AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON: Satisfyingly More Of The Same

Now playing at every multiplex in the galaxy and beyond:

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

(Dir. Joss Whedon, 2015)

If you live on planet Earth, you’re aware that today the Marvel machine is rolling out the biggest super hero movie of the year - sorry, ANT-MAN, but, c’mon!

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (from this point on, A:AOU), the sequel to the biggest superhero movie of 2012, THE AVENGERS, and the 11th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise that began with the first IRON MAN back in 2008, is here to officially kick off the summer 2015 movie season - sorry, FURIOUS 7.

But if you’re reading this, you most likely know all that, and just want to know if this highly anticipated, star-studded, and CGI-saturated production lives up to its huge hype.

I’ll say - yeah, it does. I had a tremendous amount of fun watching the reunited team - Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America/Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), The Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) – working together with lots of wit and energy to defeat the powerful robotic villain Ultron (voiced by James Spader).

This adventure begins with an already-in-progress action sequence, involving the comic book crew storming the castle of Hydra leader Baron von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) in the icy terrain of the fictional European nation of Sokovia.

Amid the standard chaos and wisecracks (most of which are pretty funny) we are introduced to a couple of new characters, brother and sister duo Pietro/Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). “He’s fast, she’s weird,” is what SHIELD’s Maria Hill (the also returning Cobie Smulders) says of their powers, which means that Pietro can move at supersonic speeds, while Wanda can manipulate minds with magic.

The Avengers rescue Loki’s scepter, one of the McGuffins of the series, and return to their headquarters at the Stark Tower Complex in Manhattan, where we actually get to hang out with the guys as they party, and engage in a game of taking turns trying to lift Thor’s hammer. Meanwhile, Stark’s Ultron project, which is supposed to be a global peacekeeping program, is co-opted by the scepter and becomes sentient.

That means Spader, who in addition to providing the voice, performed on set in a motion-capture suit, takes over as the movie’s major villain, and sets out to wipe out humanity (“There is only one path to peace... your extinction”).

As if he thinks we don’t have enough characters to keep up with, Whedon keeps piling them on. We meet Barton’s (Renner, in case you forgot) wife (Linda Cardellini of Freaks and Geeks and Mad Men fame) and kids living at a “safe house” farm where the Avengers lay low between battles, geneticist Helen Cho (Claudia Kim) who gets co-opted by Ultron, arms dealer Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis, a motion capture master himself), and the re-occuring role of Stark’s A.I. companion J.A.R.V.I.S. (voiced by Paul Betttany) is expanded via a red and green android body (Bettany in the flesh).

There’s also the many cameos from the MCU including Don Cheadle getting in a few good one-liners again as as James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine and Anthony Mackie getting in a few glaring grins as Sam Wilson/Falcon, along with appearances by Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Idris Elba as Heimdall, and of course, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, who no Marvel movie should be without. And yes, there’s a Stan Lee cameo, but, c'mon, you knew there would be.

Yes, A:AOU covers every single fan-pleasing base it can in its 2 hour and 21 minute running time and is a pretty bloated affair because of it, but it swiftly juggles all these strands until they collide in the big climax set on a ginourmous hunk of a Sokovian city land mass that Ultron has lifted from the earth and is planning on crashing down. The Avengers try to save the city's people while warring with the armies of robots that are all forms of Ultron (in a MATRIX sort of way I guess).

The special effects, of course put together by thousands of digital artists, are flawlessly top notch, but it’s the human moments that give a lot of heart, soul, and humor to this enterprise. A romance blooming between Ruffalo’s Banner (another invested portrayal - where's this guy's Hulk movie?) and Johansson’s Romanoff adds a thoughtful touch, and while Downey Jr.’s Stark is still full of snark, there’s an unmistakable conscience behind it. The rest of the gang also have their moments, but Hemsworth's Thor is still my least favorite Avenger.

Spader, even with only a mechanical presence, makes for a powerfully worthy foe, one who gets his share of well delivered quips and takes delight in destruction.

If this is Whedon’s final fling with the super hero franchise, he went out with a multitude of big bangs. Maybe they’re all riffs on the familiar formulaic tropes of the genre we’re all used to, but that doesn’t make them any less effective. 

A:AOU is winningly and satisfyingly more of the same; it’s everything a superhero superfan would want out of a Marvel movie. Non fans who haven’t been won over by any of the movies in the series before won’t be converted by it, but I seriously doubt many of them will have read this far into this review anyway.

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IRON MAN 3: The Film Babble Blog Review

Opening today at just about every multiplex in North America: 

IRON MAN 3 (Dir. Shane Black, 2013) 

Shane Black, best known for writing such action hits as LETHAL WEAPON and THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT, delivers a vast improvement over Jon Favreau’s IRON MAN 2 in this big-ass third installment of the series that features Robert Downey Jr.’s sharpest, and funniest, performance as the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist Tony Stark yet.

