Superhero Media: Avengers Age of Ultron

In all the retrospectives I've seen of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Age of Ultron tends to get skimmed over much of the time. Easily the weakest of the Avengers Quartet, Age of Ultron is still a really enjoyable film and an important tone-setter for what came in Wave 3. Blame for the "disappointments" of Age of Ultron is debated as being between the studio and Joss Wheedon, and after doing some research, I feel that the studio is more at fault in this instance. Now, I'm no auteur theorist, and tend to roll my eyes when directors claim they had their project "taken away" by studios, but in the case of Age of Ultron, a quick run though the "Deleted Scenes" clearly indicates that a fair bit of story was left behind. The missing sections built the idea of the Infinity Stones more, as well as foreshadowing the deaths of several characters; the Scarlet Witch "visions" sequences retain some of this, but it really seems like it was intended to be a major narrative through-line of the film. 

Disappointments in narrative aside, I really enjoy Age of Ultron, if only for the world-building and character development. Ulysses Klaw and Wakanda are introduced years before T'Challa dons the suit, the Vision is born, the Hulbuster makes its debut and the relationship between Hawkeye and Wanda begins. Oh yeah, Hawkeye gets to do stuff this film, being one of the major emotional centres and having some of the best lines, as it should be. Jeremy Renner really does a great job with this character, but that's what gets you two fucking Oscars to your name and still getting meaty roles when you've broken the rules by panning crap you were in. In fact, the interaction between the characters is probably the best part of of Age of Ultron, with scenes like the party, trying to lift the hammer and Cap and Tony arguing whilst splitting wood both memorable and well put-together. That's the real strength of the MCU films, they hire good people and let them work how they want. Check out the "Gag Reel" to see just how much the core Avengers actors enjoy working together. That's what makes good cinema. 

Yes, like many comics fans, I'm still a little sore that Ultron appeared before Hank Pym and is gone after just one film, but given how good James Spader was, I'm inclined to be forgiving. Killing off Quicksilver is an odd choice, but they get the Hawkeye/Quicksilver rivalry in there and given the shitty version that appeared in later X-Men films, I'm pretty happy that the character was sidelined from the MCU early on. Is Age of Ultron the "worst" Avengers film? Sure, why not? But that's kind of like saying Return of the Jedi is the "worst" original Star Wars film; accurate, but misses the point. Stan Lee gets sloshed on Asgardian Booze. Jarvis becomes The Vision. Falcon and War Machine join the team. More Thanos. I really don't get why people are so down on Age of Ultron, it's a fun ride with some great character moments, even if it's not one of the best MCU efforts. Maybe I'm just a sucker for more Hawkeye and Klaw. Anyway, give this one another go if you haven't since your pre-Endgame rewatch.