Avengers: Age of Ultron review: How does it impact Infinity War?

Credit: Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Pictures; from Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

What Worked?

As you might expect, each of the returning actors and actresses from The Avengers give decent performances. Yet if I was to pick the one returning cast member who’s really steps up to plate? That would be Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye.

It’s easy to joke about how Clint is the most useless Avenger, that all he does is make trick shots with a bow and arrow. Age of Ultron, however, goes to great lengths in showing how Clint is the heart and soul of the team. The reveal that he also has a family further underscores how he’s the most well-adjusted and emotionally stable member, too. In a movie involving super soldiers, monsters, mad scientists, and killer robots, it’s essential having someone act as an everyman and audience stand-in. Clint fills that role perfectly.

Of the newcomers, I found myself quite impressed by James Spader as Ultron. The silky, smooth charm in his words barely masking his contempt really enforces the idea that Ultron is what Tony Stark would be like if he went insane. His best moment is also when he introduces himself to the Avengers moments after his “birth.” The bow-legged, hunched over walk in his first, skeletal-like frame, oil leaking across the floor like embryonic fluid…it’s a perfect, and creepy, grand entrance.

However, the best actor of the film definitely goes to Paul Bettany once he transforms from J.A.R.V.I.S. to The Vision. Rather than playing him like a stereotypical, emotionless robot, Bettany plays the Android Avenger as someone who is calm, serene, and philosophical, like a monk who’s discovered enlightenment. And of course, Vision’s introductory scene–and the surprising way he gains the Avengers trust–stands out as one the best moments in the film.

Speaking of scenes, there are plenty of standouts, from the continuous take of the Avengers battling Hydra forces which opens the movie, to Tony in his Hulkbuster armor fighting a brainwashed Hulk. Yet the one which really stands out for me is when the Avengers take turns in trying to lift Mjolnir. It’s not just a funny scenes, it’s also, in retrospect, bittersweet. After all, it’s the last time these teammates are together as friends.