avengers assemble and mash-up

The kid and I went to see the latest Avengers movie, Avengers: Age of Ultron, last weekend. It was ... O.K. I am starting to wonder if Joss Whedon can't help but pastiche his own work, no matter what he does.

I was a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and an even bigger fan of Angel, so when I hear the name Joss Whedon I tend to have positive associations. But I am not a super fan girl. There are also plenty of things he has done that leave me cold (Dollhouse, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), or that I just could never connect with (Firefly). I found the first Avengers movie a little on the ho-hum side. I love the casting and the banter of the main super heroes, but when you've seen one CGI robot blow up and a major city explode, you've seen them all, right?

The Avengers — and lots and lots of robots ...

Apparently not. Because the second time around with Ultron the Avengers were up against tons and tons of CGI robots and tried to save more than one city on the brink of destruction. Iron Man and his pals plowed through city streets and buildings, leaving broken glass and devastation in their wake, all in the name of saving the world. Again. And sadly, there was no witty, bratty villain like Tom Hiddleston's Loki, but another CGI super robot, Ultron, who wanted to destroy the world because ... I really don't know. It was in the script?

As I watched all of this computer-generated mayhem, which seemed to go on forever at its two and a half hour-plus running time, I couldn't help think of another Whedon project, Cabin in the Woods. The movie references in The Avengers may not have been as blatant or funny as the horror tropes that Cabin in the Woods served up, but movie buffs may still have had a déjà vu feeling in certain scenes:

A bunch of robots streaming up the side of a building — hey, that is reminiscent of I, Robot.  

Black Widow and the Hulk have a Beauty and the Beast thing going.  

Naughty Ultron isn't your friendly neighborhood artificial intelligence — from 2001 to A.I. and beyond.  

All that morphing metal was also very Terminator-y.  

Robert Downey Jr.'s sassy Tony Stark/Iron Man is suddenly a bit of a Victor Frankenstein in his desire to use Ultron to save the world.

The best scene in the movie is a moment of relative quiet near the start of the film. The Avengers have all been hanging out at a party, celebrating their latest victory. They start teasing Thor about his hammer, and he declares that only he is worthy to wield such a weapon. Each Avenger, except the wise Black Widow, takes a turn trying to lift it, unsuccessfully, a la The Sword in the Stone.

Hawkeye [after quite a few drinks], "'Whosoever, be he worthy, shall have the power'" — Whatever man! It's a trick!"

Thor, "It is more than that, my friend!" 

Captain America, "But if you put the hammer in an elevator?" 

Iron Man, "It'll still go up." 

Captain America, "Elevator's not worthy."

It's fun, and silly, and showcases each character's and actor's strengths. There are other fun moments of clever dialog, which can be attributed to the Whedon touch, but unfortunately they are few and far between too many long, long battle scenes with robots. Sorry, Joss, but as far as these Marvel movies go, Guardians of the Galaxy is still the most entertaining, and knows how to perfectly balance fun and adventure.

p.s. And one more not-so-minor beef: With all the mega-merchandising that goes on with a film of this kind, why is it only the male characters that get action figures? Where is Black Widow?

iron man 3 — more talk, less action, please

Iron Man 3 is quite entertaining. It is also over-bloated, poorly plotted and scripted, and  in fact, a mess. But what makes it entertaining, not unsurprisingly, is its cast, especially Robert Downey Jr., who is back as Tony Stark, the brilliant motor-mouthed inventor and creator of all those cool yet heavy metal suits. While onscreen Downey never stops talking, which in some other actor's case might be annoying, but with him is a blessing. Downey even gets to explore a side of Tony Stark that we don't usually get to see — all-out panic.

Stark, "I'm Tony Stark. I build neat stuff, got a great girl, occasionally save the world. So why can't I sleep?"

Apparently since his last adventure with The Avengers, Stark has had trouble sleeping. And coping, especially whenever any mention is made of The Big Apple. He has one or two full-fledged anxiety attacks in the course of the film. It was an interesting twist on the cockiest of characters, which was suddenly dropped, and then never referred to again about two-thirds into Iron Man 3. That sort of schizophrenic, kitchen-sink approach to the script plagues the movie and the audience's patience. If it weren't for some great chemistry between Downey and his fellow actors the film might be more of a chore to sit through.

An Iron Man and his girl

Tony Stark taking a moment

Don Cheadle in his "War Machine Roxx" gear

What didn't work: the endless blowing up of buildings and other heavy objects, creating an anxiety in the viewer similar to the one Tony Stark was experiencing. The "burning man" subplot had some interesting special effects, but made no sense whatsoever. The terrorist subplot was also unconvincing. I have to admit that I saw one of the major plot twists coming from miles away.

While Stark is battling his way out of the bad guy's lair, one of the henchmen surrenders and gets a chance to get a laugh, too. Guard, "Don't shoot! Seriously, I don't even wanna work for them. They are so weird!"

What worked: Most of the action scenes were a snore, but there were two memorable sequences — one featuring a daring in-flight rescue, and the other incorporating multiple Iron Man suits. Downey's interactions with Gwyneth Paltrow as his girlfriend, Pepper Potts, and with his best friend Rhodes, played by Don Cheadle (criminally underused, as always) were also always fun to watch. Ben Kingsley was impressive in his cameo, and Guy Pearce had a blast is the in-house villain, Aldrich Killian. The usual bonus Marvel universe after-the-credits scene was also fun. Downey seemed to be having a lot of fun in his scenes mid-film with a kid named Harley (Ty Simpkins). Harley's character is proof that the film-makers were of two minds about what sort of movie they were making and what sort of audience to attract. Iron Man 3 is rated PG-13, but the character of Iron Man has definitely appeal (and is heavily marketed) to a younger crowd.

Quibbles aside, I still had fun. I saw it in 3D, which didn't really seem to be necessary or add much to the already loud and fast-moving experience. The Iron Man series may be done (for now), but Tony Stark and his wise-cracking sense of humor are sure to be back in future Avengers movies. Things are bound to blow up in those movies, too, but hopefully Downey will get just as much of a chance to talk as ever.