Avengers: Age Of Ultron

As everyone on the planet knows, The Avengers are assembling again this weekend, and the whole gang is here to make sure this movie sets records.

Robert Downey Jr. is back as Iron Man.

Mark Ruffalo is back as The Hulk.

Chris Evans is back as Captain America.

Chris Hemsworth is back as Thor.

Scarlett Johansson is back as Black Widow.

Jeremy Renner is back as Hawkeye.

Samuel L. Jackson is back as Nick Fury.

Don Cheadle is back as War Machine.

Anthony Mackie is back as Falcon.

The gang is getting quite large!

Of course, it wouldn’t be an Avengers sequel if we didn’t meet some new characters in the Marvel Universe, so Iron Man/Tony Stark has decided to use the scepter taken back from Hydra to create a robot force that can protect Earth and The Avengers.

However, he might not be in his right mind because The Avengers have run into two new foes, the twins Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Pietro Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), who want revenge on Stark (while delivering some of the worst Eastern European accents in the history of Hollywood).

Wanda has the ability to mess with a person’s mind, and she has revealed each Avenger’s deepest fears to him or her, which shatters camaraderie and leaves each one questioning the others as they debate the next best course of action.

Now, Stark’s plan has backfired as the artificial intelligence he created to protect mankind, Ultron (voice by James Spader), has decided it must destroy all of humanity.

Can The Avengers save the day?

Given how we all know they plan on making several more movies, you probably figured out the answer to that question, but the journey is why we buy a ticket to Avengers: Age Of Ultron, and the journey is packed with witty banter, explosive special effects and a love story. A love story?!?!?!

Avengers: Age of Ultron was destined to be bigger than the first one just based on the inclusion of so many new characters and the duty to highlight so many of the beloved returning members of the cast, so writer/director Joss Whedon faces an imposing task to maintain the spirit of the Avengers, while not ignoring these newbies.

However, the biggest challenge is to create a villain who believably can battle The Avengers, and Ultron is the villain who makes the movie so good.

Spader gives Ultron the perfect evil, menacing voice and personality to make everyone stand up and notice, even when his dialogue might get a bit too immature. He toys with his lines like a killer cat playing with a helpless mouse, and it gives life to the CGI image of a robot on the screen before us.

Whedon does a wonderful job teasing the audience with the possible imminent death of a couple different characters, which keeps us on the edge of our seats, all the while delivering a dizzying array of actions scenes, and a few moments of deep thought for our heroes.

If there is a more perfect movie out there, I don’t know what it is.

Avengers: Age Of Ultron is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action, violence and destruction, and for some suggestive comments.