Avengers: Age of Ultron

The Earth's Mightiest Heroes have reassembled after three years of solo Marvel films, and the result is the a film that is bigger in almost every way. That means bigger action, a larger scope, and most importantly, more character development. In an absolutely massive film, director Joss Whedon has not forgotten that it was the character development and sharply written dialogue that made 2012's "The Avengers" so memorable, and he does not shy away from including even more of that into this movie. This more than anything is what keeps "Age of Ultron" from falling into cliche sequel territory.

If somehow you haven't managed to hear about the plot of the film from Disney's huge marketing campaign, "Age of Ultron" deals with the problematic creation of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). He wants to create a permanent solution to the dangers the threaten Earth, he wants a solution that will allow The Avengers to stay home and relax the next time an alien army threatens Earth. That solution is Ultron (voiced brilliantly by James Spader), a global peacekeeping AI that Tony creates with the help of Loki's powerful scepter left behind on Earth after The Battle of New York. There is just one problem, Ultron realizes (in typical evil AI fashion) that humans are the greatest threat to Earth's survival, and the first step to Tony's vision of "peace in our time" begins with The Avenger's extinction.

The quest to stop Ultron sends our hero's on an adventure that stretches all over the world in places like Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia. The scope in "Age of Ultron" is truly on an epic scale, and that's how it should be. The first film really just took place in and around New York, but now we see these super heroes living up to their title of "Earth's Mightiest Heroes." They aren't just responsible for the safety of one city like Spider-Man or Daredevil, they have to protect the entire world. And that responsibility begins to take its toll, something we get to see some of in the second act of the film.

And that isn't even the most stressful part of the job, that would be preventing civilian casualties. After "Man of Steel" featured a climax where the "hero" decimated a city with little concern for any human life, it's so refreshing to see Joss Whedon remind us that being a hero doesn't just mean beating the bad guy, it means protecting people as well. Captain America (Chris Evans) is always making sure that there is no one in harms way when it's time to fight Ultron and his army of machines. Iron Man makes sure a skyscraper has no civilians inside before he throws Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) inside during their giant beat-down that has been heavily advertised in the trailers (and is a breathtaking fight). The action scenes feature plenty of satisfying explosions and punches, but the best part about them is that they remind us what true heroism is through The Avengers' acts of selflessness and bravery. They are willing to die for the people they are protecting, they are prepared to take a bullet for the child that is caught in the crossfire, they are super-heroes.

Depending on your tastes, the abundance of action sequences could get a little exhausting by the time the final fight begins. There are a total of four huge set pieces throughout the film's runtime (with a fifth smaller one near the beginning). While they are all set in different locations and tend to showcase the abilities of different characters, the amount of action makes it more difficult to pick out one or two standout moment from the film's action. Save for one--and amazing circular shot of the entire team holding off Ultron's army at the end of the film (made even more exciting by Brian Tyler and Danny Elfman's upbeat score).

Yet the heavy amounts of action are balanced out by the moments of character development scattered throughout the film. Without spoiling anything, the middle of the film slows things down and allows for some great dialogue between characters that allows us to learn even more about them after more than five years of seeing them on the screen. "Age of Ultron" features some of its best moments when all we see is two characters talking. The budding romance between Hulk and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is more touching than I thought, the ongoing clash of ideologies between Cap and Iron Man is always entertaining (a clash that will progress to fist fights in next years "Civil War"), and everything that Hawkeye (an excellent Jeremy Renner) says or does in this film is gold. And without saying too much, Paul Bettany's hits it out of the park with the introduction of Vision, who was responsible for my favorite parts of the film.

Of course in a film with so many characters, it is impossible to do every one of them justice. Of all the main Avengers, Thor is the one left with not much to do until the last act of the film (the movie does set up an exciting plot arc for him in future films thought), although he has some great lines. Also, newcomer Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor Johnson) is left in the shadow of his more interesting sister Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). Both character's have around the same amount of lines and screen-time, but Olsen makes a greater impression with her character. And even if all the characters don't get an equal amount of attention, they all are so much fun to watch thanks to the superb performances of everyone involved. At this point, Downey, Evans, Hemsworth, Johansson, and company are so comfortable playing these characters that it has become so natural for them. They ARE these heroes, no one else can do it but them. And Spader makes a fantastic first impression voicing Ultron. From his opening monologue Spader fills the machine with charisma and life that isn't often seen in most Marvel villains.

While the novelty of finally seeing these heroes together may no longer be present, that doesn't mean "Age of Ultron" has any shortage of excitement. These actors just get better and better with portraying these characters, and with the help of Joss Whedon, not only do we get more action, but we get to know these characters even more. The dialogue is great, the humor is spot on, the scope is epic, and the film is a must see. Check it out this weekend!