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Movie review: ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’

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Photo: Disney/Marvel

“Avengers: Age of Ultron” (PG-13) 3 1/2 stars (out of four)

Earth’s mightiest heroes are disassembled and reconfigured in an exciting new way in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” a thrilling, complex and action-packed sequel to the overrated 2012 original.

Once again written and directed by Joss Whedon, the hotly anticipated follow-up to “The Avengers” delves deeper into the fragile psyches of the seemingly unstoppable band of superheroes. It also skillfully blends a new villain and additional super-powered characters to the mix, thereby distancing it from any potential threats of sequelitis. The progression of the narrative feels natural and doesn’t try to rest in any way on its laurels, even though the film is a sure-fire box office blockbuster.

“Age of Ultron” picks up in the fictional Eastern European country of Sokovia, where the villainous organization HYDRA holds Loki’s scepter from the first “Avengers” film in their bid to develop weapons of mass destruction. The team recaptures it, but thanks to the wicked, mind-altering powers of Wanda Maximoff (Elisabeth Olson) and hyper-speed of her twin brother, Pietro Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a trap is set by Hydra when Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) uses the scepter’s power to jumpstart his dormant global peacekeeping “Ultron” program. Stark has the support of Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), but the rest of the team – Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) feel left out in the dark.

The final execution of the program, which helps Stark finally realizes his goal of artificial intelligence, ultimately manifests itself in a super robot named Ultron (voice of James Spader), who not only wants to kill his creator, but rule the Earth after he realizes his plan of global annihilation. And that’s especially a big problem when the Avengers as a team find themselves at breaking point, where loyalties are questioned and trust becomes a big issue, since members of the group have different ideas on how to proceed with stopping the enemy and creating a peaceful future.

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Coming in at just over 2 hours and 20 minutes, “Avengers: Age of Ultron” doesn’t feel too long, but rather a complete story because Whedon wisely uses his time to weave in the darker, complex vignettes of each team member in between all the action. For this reason, the film has more of a Christopher Nolan “Dark Knight” sort of edge to it, making the narrative that much more satisfying. While there are plenty of gags and laughs in the “Age of Ultron,” to be sure (a burgeoning romance between Hulk and Black Widow spurs some saucy humor, and there are also running jokes about Cap’s clean-cut demeanor and Thor’s hammer), it’s just refreshing to see that Whedon has adapted to the darker path of the Marvel movie series, where life for its superheroes moves onto shakier ground.

Of course, “Age of Ultron” is packed to the hilt with action, and the special visual effects are about as good as it gets. Particularly impressive is how the fluidness of the metal-based Ultron allows for some expressiveness, and you can really feel Spader’s smarmy characterization flowing through it. The hotly anticipated Hulkbuster scene is also hugely entertaining and diehard fans will definitely not be disappointed.

While the core cast of “Age of Ultron” delivers as expected, it’s exciting to see the introduction of new Marvel Universe characters to the mix like Vision (Paul Bettany) — who is a particularly thrilling addition — and the Maximoffs, who are finely realized by Olsen and Taylor-Johnson. And, without revealing too much, it’s great to see a hint of how the Avengers team is undergoing changes as the film series heads into the two part “Avengers: Infinity War” chapters coming in 2018 and 2019. There will be more in between, though, with “Ant-Man” (in July) and more “Captain America” and “Thor,” because the Marvel Universe is an expansive one – and we can’t get enough of it.

Tim Lammers is a veteran entertainment reporter and a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, and annually votes on the Critics Choice Movie Awards. Locally, he reviews films for “KARE 11 News at 11” and various Minnesota radio stations.

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Film, Movie Reviews

Movie review: ‘Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2’

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Kevin James in Mall Cop 2

“Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2” (PG) 1 1/2 stars (out of four)

By Tim Lammers

Following a charming and often-times funny introduction to the world of shopping mall security in 2009 with “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” the wheels on Kevin James’ Segway go flat in “Mall Cop 2,” a virtual re-hash of the first film that only earns points for moving the action to a different setting.

James dutifully reprises his role as Paul Blart, a now-legendary mall cop in New Jersey who earned fame for single-handedly thwarting a mall heist in 2009.  Despite his professional accomplishments, though, Blart’s personal life is a mess (two major characters from the first film exit the sequel  in particularly cruel ways) and he’s about to get another shock from his daughter, Maya (Raini Rodriguez). There is a bright spot ahead for Blart, though. He’s about to attend the grand-daddy of security officer events in Las Vegas with Maya on what is meant mostly to be a vacation.

Naturally, nothing ever goes as planned for Blart, and just as he checks into one of Steve Wynn’s resorts, a crew of bad guys begin to assemble an elaborate art heist that Maya gets caught in the middle of. With a bunch of new mall cop weapons at his disposal via some high-tech vendors on the convention floor, Blart rolls out on a souped-up version of the Segway with the intention of saving his daughter and ultimately, saving the day.

Despite his winning presence as Blart (James has an inherent likability factor going for him no matter how good or bad his films are), “Mall Cop 2” almost immediately falls victim to sequelitis. By moving the action to Las Vegas with different characters and new motivations, there’s no doubt James (who co-wrote and produced the film) at least attempted to shake things up; but the thin storyline ultimately resorts to using the same gags from the first film to wring out any sort of laughter. The jokes, as hard as James tries, are mostly eye-rolling unfunny, and the physical humor he injects into the role quickly becomes old shtick. It’s a real disappointment.

