In comics, the crossover event is the once-every-few years thing that puts many comic book characters across multiple series into one big sprawling saga, one that usually changes the story arcs of the individual comic series for many years to come. It takes the already spectacular stories of comics and inflates them tenfold as characters that do not normally interact get to flex their muscles alongside one another, both literally and figuratively.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is an ambitious effort to show several films featuring characters from the shared universe and establish continuity among all the movies. Actions in one movie have their repercussions felt in other movies. It's basically comic on film, and for Disney and Marvel Studios, it's proven to be a multi-billion dollar gamble that for the most part is paying off. For the MCU, their big crossover event is the Avengers. The first one, released in 2012, was a fun epic flick that bridged together several storylines and served as the origin story of a team of superheroes. It was, for all intents and purposes, the big-budget comic book blockbuster done right.
Following the traditional hero's journey type of storytelling, the second installment in the Avengers series, Avengers: Age of Ultron sees earth's mightiest superheroes in a period of transition: now that the team has been formed, it's time or the team to face their biggest challenge yet. In this case, it's Ultron, an artificial lifeform that has been a giant thorn on the Avengers side for ages in the comics. In the comics, Ultron has been so successful at times that he has managed to completely wipe out the team on a few occasions (most notably, the comics event Age of Ultron, whose storyline has no resemblance to the movie).
In this film, each member of the Avengers team reaches a crossroads regarding their role as superheroes and as members of the Avengers.Tony Stark tries to balance his good intentions, whose consequences may do more harm than good. Scarlet Witch and Hulk try to sort out their relationship (if this is even possible at this time) and face their own pasts. Hawkeye begins to look back at the things he's beginning to leave behind and see if it's all worth it. Thor faces a vision of annihilation and sees the responsibility he will bear in the battles to come. And finally, good old Captain America, fresh from his stint in the Winter Soldier arc, has his own issues and a conflict of ideologies with some of his other teammates (conflicts that may bear fruit in the next Captain America installment.)
Some members will stay and be changed, and some will inevitably leave. As much as this movie is about the Avengers finding their place as a team, it is also how these individual superheroes find themselves in the greater picture.
The movie does its part to establish continuity. It references past events from the past installments of the franchise, as well as make hits about future installments of the franchise. There are also some subtle nods, such as the reference to Wakanda and how Captain America managed to budge Mjolnir. Also, while the storyline of Age of Ultron is original, some of the characters have different stories from the comics. The identity of Ultron's creator, for example, is changed in this movie, quite understandably because his original comics creator, (Ant-Man) hasn't appeared in the MCU (yet.) Also, the lack of any reference to mutants and the different treatment for the characters of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are obvious thanks to intellectual property ownership issues with Fox, but the treatment is not necessarily worse off.
Movies like this are dependent on their ensemble casts, and the ensemble cast delivers. Robert Downey Jr. and the MCU are lucky to have each other; the latter probably more lucky as Tony Stark delivers quite possibly the best lines in the film series. The rest of the cast is also excellent, including the newcomers. Jeremy Renner really sold Hawkeye and made the character far more interesting than what I expected.
Some members will stay and be changed, and some will inevitably leave. As much as this movie is about the Avengers finding their place as a team, it is also how these individual superheroes find themselves in the greater picture.
The movie does its part to establish continuity. It references past events from the past installments of the franchise, as well as make hits about future installments of the franchise. There are also some subtle nods, such as the reference to Wakanda and how Captain America managed to budge Mjolnir. Also, while the storyline of Age of Ultron is original, some of the characters have different stories from the comics. The identity of Ultron's creator, for example, is changed in this movie, quite understandably because his original comics creator, (Ant-Man) hasn't appeared in the MCU (yet.) Also, the lack of any reference to mutants and the different treatment for the characters of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are obvious thanks to intellectual property ownership issues with Fox, but the treatment is not necessarily worse off.
Movies like this are dependent on their ensemble casts, and the ensemble cast delivers. Robert Downey Jr. and the MCU are lucky to have each other; the latter probably more lucky as Tony Stark delivers quite possibly the best lines in the film series. The rest of the cast is also excellent, including the newcomers. Jeremy Renner really sold Hawkeye and made the character far more interesting than what I expected.
Joss Whedon has done a good job in handling the rather small scale character interactions in the film, but at the same time he has a great eye in creating spectacle. Two particular scenes stand out as a prime example of how well he interprets the comic book action in a visual sense - a scene where our heroes fight in the snow and another near the end as the Avengers help defend something inside an old building.
It's two and a half hours of well paced blockbuster fun. It's recommended that you see the rest of the recent MCU films prior to this one (at the very least the first Avengers, Iron Man 3 and Winter Soldier) but this is not mandatory to enjoy the film. As this is Whedon's last stint in directing for the MCU, here's hoping the last installment of the Avengers franchise, which ties up all of the buildup established within the past five or so years into one, final, giant spectacle, is the big, bombastic event we all hope it will be.
Also, here's hoping for Spidey and the X-Men to join at some point. Cinematic AvX, anyone?
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