Much as The Avengers represented the capstone to Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s grand design, The Avengers: Age of Ultron brings together various elements from the previous film and all the MCU content that represented Phase Two.  And in turn, it sets the stage for Phase Three in a variety of ways.  In that sense, this is the pivot point of a massive storytelling enterprise, and has a great deal resting on its shoulders.  And with a few minor exceptions, it succeeds.


If it wasn’t a given, here’s the disclaimer: some general spoilers are about to follow.

It would have been interesting to see an Avengers film that was more self-contained, but this is Marvel Studios going all in on the big picture.  Seeing all the Phase Two movies prior to Age of Ultron isn’t a strict requirement, but it is highly recommended.  Remember Loki’s staff from The Avengers?  It plays a crucial role.  Remember how Tony made sure he kept Jarvis at the end of Iron Man 3?  That plays a crucial role.  The collapse of SHIELD in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the war against Hydra that has played out on Agents of SHIELD?  The whole bit about Infinity Stones from Guardians of the Galaxy?  Yep, all important to what happens in this film.  Even characters from Thor: The Dark World play a part in setting the stage for the future.  As the tagline says: “It’s All Connected”.



Even better, Phase One and Phase Two have set these characters on distinct philosophical journeys, and have introduced new characters that play a role in the resolution of the threat posed by Ultron.  None of this is happening in a vacuum.  Steve Rogers and Tony Stark are not seeing eye to eye, and a big part of that is Tony’s penchant for doing what he thinks is the best thing ever without asking anyone else if they are willing to take the risk.


For all intent purposes, The Avengers have been working to bring the threat of Hydra to an end; since the Battle of New York, “domestic” issues have been the greatest concern.  What’s interesting is that most of them, with the exception of Steve and Natasha, see their alliance as a temporary situation.  For some characters, there are some surprising revelations regarding the whys and wherefores of that mindset, but the one of primary importance is Tony’s scheme to render The Avengers unnecessary.

Following on the heels of Iron Man 3, Tony continues to feel as though The Avengers are a temporary solution.  In his view, beating the Chutari and stopping their invasion was as much luck as it was timing; there is no guarantee that even The Avengers would be enough to stop the next threat.  He has restored and refined his army of drones and array of suits, but they are likewise only a stopgap solution.  He and Bruce Banner have been conceiving of something bigger: Ultron.


Ultron, according to Tony’s strategy, would be an artificial intelligence similar to Jarvis, but on a grander scale.  Ultron would, in theory, be able to coordinate a planetary defense against threats like the Chutari, essentially allowing Tony to do what he wanted to do at the end of Iron Man 3 and give up the hero business entirely.  It would also have the side benefit of becoming what SHIELD was supposed to be, without all that unfortunate Hydra infiltration.








Needless to say, things don’t go as planned.  And none of that backstory is all that surprising, considering that many predicted that Tony would be the creator of Ultron.  It’s the details that matter, and those details weave into the larger narrative in some inventive ways.  Some will quibble over the deviation from the original Ultron origin, as Hank Pym is nowhere to be found here, but this alternate route makes a lot of sense and underscores, once and for all, just how out of control Tony’s ego can be.



Predictably, when an artificial intelligence is tasked with bringing peace to the world, it’s not going to end well.  And Ultron begins by seeing just what The Avengers have been doing in the name of “world peace”, and judges them for it.  He finds them wanting, and reasons that they need to be eliminated as a potential threat.  Extend the logic to the frailties and weaknesses of mere mortals and Ultron’s plans aren’t exactly hard to predict.







Along the way, interpersonal relationships are explored, and this is one area where I suspect dissatisfaction will arise.  Since The Avengers, a lot of people have invested in the notion of a Black Widow/Hawkeye romance.  It doesn’t turn out that way, and a lot of time is spent exploring the actual status quo instead.  This is candy for those invested in character development, but the middle act is going to be painful for those who can’t adjust or put “shipping” at the top of their fictional priority list.



Those with a broader view, or perhaps those who treat this as just another installment in the larger MCU saga, might find that this Avengers film spends far more time on character than the first.  Agent Carter taught us what the Black Widow training process is all about; is it so strange, then, that Natasha would be drawn to a teammate who also has a monster inside, waiting to lash out?







What will be interesting is how matters progress from here, and not just in the films.  Rest assured, all of the characters are set on specific paths coming out of this film, and that includes some characters that one might have assumed would never be seen again.  But the seeds of Captain America: Civil War and Thor: Ragnarok are planted firmly in this film.  More than that, if there aren’t major implications for Agents of SHIELD, it would be one hell of a missed opportunity.


WHAT WORKS


Much like its predecessor, Age of Ultron is like the special “crossover events” that comics regularly toss out, where characters starring in their own books come together in the equivalent of a popcorn movie.  This isn’t The Matrix, and it never really pretends to be.  It’s meant to be a fun installment and bring the excitement of all these big characters playing together onto the screen.  It does that extremely well.  Those who scoff at effects-driven entertainment won’t be swayed by this film, yet even on that level, it’s certainly one of the better examples.







Similarly, this film had the purpose of wrapping up Phase Two and launching Phase Three, and it could have easily crumbled under the weight of those expectations.  Yet it does so about as well as one might have hoped.  Not only that, but it’s easy to understand why characters do what they do, because time is spent giving each of them a few moments to ponder where they stand.



WHAT DOESN’T WORK


Much has been made of the fact that an “extended cut” with an “alternate ending” has already been announced for the eventual post-theater release.  It has given some the impression that Age of Ultron is a bit incomplete.  And on a certain level, this is a valid criticism.  While all the necessary action elements are on the screen, some of the connective tissue has clearly been excised.  It doesn’t mean that the theatrical version is bad, by any means; it simply points to the fact that an even better version will be coming our way, one that fleshes some of the character beats out a bit more.







Even the “extended cut”, however, is not going to reconcile the fact that this is not a stand-alone adventure.  In some ways, the “identity” problems that undermined Iron Man 2 are present in this film; it’s as dedicated to setting the stage for the future as it is to telling its own story.  It’s on the verge of being transitional in nature, which is fine for devotees of the MCU, but leaves several matters unresolved.  And since it necessarily does not leave the status quo unaltered, one gets the feeling that The Avengers never really got to show the audience what they could do as a team.  (One presumes that this will be relegated to the in-canon animated Avengers series coming soon.)  On the other hand, given that The Avengers Initiative was originals a SHIELD conceit, this particular team was really an interim solution until that original intent could be fulfilled.  Regardless, some might leave the theater feeling like they didn’t get a real ending, so much as a “to be continued”, even if that’s all they really could have anticipated.  



THE BOTTOM LINE


The Avengers: Age of Ultron is coming to the big screen with a lot of high expectations to meet, and it tackles that challenge about as well as one would hope.  The first Avengers film succeeded to the surprise of many; that this film stumbles a bit in trying to keep so many balls in the air is hardly shocking.  That said, much of the disappointment will likely be due to audience anticipations vs. the realities of Age of Ultron being another step in a much bigger journey.  And if one goes into this film expecting anything more than a solid comic-book-style story, then one has to expect to find it wanting.