For nearly a decade, the Avengers movies have had a stranglehold on the blockbuster movie industry that is incomparable. While each movie in the franchise — like every MCU project — has been a smashing success at the box office, not all the films were necessarily praised by critics and fans. So far, there have been four installments in the franchise, and Avengers: Age of Ultron is by far the least popular. According to Rotten Tomatoes, Age of Ultron has performed worse than some of the MCU’s non-ensemble movies even, despite a loaded cast that was handmade to please audiences.
While no film is without its issues, it really does seem like Age of Ultron has been over-hated, possibly due to critics and fans holding it against the standard that its predecessor, The Avengers, set in 2012. Looking back, there are numerous reasons why people need to revisit Age of Ultron and possibly correct their initial knee-jerk reactions to a project that’s become increasingly underrated over time. From its epic opening action sequence that sees the original team knocking off one of the last Hydra bases in existence to track down Loki’s scepter that he used to attack New York down to its larger-than-life conclusion battling Ultron in the streets of a floating city, there is plenty to love within Age of Ultron that audiences may have forgotten about.
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Showcases the Original Team
Marvel Studios
Age of Ultron features the original six members of the Avengers that were first assembled in the debut film of the series. In the first half of the movie, fans get to see Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye working through a team mission — one that’s not quite an Avengers-level threat — banter with each other, party together, and settle a few beefs, something that all families have to go through.
The original six are truly only displayed together like this in The Avengers and Age of Ultron. Moving forward, the team adds a multitude of new members, including in the second act of AoU. With so little screen time together — comparatively, when stacked against the entirety of the MCU — it’s refreshing and heartwarming to see the founders in all of these different elements. The party scene has humor and comradery that’s believable and not too over the top, something that later Marvel films often fall victim to.
A central theme in Age of Ultron is an examination of what makes the Avengers as an ensemble both work and what makes them such a dangerous cocktail of characters. Iron Man goes behind the team’s back to try to take preventative measures in order to protect both them and the common people. He enlists Bruce Banner’s help as his friend and fellow scientist, and as a fellow experimenter, he can’t help but side with Tony even if it’s against the better wishes of the team.
Stark’s insecurities and secrecy cause a rift within the squad, especially with Steve Rogers and Thor who don’t appreciate the rash decisions that he kept from the rest of the Avengers. In the end, though, they come together for the common good, rallying behind Hawkeye who the film takes the opportunity to delve deeper into and showcase as the ultimate glue guy for the team. There’s no other film in the MCU that focuses on the original six like Age of Ultron, not even The Avengers, which spends most of the movie putting the team together with Clint Barton brainwashed and playing for the enemy team.
Connecting Threads for the Rest of the Franchise
Marvel Studios / Disney
Age of Ultron is perhaps one of the most important movies in the MCU, mainly because it does a lot of crucial table-setting for future films in the franchise. As a sequel, it does a tremendous job of building upon the foundation set by The Avengers and bridging it toward all the upcoming stories in the universe.
Firstly, it sets a precedent for the Infinity Stones and the huge role that the gems will go on to play in the Infinity War saga. The Mind Stone, extracted from Loki’s scepter by Ultron, is the first Infinity Stone that the Avengers knowingly keep on Earth, safely housed within Vision — Tony’s suit of armor around the world came to life embedded with the mind of Jarvis and who Ultron was supposed to be in the first place. Vision and the Mind Stone would go on to be instrumental parts in the third part of the Avengers series, Infinity War. Along with Vision, Age of Ultron also introduces Wanda Maximoff to the MCU. Not only is she one of the most powerful characters in the universe, but she also plays a heavy role in Infinity War and Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness while also landing her own show alongside Vision in Wandavision.
In Age of Ultron, a schism is also started between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, a foreshadowing of the full-on clash that takes place in Captain America: Civil War. While their issues in Civil War are different from what caused their rift in Age of Ultron, the underlying themes are the same. Stark lets his insecurities get the best of him and ultimately makes a decision for the team without thinking beyond his own reasoning. Rogers has trouble separating himself from his own traditionalist views, even if there are valid points on the other side of the debate. Both of these character flaws escalate to a boiling point in Civil War.
Lastly, Age of Ultron also sets the stage for Thor: Ragnarok, when the God of Thunder takes a dip into the “Water of Sight,” a mythical cave pool that grants him premonition into both Thanos chasing the Infinity Stones and the destruction of Asgard in fulfillment of the Ragnarok prophecy. While the scene felt a little out of place due to some studio interference leaving a lot of this storyline on the cutting room floor, according to Polygon, it does get the messages across while properly setting up a couple of paramount future films.
One of the Best Villains in the MCU
Ultron, Tony’s version of Frankenstein’s monster, was born out of Stark’s fear of otherworldly threats who would come to Earth and overwhelm them, including the Avengers. While Tony and Bruce were simply experimenting and in the early trials of their project, the Mind Stone finished what they started with a dark twist. Ultron was created to protect the Earth, but after a quick dive into the internet, it became clear to the AI robot that humanity and the Avengers themselves were the planet’s biggest problems.
Masterfully voiced by James Spader, his steely voice and deadpan delivery bring the misconstrued murder bot to life. Unlike other MCU villains, everything that Ultron does in the movie makes sense and has an explained reasoning. He’s also a proper Avengers-level threat that requires the entire team at their best to take him down. Of all the universe’s antagonists, Ultron undoubtedly has one of the best origins, solid motives, and the most nuance. Between Spader’s Ultron and the exhibition of the original six, Age of Ultron is one of the most re-watchable films in the entire MCU.
