By Teri Bayus

There is no screen/TV/blog writer and director I love more than Joss Whedon. Lyrical magic comes from his scripts using myths and archetypes, a witty sense of timing and humor to create perfection on the screen.
Whedon wrote and directed, “Avenger’s the Age of Ultron,” and described this film as smaller, more personal, and more painful. He felt it was the next thing that should happen to these characters, and not just a rehash of what worked the first time. A theme that was completely fresh and organic to itself.
I am not the only one who feels this way. The trailer for the film was viewed 34 million times on YouTube in the first 24 hours after its release. This broke the record that was previously held by Iron Man 3.
The plot: Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, a suit of armor for the world. Things go awry and earth’s mightiest heroes, including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), also known collectively as “The Avengers,” jumps into action.
They are put to the ultimate test, as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the homicidal android, Ultron (James Spader) emerges, it is up to the Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans.
Soon, uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for a global adventure. The cast also includes Don Cheadle, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgård, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Newcomers are Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) as they fight and then join The Avengers as the strangest, super-powered twins on film. “He’s fast, she’s weird” was a succinct way to describe them. They brought a touch of conflict that was wonderful and disturbing to watch. I loved the plot twist with Hawkeye, as it brought the humanness back to my favorite superheroes.
Spader was Whedon’s first and only choice for Ultron, the Frankenstein’s Monster that Stark built. He is fantastic with his hypnotic voice that can be eerily calm and compel, while also being very human and humorous. Spader was fantastic.
My favorite part of this film was how the characters were handled. There was significant effort put into developing each main character’s personality, motivations and fears. It was so well flushed that I felt more invested in the characters and the outcome of the film.
Whedon did a great job incorporating the actors’ natural chemistry together into the characters’ relationships. While the Avengers definitely still have their differences, their witty dialogue, quirky mannerisms and humorous facial expressions are incredibly entertaining and serve as welcome breaks during tense situations. This all-star cast seems like a fun group of people to hang out with, in or out of character.
Industrial Light & Magic developed a new motion capture system for the film called Muse, to better capture the actor’s facial/body movements and combine different takes of the same performance, with regards to Ultron and the Hulk.
This was everything a super hero movie should be. It was complicated, fun, surprising and laugh-out-loud fun. I actually watched it twice the first night out and loved each viewing. I am only asking you to watch it once, but do it in 3D.

Teri Bayus can be reached at: or follow my writing and ramblings at: www.teribayus.com. Bayus also hosts Taste Buds, a moving picture rendition of her reviews shown on Charter Ch. 10. Dinner and a Movie is a regular feature of Tolosa Press.