Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron (Can't We All Just Get Along?)

Why the hate?

Forget the cinema score (for which Avengers: Age of Ultron scored an A), because those ratings are often skewed by super fans.  The reality is that there is a significant segment of the population that walked out of the cinema feeling less than satisfied with Marvel Studios latest release.  Now, I’m not asking you to queue up the violins; Age of Ultron is doing more than enough business to keep Bob Iger off the street corner with a tin cup.  What I do wonder is why some feel the movie is so lacking and nefarious that it warrants trolls sending twitter death threats to Joss Whedon and a series of blog commentaries declaring the portrayal of Black Widow an affront to gender equality?   

Relax, people.  It’s a movie and an entertaining one at that.

With that being said, it’s by no means a perfect movie and some of that disappointment has to stem from the weight of expectation born from Marvel Studios’ two most recent cinematic releases: Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy.  The former is a clever, well-paced action film cut from the same cloth as those political paranoia suspense flicks that so defined the 1970’s; and the latter is a witty unapologetic sci-fi flick loaded with all the charm that the Star Wars prequel films lacked.  Unfortunately, Avengers 2 is neither of these things and I think that contributes to the opinion of some that the movie falls well short of some incredibly lofty expectations.  Personally, I can boil my issues with the film down to two key points.

First, it suffers from a hybrid malady that is two parts Iron Man 2 and one part Spider-Man 3.  Like Iron Man 2, the film dedicates much of its time acting as an infomercial for the next phase of Marvel films.  I almost expected to see Tony Stark bust out a Slap Chop and start cutting up some onions.  But seriously, that Marvel wants to use their biggest film-to-date to set up the next phase of movies is not necessarily a bad thing - it just can't be the most important thing.  I absolutely enjoyed the winks and nods and the promise of things to come embedded in casual references, but at the end of the day, the film has to have a clear unimpeded arc and this movie has a few too many open ended narrative strings branching off from the main plot.  And like Spider-Man 3, the film seems to suffer from the toxic combination of a director in his franchise swan song and good old-fashioned studio interference.  Joss Whedon has candidly stated in a number of interviews that there is a lot going on in this movie and that some significant pieces were mandated by the studio, which most definitely would account for some mismatching plot pieces and incomplete storytelling (See: Thor’s arc).

Another area where the film has issues is the relationship between Black Widow and Bruce Banner.  To those who view this as misogynistic and a slap to face of women’s equality, I would respond with this: some people end up in relationships with people that they work with.  Now whether or not that is a good idea, is another discussion all together, but regardless it happens.  So no, my issue is not about gender equality, but instead a cinematic mechanical issue.  The dynamic between Black Widow and Banner feels the opposite of organic and the lack of chemistry between Johansson and Ruffalo really exasperates that feeling.  It would normally be forgivable had we not just recently seen what great chemistry in a Marvel movie looks like in Captain America: The Winter Solder – in which the dynamic between Johansson and Chris Evans elevated that movie from really good to great.  And thus, the Widow/Hulk coupling feels less than authentic and more a plot layer written for the purposes of adding weight to Banner’s decision at the end of the film; a decision that could have stood on its own.

Despite these shortcomings, there are some really great things going on in this movie. First and foremost, the movie is incredibly fun.  I didn’t go into the cinema expecting Godfather 2 and neither should anyone else, but in reading the comments from the knights of the keyboard and everyone else with a soapbox to stand on, the film failed because it’s not on display at the Louvre.  To those who demand cinematic art, I would like to remind them that it’s called the ENTERTAINMENT business for a reason; because it is supposed to entertain (and to make money).  This film does both.  Still, even the most ardent detractor would be hard-pressed to deny that the jokes are snappy and the action sequences are immense and thrilling.  There’s a witty camaraderie shared between the cast members that is not unlike that of George Clooney’s Ocean’s Eleven crew, but fortunately for Downey Jr. et al, they don’t plummet into the self-congratulatory hubris that doomed Ocean’s Twelve and Thirteen (to a lesser extent).