There are possibly more laughs (most of them from Downey Jr.-delivered one-liners) than there are thrills throughout, but the centerpiece sequence of Stark’s ultra-modern Malibu cliff-side house being destroyed by missile-firing attack helicopters puts the humor on hold for an armrest-gripping eye-popping experience of major proportions.

But onto the plot: Downey Jr.’s Stark, sleepless for months and still shaken from events in last summer’s Marvel smash THE AVENGERS, via opening narration takes us back to a New Year’s Eve in 1999 in Switzerland when he had a fling with a beautiful botanist (Rebecca Hall), and drunkenly disregarded a shaggy Guy Pearce as a scientist who wanted to work with him.

Pearce, of course, comes back to bite Downey Jr. in the ass in the present day as a slicked back charmer of a villain who wants to own the war on terror via a super-soldier virus that Hall's character developed.

Jon Favreau, not letting not directing get in the way of reprising his role as Stark’s bodyguard turned head of security, senses Pearce is a threat, mainly because he’s flirting with Gynneth Paltrow, who returns as Downey Jr.’s girlfriend/Stark Industries CEO Pepper Potts.

While trailing one of Pearce’s thugs (James Badge Dale), Favreau gets injured in a bombing, one of many brought about by the mysterious Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), the leader of the international terrorist organization The Ten Rings, who has the power to interrupt major network broadcasts to make his menacing threats to all of America.

Downey Jr. then makes a threat of his own right into a reporter’s camera phone for the Mandarin to bring the fight to him, and even leaves his home address. This results in the before mentioned incredible destruction of Stark’s homestead, in which the CGI crew members (of which there are thousands – check the credits) really outdid themselves on.

The rest deals with Downey Jr. rebuilding his Iron Man suit (and some of his soul) with the help of a kid (Ty Simpkins) he meets while doing some sleuthing in Tennessee, tracking down the bad guys in Florida for some shoot-outs (I love one moment when a hired thug yells: “Honestly, I hate working for these guys. They’re so weird!” So Downey Jr. lets him go), and another stunner of a scene in which Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle (also back for more as Colonel James Rhoades/the Iron Patriot) race to save the lives of the President (William Sadler) and 14 other passengers from a crashing Air Force One.

Cheadle, who does strong work and at times is as funny as Downey Jr., is largely absent from the film until the third act, which mainly involves a nighttime battle on an oil rig. 

The second half of IRON MAN 3 can be a bit overstuffed with spectacle at times and a few twists don't have the intended impact, but there are some warm moments involving Downey Jr.’s amusing bantering with Simpkins (was so glad he didn’t let the kid tag along for the remainder of the movie though), and affecting bits where we get a window into the darkness behind the snark of Tony Stark.

The way the villains' scenario with Pearce and Kingsley both showing their true colors worked more for Pearce, who got more and more intense, than Kingsley who got a bit too goofy, but to say anything more would be Spoiler City.

As in THE AVENGERS, the Marvel movie formula is in full swing here with all the expected yet welcome elements - Stan Lee cameo, stinger after the end credits, shout-outs to previous adventures, etc - but what makes IRON MAN 3 really pop is Black’s deft handling of the characters and the action set-pieces through his and co-writer Drew Pearce's quick-witted screenplay. Wasn’t really a fan of his previous film, Black’s glibly meta directorial debut KISS KISS BANG BANG, but his amped-up approach feels dead on in this film.

I’ve seen some cinephiles complain online about the glut of superhero movies, but if every now and then, we can get ones as smart, funny, and thrilling as IRON MAN 3, I won’t be complaining.

Oh yeah, the 3D didn’t make much difference – some shots were slightly enhanced early on but I largely forgot about it most of the film. However, you do get some specially made IRON MAN 3D glasses (I saw several different types at the screening I attended) so that might sway you.

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New Releases On Blu Ray & DVD 4/2/13

The biggest release, literally, today on Blu ray is the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One - Avengers Assembled (10-Disc Limited Edition Six-Movie Collector's Set). The set contains: 

MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray)
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray)
THOR (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray)
IRON MAN 2 (Blu-ray)
THE INCREDIBLE HULK (Blu-ray)
IRON MAN (Blu-ray)

Also included are deleted scenes, extended scenes, featurettes, animatics, collectible packaging with exclusive memorabilia (prop reproductions and artifacts), and an exclusive inside look at IRON MAN 3 and other films from Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Looks pretty f-in’ exhaustive which is great for Marvel movie fanboys, but may come as across as overkill to casual fans like me. I mean, I wouldn’t even have room on any shelf in my house for the damn thing!

