If you were expecting the second Avengers iteration to be full of puns and corny humor, you will not be disappointed. However, if you expect it to be completely devoid of meaning, you would be sorely mistaken. 

Full of allusions to famous works of literature and film, “Avengers: Age of Ultron” boasts a surprisingly clever script, which is balanced with plenty of face smashing and CGI.

The entire movie seems to be a dialogue on the future of artificial intelligence, which looks bleak since machines lack what makes mankind essentially human: emotion. Ultron, the mechanical bad guy, comes to the conclusion that mankind is too dangerous, and he concocts a solution that leads to the plot of the movie.

The movie uses the ditty from Pinocchio to lend a creepiness Ultron, with much of the effect coming from discomfort with hearing a childhood soundtrack accompanied by a montage of action and death, who says: “There are no strings on me.”

Though some criticize the movie for being formulaic, it is surprisingly full of emotion, humor and surprises, and all of our favorite superheroes are just as personable as always, which is to say that the movie again found a reason for someone to hate Tony Stark. Captain America also manages to be adorably old-fashioned.

Iron Man gets confronted by a large cluster of robots, flies around the building, and screams “s—!” Immediately, Captain America replies, “language.” Shortly thereafter, it becomes a running joke, and the patriotic hero is confronted by it several times in the movie’s 141-minute runtime.

Such lighthearted banter keeps the movie from feeling too self-righteous, though Thor takes a big swig from the chalice of holier-than-thou when he challenges everyone to pick up his hammer, Mjolnir. Needless to say, no one can lift it, though the Captain shifts the leather and iron tool
slightly.

As usual, though, the Avengers look like the underdog, and the movie feels completely weighed in the bad guy’s favor until the very last moment. In that sense, the movie was a little predictable, though the suspense keeps the feeling of deja vu at bay until the credits. And, as with every cookie from the Marvel oven, the film ended with a short allusion to yet another sequel after the credits. 

Overall, the movie runs like any other superhero flick and delivers enough punches and quips to satisfy a comic book enthusiast or an action movie junkie. 

3.5 out of 5 stars