In an attempt to return life to post earthquake normalcy, I made an effort to go to the cinema, in a proper theater that had a green sticker. Perhaps my mistake was in picking a film like Avengers: Age of Ultron as a first foray after fairly traumatic events involving one’s entire body and brain being shaken arbitrarily over days and nights. Suffice to say, I was on the edge of my seat for the duration of the film, poised to flee should there be any tremors, not particularly riveted by the fairly standard action movie that was unfolding in front of me.
The problem with this new installment of the Marvel universe is that it tries to do too much. For people like us who have all been through such life-altering experiences where we watched our homes shake violently, convinced that they would disintegrate in front of our eyes, a run of the mill action movie like this one only really induces some eye rolling, and definitely some very uncomfortable moments when entire multi-storied buildings are collapsing to the ground gratuitously destroyed by flying iron men.
Age of Ultron brings back all the beloved characters from the Marvel comics and films, with Robert Downey Jr. becoming less funny and more insufferable with every subsequent turn as Iron Man/Tony Stark, a role that began delightfully in 2008 and now most certainly should be put firmly to rest. Chris Hemsworth returns as Thor, giving us slightly less viewer fatigue than the aforementioned; a tired rumpled Mark Ruffalo reappears as Dr. Bruce Banner/Hulk, as usual, he is a pleasure to watch; Chris Evans as always is slightly flat as Captain America, through no fault of his own other than a poorly written role. Thankfully, the two latest additions to the Avengers team lighten up the boredom with Scarlett Johanssen as the feisty Natasha Romonoff/Black Widow, and my personal favourite Jeremy Renner as the cool, calm Clint Barton/Hawkeye.
The plot, as ever, involves saving earth from aliens, in this particular case, Tony Stark’s immense stupidity results in the creation of an artificial intelligence known as Ultron (played delightfully cravenly by James Spader who revels in his evil wittiness). As the all powerful Ultron begins his mission to rid the world of all life, in his delusion that humankind are the real problem (and perhaps we are), the Avengers themselves start to fracture, brought together only by necessity and circumstance. In times like these, films such as this can only seem ridiculously frivolous. While I try not to lose my sense of humour, one can’t help but be just a little peeved that most of the planet can continue to watch this stuff with equanimity when all we want to do is shriek and run with every cinematic explosion.