(CNN Philippines) — From the get-go director Joss Whedon leads you into the heat of battle filled with the larger-than-life characters that Marvel has so carefully crafted and takes you on a roller-coaster ride back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with a bang.
Once again, the Avengers have assembled to face what seems to be their toughest foe yet in one of the most highly anticipated sequels of the year.
Traditionally, sequels have had a hard time surpassing their predecessors. But the Age of Ultron doesn’t pull back any punches as it tries to do better than the previous Avengers flick.
We witness our heroes return to the silver screen with their awesome powers showcased like never before, and we are reminded by their banter why these characters have become so adored in pop culture.
What makes an MCU flick interesting is not the jaw-dropping action, but the development of the characters and the little nuances that each relationship in the film builds.
In the Age of Ultron, the dynamics of the relationships that the characters have built throughout their time in the MCU are put to the test, and it’s easy for the audience to fall for their charm and wit.
What is noticeably lacking though is that sleekness and refinement of the action sequences that were present in the original Avengers.
Though still visually impressive, the Age of Ultron seems to have a difficulty navigating through its own sweeping battles throughout the film and ends up tripping over itself during some of the most kinetic scenes in the film.
By any other movie’s standards, the action in the Age of Ultron is very good, but the fact that it comes as a sequel to a movie with particularly impressive action sequences, may cause you to expect more.
For all the glory and pomp that the heroes bring, a movie like this would only function properly if it had a villain who’s managing enough to make all these big names quiver in fear, and the titular villain Ultron just does that.
Armed with wry humor of his own and tricks up his sleeves that few would genuinely see coming, Ultron presents himself as a real threat to the world and its mightiest heroes.
Where he does fail is that the underlying motivation for doing the things he does feels a bit too thin when compared to the previous villains in the MCU — which leads us to the plot.
The story upon which all the action is based on isn’t particularly friendly to those who aren’t familiar with the MCU and its recent history concerning the infinity stones, but is plain enough for everyone to see that if the good guys don’t stop the bad guys then bad things will happen.
It does start out a bit slow and it may take some time for some members of the audience to find its feet before starting to go along with everything, but when it does, Whedon will grab you through his lens and refuse to let you go as you whirl through all the laughter, explosions, and palpable tension that the Avengers bring.
Overall, Avengers: Age of Ultron is still the movie we have been expecting from Joss Whedon and his superstar cast and for the most part lives up to its billing as a crowd-pleasing blockbuster with a soul of its own.
