S.H.I.E.L.D. parade – behold and marvel!

Rating: Null/10 (24 April 2015)

(ADDITIONAL SPOILER WARNING!)
The first "Avengers" concluded with the six of them dispersing after the crisis has been resolved, and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) reassuring Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) that they will return if and when needed.
This sequel (hopefully the beginning of many more to come) wastes no time in throwing the six of them in full action, in a mission to wipe out the remains of Hydra and secure the powerful Scepter. This is only appetizer, obviously.
Just to get it out of the way, the set pieces are superbly spectacular and spectacularly superb, as expected. Of this I need say no more.
The plot is as old as Isaac Asimov's various ingenious themes, prominently featuring two key ones: artificial intelligence serving mankind and the idea of developing a mechanism with which Earth can defend itself against potential alien invaders. Both are benignly conceived, but unfortunately get out of control. What else is new?
What "Ultron" has to offer is an unprecedented parade of Marvel characters under the S.H.I.E.L.D. umbrella, starting with the aforementioned Nick Fury and Maria Hill. The six originals undergo character developments in various degrees. The romance between Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), hinted with tantalizing subtlety even when she first recruited him, now goes in full bloom. In the romance department, what went on before between her and Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) was red herring. There's was friendship and comradeship in a professional context, as Barton is now reviewed to have a model family comprising lovely wife Laura (Linda Cardeellini) and two kids. At the end of "Ultron" there is every indication that he will be retiring from action in circumstances very similar to Brian O'Conner's – call of domesticity. While on that, I'll always feel a pang of sadness when I think of Paul Walker.
Banner, who has a duel role of scientist and monster/hero here, winds up disappearing again at the end but will undoubtedly re-emerge in the next sequel. Ditto for Thor (Chris Hemsworth). Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) together become the core of the team, to which new players are added. But let's back up a little to see how artificial intelligent is featured in this movie. We have two key "characters" here. Titular Ultron, the prime villain, played via motion-capture and voice by James Spader, is represented by a not-too-hideous looking robot in physical form. The other we know already from the "Iron Man" franchise, a HAL-like computer Jarvis, with the voice of Paul Bettany. In "Ultron" the bodiless Jarvis, initially outclassed and "killed" by Ultron, eventually coming back with in the physical form of Bettany in a phoenix-arising-from-fire resurrection, and becomes a key addition to the team.
Another key addition is Wanda Maximoff, otherwise known as Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), who initially is in the lineup of the enemies together with 12-minute-older twin brother Pietro, or Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). "He is fast and she is weird", as someone quipped, is a cryptic description of their superpower. Pietro who is really another version of "The Flash" (if you have been watching that TV series) dies at the end while Wanda, with her mind-influencing power and fire-generating skill, joins the Avengers.
Two other new recruits give the Avenger a better ethnic balance, as Nick Fury has all but retired and has never really been a full player in the field. Don Cheadle who replaced Terrence Howard in the "Iron Man" series brings his character of James Rhodes, or War Machines, to this movie in a minor role, essentially supporting Iron Man in action. Anthony Mackie similarly brings his role of Sam Wilson, or The Falcon, over from "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", not even seeing any action here but merely a cameo appearance at the end as a new member to the team.