AVENGERS REASSEMBLE

The Avengers Age Of Ultron is pretty slick with an over reliance on CGI. Whereas the first Avengers movie was witty and engaging this second instalment lacks charisma. Oh, it’s enjoyable enough with some great moments but it feels very much like a stepping-stone to a reconfiguration.

The villain Ultron is criminally underused and by killing off Quicksilver an opportunity to delve into the Maximoff sibling’s relationship has been lost.

In effect the retirement of the heavy hitters at the film’s end point towards a less bombastic version of the Avengers and if this leads to the type of movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier was this can only be a good thing.

Don’t get me wrong: Age Of Ultron is an enjoyable movie and certainly the introduction of The Vision and Scarlet Witch is a good thing, but at times there are just too many characters vying for screen time, War Machine, Nick Fury, The Falcon and a character set to become Klaw all jostle for space but there is a nod towards the possible introduction of the Black Panther next time around.

It’s interesting to note the make up of the next Avengers as one of the features of the source material was the ever-changing membership and frankly Hawkeye’s character didn’t offer much so his departure to a happy home life seems engineered.

I guess for me my initial delight at seeing these characters, whose exploits I had read for many years, appear in the flesh in Avengers 1 has not been sustained for their second outing but I look forward to a part 3 without the God of Thunder, The rampaging monster and the billionaire philanthropist.

It feels like we are moving from Lee and Kirby’s Avengers to Thomas and Buscema’s iteration.