I. (which should almost stand for Alien Intelligence) manifests itself into Stark’s machines, quickly desiring worldwide extinction, starting with the team. Sounds like a Frankenstein nightmare to me. But the film benefits on such a comparison because the Avengers have never made a wrong move. That is, they’ve never created terror, only stopped it. Now they have and the whole world must suffer.
“We’ll tear them apart, from the inside,” says Ultron. Ultron’s strength comes from his mind, not his body, and what makes him such a powerful foe is his ability to manipulate the Avengers using his resources. For example, he makes Scarlet Witch blind our heroes and show them their worst fears. This is a great plot device because it brings each character’s moral obligations and objectives into question. Ultron doesn’t need a giant serpent in the sky to bring enact his destruction, he just needs to speak loud enough to be heard. There is matter to his madness. In this sense, the title could almost be “Avengers: Age of Doubt,” because it’s not about the android who was unstoppable, but the heroes who pondered whether or not he should be. Before the finale, Captain America even says, “It isn’t just about beating Ultron, it’s about whether or not he’s right.”
So why doesn’t Thor waltz up to Ultron and beat the living shit out of him? As Vision puts it, “I’m afraid it’s not that simple.” Nothing in this film is. The plot, though fairly simple, gives us many lines that key us in on Whedon’s larger picture, and because it’s straightforward, our heroes have the chance to contemplate their actions.
Whedon’s direction is beautiful in the way he fleshes out his characters. When the team hides in Hawkeye’s “safehouse,” the romance between The Incredible Hulk and Black Widow grows. Here, the two discuss the improbabilities of their relationship. The scene is great because of the game the two play with each other, each trying to convince themselves a relationship won’t work. Banner thinks the world will always see a monstrous Hulk; Romanoff, a cold killer. In a world where nobody can reach either character they somehow find each other.
A lot of people accuse Whedon of jumping the shark and creating the attraction just to jerk off his audience. I don’t think so. This isn’t “Dead Man’s Chest” where Elizabeth kisses Jack just to please fans, it’s a completely believable romance because of how his characters have developed. What else would The Incredible Hulk and Black Widow do? For them to stay static in a film where the entire team changes would be dull.
Captain America changes too, much to the displeasure of Iron Man. An underlying tension between the two foreshadows the coming “Civil War.” Chris Evans is more comfortable in the role, and takes us down a path we’ve never been. “I don’t trust a guy without a dark side,” Stark taunts. Cap replies, “Maybe you haven’t seen it yet.” The subtle fire between Downey Jr. and Evans is delightful and shocking to watch. We’ve never seen our heroes disagree with so much contempt.
I have to mention Hawkeye. After being zombified for the majority of the first film, we finally get a better sense of what he contributes to the team. Hawkeye is the human element of the film. His family demonstrates the great risk he takes when serving, a risk not every Avenger understands. Hawkeye sees the whole of everything and has to keep a literal (and okay, metaphorical) eye on his team. In the midst of the destruction, no one else will. Hawkeye is the only character who takes Ultron’s malice in a totally selfless manner. Jeremy Renner’s got some great moments in the film. His speech to Scarlet Witch is self-assured but completely appropriate, and his wife’s tears at his return say more about his character in one shot than any did in the first film.
What do the twins contribute? Scarlet Witch’s manipulation is the plot’s intrusion. Quicksilver is fast but unnecessary. If the film were longer he’d have more time to develop, but if it were shorter he would barely make the cut. Why would Whedon introduce a character only to kill him off? His death is just as developed as his character, carrying little weight comparable to that of an expendable Bond henchman. Perhaps his existence in the film attempts to justify the villainy of the Avengers. Fair enough. But isn’t that what Scarlet Witch is for? I mentioned the music earlier, and how its melody doesn’t touch Silvestri’s. Does it have to? There isn’t an appropriate moment in the film to slow down and blast the theme. The direction is rapid, so what music we do hear fits perfectly.
All these points are just the tip of the iceberg. There’s seriously a lot going on in this film, so much that I’d have to write a novel to truly justify its greatness. There are also flaws, and some elements that people may dislike, but the tone Whedon sets and the situations he throws his characters in are what make it a remarkable film. Nothing in this film will be clear after the first viewing. Take, for instance, the closing line in the film. Captain America peers down at his new trainees. At home, ready and confident, he begins, “Avengers-” and we suddenly cut to black. Considering the condition and location of each teammate, are they truly assembled? What is the fate of the Avengers now? Whedon ends his film with a familiar theme, but with a different idea. Perhaps the closing line ought to be viewed as: “Avengers…?”