AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON DVD (2015)

SYNOPSIS: Marvel Studios unleashes the next global phenomenon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron, the epic follow-up to Marvel's The Avengers. Good intentions wreck havoc when Tony Stark unwittingly creates Ultron, a terrifying A.I. monster who vows to achieve "world peace" via mass extinction. Now Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and The Hulk alongside Black Widow, Hawkeye and Nick Fury must reassemble to defeat Ultron and save mankind...if they can! 

MOVIE REVIEW:

I can sense the tiredness in Joss Whedon’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. On one hand, he spearheaded an incredible, never-seen-before assembled superhero flick called Avengers while on the other hand, he helmed a sequel that sits somewhere between a mindless action movie and one that is bursting with unfulfilled cool ideas. 

Thor’s half-brother, Loki is no longer the antagonist in the sequel. Replacing him is Ultron (voiced by James Spader), an artificial intelligence robot created by Tony Starks for the global defense program. Instead of saving the world, Ultron is hell bent on mass destruction because he believes this is the only way to achieve world peace. Recruiting Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Ultron proceed to scour a new body for himself. In the meantime, the Avengers must team up once again amid their differences with the help of Nick Fury to save mankind from the evil Ultron.  

Despite running at a hefty 141 minutes, Avengers: Age of Ultron still feel a tad rushed and significant plot threads are abandoned the minute they are introduced. It’s definitely a daunting task to juggle so many superheroes’ appearances and simultaneously, ensuring the movie moved in the direction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). To be fair, Ultron is a charismatic villain or at least he sounds like one. He is definitely a badass but he is not the typical villain that craved for monetary or power, he has a far ambitious plan in mind. Unfortunately, Whedon failed to do justice to him ultimately he ends up as yet another disposable pawn in the MCU.

The first Avengers featured a massive fight in the Helicarrier and a climatic battle in the heart of the city. Honestly, it’s pretty hard to top both of them and Avengers: Age of Ultron has to settle on a crazy fight between a mind-controlled Hulk and Starks in his hulkbuster suit and a prolonged car chase, which took place in the busy streets of South Korea. Visual effects by ILM remain top-notch and there’s a certain amount of humour though significantly lesser than the first. Do remember this outing is touted as darker and more serious.

Honestly, the movie is fine on the whole. It still has all the ingredients to entertain everyone gearing for another solid superheroes outing. There are new characters including Paul Bettany as Vision and a whole slew of Marvel anecdotes, Easter eggs waiting for the hardcore fans to discover. For the rest of us, it suffices for a single viewing but down the road, it simply didn’t enthrall as well as the first one did.  

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Global Adventure is a brief 3 minutes feature that introduces viewers to the different location shoots in which the filming took place. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Typically, with such CG-heavy title, the images look pretty soft at times though much of the detailing and design work is excellent as expected. The Dolby Digital 5.1 is solid and booming with deafening explosions and ambient effects while dialogue remains crisp throughout.  

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee