My remarks on "Avengers: Age of Ultron"

I’ve wanted to talk about “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (also known as Avengers 2) for a while now, and I’m pleased that I am finally able to do so.  I won’t hold you in suspense: I really enjoyed this film.   In a nutshell, I think this is a stellar, compelling, and entertaining movie.

You may be asking, “How does this film stack up to the original Avengers film?  Is Avengers 2 as fantastic as Avengers 1?”  My answer is no, this film is not as good as Avengers 1.  But don’t take this as a disparaging comment on the quality of Avengers 2; this is actually a high compliment on the magic of Avengers 1.  

Let me try to illustrate my point.  The 1972 Miami Dolphins not only won the Super Bowl, but they are the only team in NFL history to have a season where they never lost a game - up to and including the Super Bowl.  The next year, the 1973 Miami Dolphins also won the Super Bowl, but they lost two games in the regular season.  Even though both were great teams, the 1972 Dolphins were on a higher echelon than the 1973 Dolphins.

In the same way, the Avengers 2 doesn’t equally match its predecessor, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad film by any means.  The original Avengers movie was magical.  It had the perfect blend of action, suspense, humor, and drama.  I think it’s one of the greatest superhero films of all time.  Conversely, “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is also a great movie, but it doesn’t surpass the greatness of the original Avenger film.  Some may disagree with me, but that’s how I see it.

There is one facet in “Age of Ultron” that is vastly superior to the first Avengers film and that is the main villain.  While Loki was a fun villain to watch in the original Avengers film, Ultron beats Loki by a wide margin.  Every scene Ultron is in is riveting.  You sit there mesmerized by this character that has absolutely no mercy, remorse, or conscience.  You see, Ultron is actually the pet project of Tony Stark.  Stark wanted to create an artificial intelligence peacekeeping program led by Ultron.  But Ultron reasons that humans are the impediment to peace, and thus he subsequently seeks to destroy all of humanity.  If there was ever a villain that you ‘love to hate’ it is Ultron.

Kevin