Age of Ultron is amazing. That's the short of it. The pacing is excellent, the acting superb and the action breathless. The character balance is almost pitch perfect. And in a first for Marvel villains since Loki, Ultron is a compelling enemy.
Without going too much into details, the shining high-points of this movie were in the small character moments. Whether the quiet moments in the country for Black Widow and Bruce Banner or Hawkeye's inspiring speech to Scarlet Witch. The heart and emotion, which at this point is the calling card of geek icon Joss Whedon, is present and apparent throughout.
Much as previous Marvel movies, humour is a large component. Unlike other Phase 2 films, Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man 3 in particular, Age of Ultron knows when to dial it up and when to lay back. The moments of levity give a more human feel to the super feats on screen.
Black Widow, Hulk and Hawkeye, supporting characters though they maybe in the overall MCU, all shine here. With Hawkeye especially gaining some much needed character development, so much so that it crept into foreshadowing territory, a feeling of dread accompanied his every heroic dash in the third act, before the last minute fake-out.
Hulk and Bruce Banner get whole scenes where there is nothing one can do except glory in the manic physical and emotional ride the character's dueling personalities face. Banner's emotional turmoil during the movie is a far cry from the boring self-pity of the previous Hulk solo outings, with a much more interesting and understandable arc.
Much like Black Widow, the other supporting characters get less screentime. After watching Agent Carter, I was hoping for a deeper look into the Red Room project but the revelation, while a shocking reveal, merely underlined her character development so far, rather than bringing us anywhere new.
Similarly Sam Wilson and James Rhodes feel like they get short shrift, being mostly on hand for comic-relief and assists in the epic conclusion, but with an ensemble cast of this size meant that someone was going to bear the brunt in characterisation. At least these were characters that have been developed in solo movies, rather than the new arrivals.
And those new arrivals do pack a punch, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are intriguing from the off, with Wanda's awkward powers translated well to screen. Her blasts are different enough in execution for it to be more visually unique than the other point and shoot lasers of the series. Quicksilver, while not having a single scene where his powers are showcased, gets a spot-on characterisation and action scenes which are as big in scope as the X-Men: Days of Future Past version if not so well executed. He also has one of the truly affecting moments of the movie and carries it seemlessly.
Vision and Ultron are contrasts in this story, as Vision is someone who at once feels new and familiar and Ultron is somehow the opposite. WIth the Vision, the centring of his personality around JARVIS gives us a feeling of an old friend done good. All that time as Tony Stark's side-kick and attendant and now, look at the heroics. A truly worthy hero. Ultron on the other hand, looks and feels like a regular Marvel villain. Dark, brooding and arch, but underneath lies the first compelling Marvel villain since Loki. With a grandiose plan, epic scope and a suitably Starkian ego, Ultron is compelling and the animation suprisingly emotive.
Like all Marvel movies, this lives or dies by the action and the set pieces do not disappoint. Every one from the opening gambit through the tagia, through South Africa (sadly sans-Black Panther), to the final Act / Action scene are astonishing. Every moment feels like it's fresh off a comic-book panel and the weight of movement is intense despite the plethora of CGI on screen. Ultron and Vision, as well as the Hulk, are a testament to the technology, in that even IMAX 3-D, which can be unforgiving to CGI (see: Terminator: Genisys trailer, shown beforehand in my region, which, by comparsion, looks garbage) it doesn't take you out of the movie for a moment.
The IMAX itself was amazing, but I love that kind of thing and it isn't for everyone, I find the immersion astounding, especially here.
Also, best Stan Lee cameo ever. I'm calling it.
Apart from that, there isn't much to say on the negative side of the jump. If anything it feels as though some plot-points are either on the cutting room floor or have been excised for later movies (Black Widow's back-story, Thor's excursion in search of answers).
One also feels that some other supporting characters were underserved, especially War-Machine and Falcon, as well as Hydra's surprising early disappearance from the proceedings. This wouldn't be so bad, but it does feel as though there was some room to cut from some of the action scenes, which in places went on rather too long for anyone not completely immersed in comic-book lore. (I noticed many movie-goers looking bored during the extended fights scenes, and it was commented by the people I was with that it had the same problem as Guardians of the Galaxy, the end battle was too drawn out). I'm not saying I agree. I do feel I wouldn't have missed a couple of minutes of action, but the weight of the missing parts of the tale seems a bearable burden. The last few minutes also feel a but rushed, with a couple of weighty emotional moments shrugged off in a line or two.
I also have to say, and this is personal opinion, but the third act, especially the first half, seemed squarely aimed at Man of Steel's wanton destruction. To me this was Marvel saying: This is how heroes act. Maybe I'm reading too deeply into it, but Marvel managed to have it's city destruction cake and eat it too.
Also, no Black Panther cameo. Generic Sadness.
So...overall it's a solid movie. Amazing even, that does suffer a bit from middle movie syndrome. Where not all the loose ends can be tied up because there are further movies to be made. As I left the theatre however, I felt that I wanted more and was already much more excited about Civil War than I had before. The tables and chairs have been moved around nicely with everything poised for the jump into Civil War next year.
If I was going to place this on the Marvel pile, I gotta say I think it takes the top spot. The alumni from Avengers give superior performances and the new blood show solid chemistry and talent from the off. The effects are more astonishing than ever and the story moves on at such a cracking pace that you don't really mind the over-obvious Hawkeye/Quicksilver fake-out, even though the fore-shadowing bangs on your head a bit too hard.
I love this movie, maybe that'll change with a bit of time and distance, but I plan to go see it again, probably twice more with friends and with my daughter.
Generic highly recommends this movie.