Anyway, on to what I think is the best release of the day: Don Coscarelli’s 2012 horror comedy JOHN DIES AT THE END. I saw it a few months ago at the 14th annual Nevermore Film Festival at the Carolina Theatre in Durham (same place I’ll be in a few days for Full Frame), and it’s a meta treat. Special features include a commentary with Director Coscarelli, stars Chase Williamson, and Rob Mayes, and producer Brad Baruh, “Getting Sauced: The Making of JOHN DIES AT THE END” featurette, “Creature Corps: The Effects of Soy Sauce” featurette, deleted scenes; casting sessions, Fangoria interview with Giamatti, and theatrical trailers, one of which you can see here:

The Bible: The Epic Miniseries also comes out today. That’s the one made by the History Channel that has come under fire for having an actor playing Satan in it that some think resembles President Obama. As that’s all I know about it, I’ll move on.

A classy yet dull HBO telefilm, Philip Kaufman’s HEMINGWAY & GELLHORN drops today on Blu ray and DVD. Concerning the romance between Ernest Hemingway (Clive Owen) and WWII correspondent Martha Gellhorn (Nicole Kidman), the lofty production starts off interestingly enough with a charismatic meeting of the leads at a bar in Key West in 1936, but gradually becomes a stiff set of scenes, narrated by Kidman in docudrama style, that all too routinely tell the tale. 

The attempt to replicate old grainy footage of the era doesn’t quite work either. The intriguingly chosen cast - an odd mix of recognizable faces including Parker Posey, Tony Shaloub, David Straithairn, Robert Duvall, and Metallica’s Lars Ulrich (!) - helps keep it moving from historical footnote to footnote, but at 155 minutes it often drags maddeningly. For those who are fans of the actors or the Hemingway angle, there are a few Special Features worth checking out: Audio commentary with Kaufman and editor Walter Murch, and a few “Making of” featurettes. 

Several films that I haven’t seen come out today as well: Barry Battle’s action comedy THE BAYTOWN OUTLAWS starring Billy Bob Thornton (which looks awful), Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg’s baseball documentary KNUCKLEBALL (which looks possibly good), and Nick Love’s update of a ‘70s British TV crime drama THE SWEENEY, starring Ray Winstone (which looks like it could go either way).

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THE AVENGERS Starts The Summer Movie Season Off Right

THE AVENGERS (Dir. Joss Whedon, 2012)

After years of baiting fans with cameos, visual nods, and Easter Eggs embedded in their movies, Marvel Studios puts them all together in this masterful smash-up/mash-up assemblage of their major comic book characters, which starts the summer movie season off right.

Joss Whedon's snappy screenplay and energetic direction really delivers the goods, with a cast and special effects crew that never stops trying to entertain, right up to the after-credits bonus material.

For those who haven't been paying attention, we've got returning champ Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), along with Captain America/Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth); both fresh from their summer hero hits last year, Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and The Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo; the only actor here who hasn't previously played their character).

Samuel L. Jackson as S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury, and Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow are also on hand to provide extra fire-power against the film’s villain Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who was also the antagonist in THOR (maybe my least favorite of the Marvel movies), as he’s Thor’s adoptive brother and rival.

Loki, with the help of something called a Tesseract and an alien army, is trying to take over the world (of course), but those pesky Avengers keep getting in the way.

You know the plot isn’t what folks are coming to see here, but this movie’s not just about breathtaking bombast, furious fight-scenes, and spectacular sequences stuffed with eye-popping CGI – although there’s lots of that.

What elevates it is that the film actually cares about how its characters interact and clash with one another. Evan’s Captain America is rubbed wrong by Downey Jr.’s snarky arrogance (Whedon gives Downey Jr. the sharpest funniest lines, as expected), and everyone is on edge about just what Ruffalo’s Hulk will do when his rage famously takes hold.

Ruffalo’s take on Banner is one of many strong elements on display in “The Avengers.” It’s a more nuanced and edgy performance than what Eric Bana and Ed Norton brought in their respective portrayals. Now I’m looking forward to seeing Ruffalo own his own Hulk movie.

Clark Gregg, as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson, finally gets a more substantial role after his glorified cameos in the previous Marvel movies, and he makes the most of it. A surprising yet fitting addition to the ever expanding universe is Cobie Smulders (Robin on the sitcom How I Met Your Mother) as another Avengers ally, Maria Hill. Smulders gets a considerable amount of screen-time, and like everybody else here, she doesn’t waste it.

The New York City battle finale outdoes the fun destruction of just about every other super hero movie ever (take that Superman, Spiderman, X-Men, etc.!), and it's hilarious to boot.

Whedon does a fantastic job juggling this vast array of characters while arranging mighty action set-pieces (particularly the sequence aboard the ginormous S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier).

So there you have it - the must-see super hero movie event of the summer. That is, until THE DARK KNIGHT RISES comes out.

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