Another thing that worked in this movie was Ultron.  One of my fellow film enthusiasts and a former colleague has long championed the belief that Marvel underwhelms with its villains.  I do not necessarily disagree with his assertion, but what I would argue is that it’s a byproduct of dedicating their screen time to establishing not only the heroes, but also their respective places in the vast cinematic universe.  The one exception here would be Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, who should almost be considered a co-star in the Thor Franchise.  And while Ultron is not necessarily the strongest villain and is visually banal, I think the way the character is written – that of a petulant, immature, uneven character bearing all the worst parts of Tony Stark’s narcissism, is smart.  He’s not a perfect villain, not even close, but James Spader (shout-out to Andover) elevates the character considerably.

So what’s the verdict?  It’s pretty darn good, but not great.  It’s fun and worth seeing on the big screen (if you haven't already), and most definitely a second time on the format of your choice to make sure you’ve digested everything that was going on, because there’s a lot.  Love it, like it, or hate it, I think the one thing everyone can agree on is that the best part of the movie is that it promises that there are some very big things to come… or should I say little things as Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man is up next.

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Review: Now You See Me

The last movie that I saw featuring a magician as the protagonist was The Incredible Burt Wonderstone; a comedy that wasn’t funny and wasn’t a whole lot of fun.  Now You See Me is a whole lot better.  It’s not an apples to apples to comparison because while the former set up as a schlocky joke fest, the latter is a caper film wrapped up in deception and misdirection.  Still, Now You See Me is a fun fast-paced film that combines deception and good comedic relief with grand chase scenes to ensure that the tone of the rapidly paced film remains light. 

The plot of this movies features a strong ensemble cast in Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Dave Franco portraying a quartet of magicians who have been brought together to perform the ultimate set of illusions; illusions that seemingly involve the robbery of institutions.  Mark Ruffalo and Melanie Laurent portray two agent charged with bringing the quartet to justice.  Along the way, they repeated find themselves butting heads with Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) – a former magician who makes a living revealing the secrets of his peers.

As you can see from the synopsis, there is a lot going on in this movie; a series of threads that comprise this narrative.  A lot of credit has to go to director Louis Leterrier for bringing these threads together in a way to tell a comprehensive story.  At no point does the movie feel like it’s gone askew or sacrificed pacing to flesh out one of these plot lines, so kudos to him for maintaining that balance.  Likewise, a lot of credit has to go to writer Ed Solomon (writer and inspiration for Chuck DeNomoles from Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey) for crafting a fun narrative.  I have no doubt that upon closer inspection, the plot has many holes, but like a magician Solomon’s script utilizes some slight of hand and misdirection to entertain.

Ultimately, the biggest strength of this movie though has to be the ensemble cast.  It’s a group of actors who for the most part are very accomplished and are clearly having fun with what the source material.  Here is how each fared:

Jesse Eisenberg as J. Daniel Atlas is the defacto lead of the film, though it never truly feels that way.  Eisenberg sticks to his usual twitchy performance with staccato delivery but it works as a control-freak-of-a-magician.  Say what you want about his range, but Eisenberg has the smug, holier-than-thou act down to a science and that lends a serious layer of credibility to his character.  What makes his performance pop is the complimentary work of Woody Harrelson as mentalist Merrit McKinny.  Harrelson is flip, sarcastic, and sleezey – the comic relief to Eisenberg’s OCD vibe.  Harrelson always shines in this capacity, as the wildcard supporting player, and his work here is no exception.

Rounding out the criminal quartet are Isla Fisher and Dave Franco.  I like Fisher a lot as an actress, but liked her a bit less in this film.  Of the entire cast, her turn was the least believable.  It doesn’t mean that she was terrible as she did share strong chemistry with Eisenberg and Harrelson, but there are distinct points in the movie where her scenes fewl lacking.  As for Franco, he is satisfactory and nothing more.  He’s looks and feels like a junior version of his brother and I suspect that his casting was more a stunt to broaden the target audience than anything else.

As for the cops’ side of the equations, I really enjoyed the performance of Melanie Laurent.  She is tasked with the most difficult role; that of an Interpol agent who is a believer in magic and mystic myth.  It’s not an easy line to toe for a movie that attempts steep itself in realism, but she does it with a nice touch.  It helps that she shares good chemistry with Mark Ruffalo as FBI agent Dlyan Rhodes.  While it wasn’t one of my favorite Ruffalo performances, he does a good job of pulling off the embattled agent vibe.  He is grizzled, angry, and obsessed, which is precisely what the script calls for.  While his work falls apart a bit for me at the end, Ruffalo does enough good in this movie to keep the proverbial line moving.

