Avengers: Age of Ultron- VFX Triumph or Empty Cash Cow?
After the undeniable success of the first Avengers movie back in 2012, Age of Ultron was down as one of the most eagerly anticipated films of 2015.
The Avengers (2012) was arguably one of the most successful marriages of jaw-dropping VFX and engaging and well-written narratives. Whedon’s ability to handle the characterization and dialogue of each standalone character was notably fruitful and the culmination of powers, traits and personalities worked to deliver an effective ensemble piece.
Despite this success, Age of Ultron also has a job on its hands as Hollywood Blockbuster sequels often come under a lot of scrutiny, the infamous “Cash Cow” sequel being oh-too common.
In this new action-fuelled romp, the Avengers must now save the entire world from the evil clutches of “Ultron”, yet another character who was quite clearly bullied at school and his now taking his bitterness a little too far.
So first up, lets talk numbers. In terms of amount of VFX, this is Marvel’s most effect-heavy movie, the VFX shot count for the two and a half hour spectacular comes in at more than 3,000, beating its predecessor by quite some margin and requiring the work of 12 different companies.
Several standout examples that come to mind include a somewhat comical fight between Hulk and Iron Man during a typical “green moment” from Mr. Banner, Ultron’s ability to raise a whole town from its foundations and a bullet-time style pan round each of that Avengers doing their thang in slo-mo goodness with some typical rousing music prickling tha hairs on your arms.
Ultron himself (itself?) and all of his robot army henchmen are a true credit to the abilities of VFX and help define the edgy new feel comic book movies are developing, keeping things slick and less gaudy than the effects of a few years ago. Almost an updated version of the Matrix, Ultron’s inner working are shown in a blur of colours and streams of light shows the clear evolution of effects to become that little more polished.
As for the other characters, the direction is careful to highlight the cast’s natural performances wherever possible. In the case of the Hulk for example, the design of this creature was taken almost religiously from Ruffalo hmself. Not only does the motion capture pick up on his physical performance, but also the look and feel of the entire creature is based on him, matching even the placement of his eyes, the shape of his nose, or the bite of his teeth.
A lot of this is down to improved MoCap technology Muse, in which a multitude of different takes (both face and body) can be combined to create one fluid shot. Ironically, the more this technology moves forward, the more it gives way for the actor to claim back more of the credit within each of these sequences. Like many aspects of film- the effects are best when you don’t even notice them.
Up next is the film’s release in IMAX 3D. Whedon spoke prior to the release of the original Avengers of how he felt it important that the 3D was done for purpose and to give an idea of space and environment, rather than stuffing in a bunch of shots, just to highlight the technology. This pays off and the 3D isn’t noticeable as a separate aspect of the film, it simply adds to the relentless motion of the action sequences to deliver a truly immersive experience for the audience.
Completely as expected, Age of Ultron is somewhat too long and by no means rewrites history, yet is a perfectly entertaining and enjoyable Hollywood orgy of flaming buildings and caped crusaders. With a handful of thrill-quenching scenes and moments of well-timed comic relief, it keeps you enticed long enough to chow down your £5 bag of popcorn and implant in your brain the thought to buy your nephew that Iron Man dressing gown for his next birthday.
In that way, it works well as a cash cow, but does it do any more?
If anything, I enjoyed it more than I expected, found it funnier than I thought I would and surprisingly thought the dialogue as sharp and witty as the first installment… maybe even more so.
The SFX are spectacular throughout, some of the astonishing sequences being shown barely past a third of the way through would have satisfied me for a climatic ending. The advancement in technology over the past few years is also clearly evident, especially in terms MoCap, as mentioned above.
To answer my original question, I would put Age of Ultron down as both a VFX triumph and a cash cow, though I believe it in no terms to be empty. It set out to be an enjoyable summer blockbuster and that’s exactly what it is.
This post was written by Pirate Tasha (Natasha P)
