The movie leads
from where Captain America : The Winter
Soldier ended. After retrieving Loki’s sceptre from a Hydra base, Tony
Stark and Bruce Banner find some sort of artificial intelligence within the gem
on the sceptre, which they secretly implement into the Ultron program, which
would protect the Earth from extra-terrestrial threats, leaving the Avengers
free to deal with the ones on Earth. The program
backfires, with Ultron concluding that in order to maintain stability on Earth,
mankind in itself must evolve, something that requires the end of the Avengers,
and the extinction of humanity as we know it.
Sounding
familiar? Maybe you would compare this scenario with that of the Terminator
films, with Ultron replacing Skynet. If that’s the assumption, let’s put it to
rest right here. Ultron isn’t a mere megalomaniacal robot. He’s is a sentient
being, who though mechanised, has all human characteristics – arrogance, humor,
sarcasm, anger, fear of death, etc. Basically he’s the twisted, robotic son of Tony Stark,
who made him in his own image, which
can be seen in the fact that his apocalyptic plans too are a manifestation of Tony’s
own confusion regarding the limits to doing what is right for the world, which
could in the process destroy the very world he’s trying to protect.
As a villain,
Ultron follows almost the same battle strategy that Loki used in The Avengers – gather an army, break the
Avengers and destroy cities with high population density; the only difference
being that Loki had an alien army, while Ultron has an army of minions, who are
all basically versions of himself, and few soldiers from Tony Stark’s iron army.
He is snide, pompous, and talkative. I was rather disappointed in the character
and expected a completely different personality in him. He’s supposed to instil
fear and awe. Instead, he is more comical than fearsome, and even the voiceover
by James Spader couldn’t provide Ultron the charisma that was required from such a
character.
Action and fight
scenes are excellent, and more than enough to satisfy even hardened adrenaline
junkies. Special mention must be given to the Iron Man-Hulk brawl, where we get
to see the Hulkbuster armor at work (No spoilers there).
The story is
commendable, and just like previous films within the Avengers category,
explores into the faults and shortcomings of its lead characters, and their
combined efforts to overcome the same, to achieve peace and stability. Like others in its family, the film views its lead characters not as superheroes, but ordinary humans, whose specialized abilities have rendered them a god-like status, and they are hanging somewhere in between their individual selves, and the responsibility their status imposes upon them. There
are various points though, where the film loses traction for a couple of minutes, like in a scene where Cap'n America is trying to stop Banner and Stark from creating the Vision, and suddenly Thor barges in out of nowhere to seize control of the situation. But Whedon gets things back on track quickly and rather smoothly, and in the overall grand presentation, these errors are considered trifles.
Two new
characters are introduced – Pietro Maximoff played by Aaron Johnson, and Wanda
Maximoff played by Elizabeth Olsen. They're orphans having bitter feeling for Tony Stark, as one of his missiles caused the death of their parents. As a result they join Ultron's fife. Paul Bettany moves ahead of playing the
computer J.A.R.V.I.S. to playing its physical self, the Vision. Nothing needs
be said in favour of the regular cast, who deliver the standard expected from
their performance. Samuel L.Jackson had limited screen time, and I would have
liked to see more of Nick Fury.
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