Tim Lammers is a veteran entertainment reporter and a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, and annually votes on the Critics Choice Movie Awards. Locally, he reviews films for “KARE 11 News at 11” and various Minnesota radio stations.

Film, Movie Reviews

Movie review: ‘Furious Seven’

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Paul Walker and Vin Diesel in 'Furious Seven'

“Furious Seven” (PG-13) 3 stars (out of four)

All engines are a go in “Furious Seven,” the seventh installment in Vin Diesel and Paul Walker’s blockbuster “The Fast and the Furious” film franchise. Instantly throwing any sense of logic out the window, the hot-rod movie is as dumb as a box of rocks, yet revels in every second of its ridiculousness. That’s because as implausible as it is throughout its exhausting 137-minute run-time, “Furious Seven” is also outrageously entertaining.

The premise of “Furious Seven” is fairly straightforward: A lethal, ex-British Special Ops soldier, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), is out for revenge after the loss of his brother — and he wants to make Dominic Toretto (Diesel) and the mercenary crew responsible pay with their lives.  Toretto and company (Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges”), however, can stop Shaw in his tracks if they can locate a high-tech terrorism device called “God’s Eye,” which can locate any person on the planet in an instant.

Also back for “Furious Seven” is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, but his appearance really only bookends the movie as the franchise introduces Kurt Russell as Mr. Nobody — a shady, whimsical government heavy who hires the crew to locate the rogue computer device.

As big as Diesel, Walker and company have become thanks the franchise, the true stars of “Furious Seven” are the muscle cars and souped-up vehicles that scream across the film’s international scenery, purposely drive off cliffs and soar though one skyscraper in Dubai to the next.  Above all is a wild sequence where Toretto and his crew parachute their vehicles into a heavily-guarded foreign territory, proving that the sky, truly is the limit for the film’s dizzying action sequences.

While classified an action crime drama, “Furious Seven” is often laugh-loud funny with its hammy dialogue and over-the-top, clichéd, 80s action movie-like macho characters. It has a so-bad-that-it’s-good quality that’s completely infectious. In fact, the only sense of seriousness the film has is when the late Walker shows up on the screen, reminding us of the tragic accident that took his life in November 2013.

Naturally, there’s a highly emotional send-off for Walker at the film’s conclusion, as director James Wan strings together a tear-jerker flashback scene recounting his appearances in all the “Fast and Furious” movies. Even more beautiful is how Wan constructed a lyrical exit for Walker from the series that couldn’t be any more appropriate as the film franchise heads down new roads.

Tim Lammers is a veteran entertainment reporter and a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, and annually votes on the Critics Choice Movie Awards. Locally, he reviews films for “KARE 11 News at 11” and various Minnesota radio stations.

Film, Movie Reviews

Movie reviews: ‘Home,’ ‘Get Hard’

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'Home'

“Home” (PG) 2 1/2 stars (out of four)

“Big Bang Theory” star Jim Parsons brings a sparkling voice performance to a lovable loser of an alien in “Home,” a DreamWorks Animation family comedy feature that will mostly hit home with the 8-and-under set and leave adult viewers itching to get, well, home.

Parsons voices Oh, a member of the friendly alien race called the Boov that invades Earth and relocates its residents to own utopia in a separate corner of the planet in Australia. Lost in the relocation shuffle, however, is Tip (Rihanna), a young teen girl hoping somehow to be reunited with her mom (Jennifer Lopez) on the other side of the planet.

Befriending Oh, Tip and the misfit set off to find her mom; but before along the way encounter trouble with the Boov and its leader, Captain Smek (Steve Martin) and the race’s sworn enemy — who has located the Boov thanks to a bumbling mistake by Oh.

“Home” offers mostly humor that the kid set will enjoy, unlike previous DreamWorks offerings like “How to Train Your Dragon” and its sequel, as well as the “Shrek” series, which appeal to all ages. And while adults won’t find the proceedings as nearly as entertaining as the younger audience members, there’s no question the animation is as gorgeous as anything DreamWorks has ever offered; especially, the ever-changing iridescent-colored aliens. Not surprisingly, Rihanna and Lopez songs pepper the soundtrack to help liven up the action (a move that was also clearly designed to bolster record sales).

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“Get Hard” (R) 2 stars (out of four)

Will Ferrell is back with yet another oafish, misinformed character (does he play another kind?) in “Get Hard,” an average comedy that survives on the likability of Ferrell and his winning co-star Kevin Hart. A politically incorrect comedy in its blunt observations of racial stereotypes and the prospect of prison rape, the success of the film solely depends its audience’s tolerance for the film’s button-pushing material. If you’re easily offended, “Get Hard” is not a movie for you.

Ferrell stars as James King, a multi-millionaire California businessman who, proclaiming his innocence, skips a plea deal and goes to trial on fraud and embezzlement charges after being accused of bilking clients out of millions. Sentenced to 10 years in maximum security at San Quentin prison with 30 days to get his affairs in order, King mistakes his car washer, Darnell (Hart), for an ex-con, and hires him toughen him up so he won’t be victimized in prison.

While “Get Hard” does its best to stretch out its one-joke premise, it only sometimes hits big with its laughs and other times completely misses the target. It’s also hopelessly predictable, and if not for the talents of Farrell and Hart, probably never would have been made in the first place.

Tim Lammers is a veteran entertainment reporter and a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, and annually votes on the Critics Choice Movie Awards. Locally, he reviews films for “KARE 11 News at 11” and various Minnesota radio stations.