As for the rest of the cast, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman could go back and forth reading entries from WebMD and make it entertaining without breaking a sweat and that’s what it feels like they are doing in this film.  Are they giving it their all?  Probably not.  But are they entertaining?  Yes.  Also lending a hand in the narrative are Common and Michael Kelly as FBI Agents.  Their respective performances certainly won’t make their highlight reels, but in very limited screen time they do a nice job of making the film that much better.

Despite all the platitudes, I don’t think it is a perfect film, and I’m sure that people with too much time on their hands could probably go in and pick at some plot holes and logic leaps.  Still, the film is fast, fun, and entertaining.  That’s a good trifecta of qualities for any movie to have.  I would not run out and purchase the DVD because it will not hold up for multiple viewings, but I would definitely recommend this as a rental.  Not every film has to change your life, tell an epic story based on historical events, or set up a franchise.  Some can just provide you with amusement for two hours of your life and Now You See Me is precisely that kind of movie.

Standout Performance:  Woody Harrelson.  Good actor with great comedic timing and it shows well in this movie.

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Review: The Avengers

I think when Joss Whedon signed on to direct The Avengers, he knew it would be a juggling act.  The film features three stars from active franchises, one CGI-driven protagonist from a franchise twice rebooted, a bow and arrow wielding lead of the soon-to-be-released Bourne Legacy, a person twice voted sexiest woman alive, and Samuel Jackson who has been in pretty much every movie ever made.  That’s a lot of “material” to cram into two and a half hours – let alone craft into an epic narrative.  I am happy to say that in another life Whedon could have been a circus performer because he pulls off an epic juggling act, because The Avengers is a very entertaining movie that flat out delivers.  It’s not a perfect movie, but considering that Whedon was not only trying to balance an ensemble cast, but really a collection of franchises, it is about as strong and exhilarating an effort as one could hope for.

The movie wastes no time getting into the plot and never lets up until the second of two after the credit scenes (the last of which was one of the best scenes in the movie).  The third act is punctuated by the kind of action sequences between a set of heroes and villains that for so long has been relegated to ink stained funny pages.  But before that, we get a narrative that is engaging with some surprisingly fantastic comedic moments.  The one sticking point to the movie is that in the second act, the pacing gets bogged down in some character development.  As necessary as this is, it feels slow in comparison to some of the huge action sequences that lead up to it.

As for the cast, here is how the principles performed:

I am hard-pressed to think of an actor who embodies the character they portray more than Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man.  RDJ’s deal gives him as much input (if not more) on the character as the writers themselves, and because of this it so often feels like he is playing himself.  And this is a very good thing, because in The Avengers Downey Jr. delivers his typical sharp quick-witted commentary and keeps the dialogue entertaining even when the plot slows down during exposition.

Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America is strong as the iconic straight-laced hero and sets up a perfect contrast to Downey Jr.’s Stark.  This is no easy fete as at times in The First Avenger, Evans’ Rogers suffered from what I have dubbed the Superman/Batman syndrome.  Superman is a character people should aspire to be.  Batman is a character that people can relate to.  In the times we live in, a large percentage of the population gravitates towards the latter than the former.  Evans’ Rogers is definitely more of the former than the latter – but this is a good thing as agent Phil Coulson reminds us while swooning over the presence of Mr. Stars and Stripes.

Chris Hemsworth as Thor is to me the character they had the most trouble reconciling with the plot, which is confusing since his character has the strongest ties to Tom Hiddleston’s Loki.  Hemsworth easily slips into the role of the Asgardian warrior as he did in Thor (the woman seated behind me who could not stop gasping every time he showed up on screen no doubt agreed), which made it disappointing that he was relegated more to the background in this jaunt.  His scenes with Hiddleston’s Loki though are some of the most conflicting and intense and definitely tease a number of possibilities for Thor 2.

