'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Review: Snarky One-Liners and Superhero Chemistry Keep the Movie Afloat

IBTimes India Edition Rating: 2.5

After a long wait of three years, "Avengers: Age of Ultron" has finally released and the one word to sum up the entire movie-watching experience would be: under-whelming. This, however, doesn't mean you will not enjoy the movie or laugh at the hilarious snarky one-liners penned by Joss Whedon.

Marvel Cinematic Universe, to be fair, has never promised brilliant movies; what it does deliver are memorable moments, funny lines, and palpable camaraderie among actors. 

The major drawback of "Avengers: Age of Ultron" is that it has come out at a time when fans are used to watching superhero shows, like "The Flash" on The CW or Marvel's own "Agents of Shield" on ABC, which give more depth to the characters than anger, science or even legacy. 

SPOILERS AHEAD

In the 2012 instalment of "Avengers", a group of incredible superheroes were united by SHIELD for the purpose of saving the world. A year into that, they still see the world differently; while some are scientists, others are soldiers, and one is a God. Together they battle a robot with a god complex, who is betting on the "Avengers" fighting among themselves; their road to victory is bound to get bumpy.

"Avengers: Age of Ultron" sings the same old tale: one bad guy, a robot in this case, tries to destroy the Earth and the "Avengers" first fail to save the planet, but eventually succeed. The storyline for this movie is definitely not winning any awards. But the writing, as is expected of any Joss Whedon work, is exceptional.

"Age of Ultron" did not waste any time trying to ease viewers into the movie. Amid gun shots and bomb blasts, the movie opens with the "Avengers" fighting the bad guys when they meet future interns, Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Wicth (Elizabeth Olsen), who are initially on the opposite team. The Maximoff twins despise Tony Stark aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), who they blame for the death of their parents.

The scientists, Stark and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), dabble with artificial intelligence without informing the rest of their team, and it goes terribly wrong. Ultron (James Spader), who is programmed to bring peace to earth, decides to erase the human race so as to give it a second chance. The Avengers then prevent this robot-induced apocalypse with the help of some recruits, including War Machine (Don Cheadle) and Vision (Paul Bettany).

The story clearly lacks in depth, which it tries to make up for, by showing glimpses of Hakeye's (Jeremy Renner) and the Black Widow's (Scarlet Johannson) past. The movie's winning factors are some memorable moments: when the Iron Man fixes home appliances for Hawkeye's wife, "Avengers" fighting over the meaning of "worthy to hold Hammer", Tony Stark and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) fighting over whose ladylove is the best and Ultron's comparison of Captain America's (Chris Evans) shield to a Frisbee.

By the end of the movie, Hulk disappears yet again, forgetting that "Avengers" will always find a way to pull him back as by 2018 a new super-villain, Thanos, will surface to start the "Infinity War".

Defying rumours about the ending credits footage involving web-spurting superhero, Thanos came on-screen mid-credits and announced, "Fine, I'll do it myself"; obviously referring to the destruction of the Earth and Ultron's failure to achieve it.

"Age of Ultron" is barely a movie in itself; at most, it is a rehash of the first Avenger movie, made for fans who love to watch their superheros defeat the bad guys. If you are a Superhero or Joss Whedon fan, book a seat for "Avengers: Age of Ultron" in a theatre near you. But, if your best chance of watching the movie is online or on TV, you are not missing out on a lot.