Moving Along

Rating: 9/10 (14 July 2016)

"Ultron" comes and delivers most of what the trailers promised: a darker, more complex vision of what the superheroes must confront in order to keep this planet going. Maybe it was too ambitious to begin with because after all, we have technology, mythology, and a dash of romance in there. If you care to make it more complicated, we can a bit of disfunctionality and the issue of artificial intelligence overriding the intent of its creators.
"Ultron" is more of what we got the last time out, but it might be a little more than we should have. There are big explosions, close calls, sacrifices, and the development of some very interesting relationships between humans, Gods, and machines. The fluidity of how can transform into another is one of the film's highlights, and rarely we get to see the flaws in these beings, and we see plenty here.
Of course, we see monumental displays of technological destruction, and Ultron is one of the best villains we have seen in a while, beautifully rendered by the latest wonders of CGI and perfectly brought to life by James Spader who can make wonders happen with in the unlikeliest of characters. He makes us admire and hate Ultron. He's after fighting for what humans want: a perfect life, and if this requires the destruction of those flawed humans, well, let it be.
I have seen a few negative comments here, and that might be because once again, we have been given food for thought, and that's a bit of task for those who just want to see mindless fun (another 2015 blockbuster) come to mind. There's plenty of admiration for Science Fiction/Fantasy that explores issues and situations which have a foothold in reality. I keep thinking about those communicators in "Star Trek", the allusions to soul, life, and artificial intelligence explored in "TNG".
Go and have a little fun, and dare to ponder along the way.