Hulk in a lot of ways steals the show in the third act as Whedon has figured out that he can be heroic, comedic, and highly entertaining – in small doses.  As for the man who portrays Bruce Banner, Mark Ruffalo does a very good job of bringing a sense or reluctance to the role.  He excels where Eric Bana and Ed Norton before him failed and this is particularly important in this film, which is already loaded with alpha males.  Ruffalo’s sheepish demeanor brings a sense of balance to the proceedings.

Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner – the dual assassins – expertly portray the roles in which they are cast.  Johansson clearly has seen better days but for once her droll delivery is perfect as Romanoff/Black Widow.  Likewise, Renner’s rugged appearance and gruff demeanor fit Clint Barton’s persona to a tee.  While the two are portraying b-level members of the group, they are well suited to add support to the larger than life personalities that they share the screen with.

If there is a weak point in the cast, it is Samuel L. Jackson who has a track record of being the weak link in epic action movies (see Star Wars episodes I,II, and III).  There are other ways they could have gone with this casting, but unfortunately the proverbial die was cast over four years ago in the post-credit scene of Iron Man.  S.H.I.E.L.D.’s on screen representation however is greatly redeemed by Clark Gregg’s Agent Coulson and Cobie Smulder’s Agent Hill.

Then there is Tom Hiddleston as the antagonist, Loki.  No action movie can be great without a worthy villain.  Hiddleston brings a menacing depth to Loki that permeates every smile and stare he casts at his adversaries.  Never is this more evident than the scene he shares with Johansson’s Romanoff.  To me his villainous work here is on par with anything Heath Ledger did in The Dark Knight.

The Avengers is the movie fan geeks of all ages have been waiting for long before Downey Jr. ever donned the Mark I suit.  It is fun, exhilarating, and will make you want to cheer out loud.  I would most definitely recommend seeing this on the big screen.  The colors are vibrant, the action is fast, and the scale is enormous.  The only downside to watching this film is that you have to wait at least a year before Iron Man 3 makes back to the big screen.

Standout Performance:  There are a lot of great performances but I really enjoyed Gwyneth Paltrow in the film.  It is a very nice touch.

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Review: The Kids Are All Right

I hadn’t seen “The Kids are All Right” during its theatrical release, but while I was working at NBCUniversal, there was a lot of buzz internally for it. So given the water cooler talk, the quality of the cast, and its Golden Globe and Oscar nods, I assumed this was a strong film that I’d eventually get around to watching. Sadly, I found it extremely mediocre, though one can tell that writer/director Lisa Cholodenko desperately wants it to be something more. In fact, I would go as far as to say it is mind-boggling that this film garnered four Oscar nominations.

If ever there was a script where the writers mixed a bunch of hot button/edgy topics into a pot and then threw it up against the wall to see what would stick; this is that film. Same sex married couples? Check. Urban hipster community gardens? Check. Fresh fare organic kitchen restaurant owned by sperm-donating college dropout? Check. And while Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg try their best to craft a script that screams “The L Word” meets “Life as a House,” ultimately what makes it onto screen is a story that lacks genuine heart.

In the film, when a sperm donor suddenly becomes present in the lives of a same sex married couple only to wreak havoc on their version of suburban bliss, we, the viewers, are allowed to peak behind the curtain and find that upon closer view, families of all shapes, sizes, and orientation can be rife with warts. Sadly the film lacks the heart to carry us through the overwrought melodrama. As important a message as it may be - that same sex couples and their respective families are no different than those of heterosexual couples, the film fails to compel and entertain. A key component to challenging convention is to break down the notions of what is considered conventional. This film instead screams of compliance and tries to pigeonhole its characters accordingly.

The script and direction give the appearance that three accomplished actors in Moore, Benning, and Ruffalo as well as the up-and-coming Wasikowska are sleep walking through the film because their respective characters are paper-thin. Giving someone a drinking problem, or making them rebel against their lesbian parents does not provide them with substantive depth.

I really would not recommend this film unless there are no other options. There are other cinematic efforts out there that address these subject matters with much more authenticity. The only way I can reconcile the fact that this film garnered so many accolades is what I like to refer to as the “Philadelphia” (starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington) effect – recognized for its perceived edge-factor more so than its cinematic merit.

Notable Performances: Joaquin Garrido as Luis adds a bit of levity to the mundane.

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