A bigger, better, funnier 'Avengers'

Marvel's Avengers: Age Of Ultron L to R: Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) Ph: Jay Maidment ?Marvel 2015

Marvel's Avengers: Age Of Ultron L to R: Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) Ph: Jay Maidment ?Marvel 2015

Published Apr 24, 2015

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AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

DIRECTOR: Joss Whedon

CAST: Robert Downey jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johanssen, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, James Spader, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Samuel L Jackson

CLASSIFICATION: 10-12 GHV

RUNNING TIME: 141 minutes

RATING: ****

 

 

 

The juggernaut that is a Marvel movie release is back; bigger and better. Fast-paced and crammed full of details and even more superheroes, this Avengers sequel is also very funny.

It has director Joss Whedon stamped all over it. From witty one-liners that come fast to the underlying current of anti-authority and self-sacrifice. It moves like a comic book, complete with a 3D splash page and fun rejoinders from bad guys who just won’t quit or die.

The movie starts with the Avengers raiding a Hydra facility where they finally discover Loki’s staff. This is where we are introduced to twins Pietro (Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda Maximoff (Olsen). He’s fast and she’s weird. They are also referred to as “enhanced”, skipping right over the tricky conundrum of them being mutants and thus the property of another film company.

“We’re mad scientists. We’re the monsters. Own it,” Tony Stark (Downey) says to Bruce Banner (Ruffalo), persuading the reluctant doctor to help him dabble in artificial intelligence. And, yep, they not only succeed spectacularly, but things go even more spectacularly pear-shaped and thus is Ultron (Spader) born.

You can see, not only hear, Spader in Ultron in the way his jaw moves, and later when we are introduced to Vision, there is also a sense of the way actor Paul Bettany moves himself.

The surprise cameo, and potential Easter egg for the fans, is introducing Andy Serkis as arms dealer, Ulysses Klaue.

Your good guys can only be as good as the bad guys are bad, but Ultron isn’t evil per se, he is just missing the same human moral compass of the heroes. He is virtually unstoppable and 100 percent sure that the only way to save humans is to push them to evolve, and if that means they die out, so be it.

The Avengers, on the other hand, hide a real fear behind the loving banter. Deep down they feel their very presence attracts bigger and bigger problems.

The probable showdown between Stark and Steve Rodgers (Evans) about moral responsibility is neatly touched on, setting up the events of Captain America: Civil War.

While each of the heroes get their screen-time, pulling off their trademark moves, we also see them when they let their hair down as their alter-egos. Thanks to Wanda and her reality warping ways we also get to see what makes them tick, and discover to our surprise just who the heart of the team really is.

Like any good comic book, it builds up to a huge set piece of mayhem and destruction, and the special effects are grounded in some real, recognisable cities. Okay, so it takes the Hulk a matter of minutes to run from the coast to the heart of Gauteng, but watching downtown Joburg get destroyed adds a verisimilitude to what is, remember, a comic book story.

The overall exuberant tone created by the snappy dialogue and breakneck pace leavens the sense of dread you get from the heavy arguments the characters have about playing God and taking decisions on behalf of all mankind.

The action is well choreographed and the mayhem is epic, but Whedon plays best when the characters get to talk in the quiet moments between chaos and confusion. These emotionally charged interactions are what drive the story which has to be viewed across the multiple film arc, not just in isolation.

While the gratuitous destruction of all the Marvel movies is not grounded in reality (again, comic book) – major property damage never seems to have consequences for anyone and someone always saves the day – the underlying question (does defending the status quo mean the superheroes aren’t allowing humans to make their own choices about how they evolve?) is becoming more clearly articulated.

If you liked Avengers or Captain America: Winter Soldier, you will like this.

 

 

Whedon bids farewell to ‘Avengers’, Russos next in the queue

 

AVENGERS director Joss Whedon’s contract with Marvel is up, so after the marketing machine winds down, it is off to bigger and better things.

When he directed the first Avengers film, Whedon showed that comic book franchise films could be original in their own right. Joe and Anthony Russo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) will helm the next two Avengers movies.

But, they do so within a very specific framework devised by Marvel Studio president, Kevin Feige. This helps to maintain continuity of storyline and characters, but is also part of a huge marketing campaign that incorporates massive lines of things for sale.

Once again online complaints abound about the missing female action figures – neither Black Widow nor Scarlett Witch merit an action hero figure – and they are present on few of the spaces you will find the Avengers popping up (like a T-shirt).

Via the Net we can access the myriad trailers and making-of clips that have preceded the release of the film, and anticipate the deluge of clothing, bedding, toys and Iron Man’s face on everything from a lunchbox to a toothbrush.

But, the marketing lines in this country concentrate on the lucrative kid’s market, so adults have to make do with the dvds and games. Trawling the Net is still fun though, until you realise that if you ordered that really cool bobblehead it might not make it to you through the post.

 

WIN! WIN! WIN!

 

Marvel Africa and Tonight are giving four lucky readers the chance to win a hamper of marvelous goodies. The grand prize is the Marvel’s Avengers Complete Collection DVD box set (Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor, Avengers) plus a Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel super heroes starter pack and the Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes Power Disc Pack.Three other readers can each win the Marvel’s Avengers Complete Collection DVD box Set.

All you have to do is answer one simple question: Who directed Avengers: Age of Ultron? SMS the word “MARVEL” followed by he name of the carrier piece (ie. Cape Argus/Daily News/Pretoria News/The Star) and your answer plus your name to 34445. SMSes cost R1.50 each. Lines open today at 6am and close Monday at 10pm. Only the winners will be contacted.

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