This is quite an age for movies, comic book movies in
particular. Call me uneducated, but everything I ever learned about comics came
from my host of nerd friends and . . . the movies. The world of comic books is
a daunting one, being that seem to be an endless amount of stories and
characters. Nowadays, these stories are serving as source material for today’s
big screen movies. The benefit of all this, us outside the comic book genre may
now have the chance to enjoy these stories and characters.
I had the chance to enjoy the latest Avenger’s installment,
and I did enjoy it. I appreciate
stories, however, they sometimes get muddled amidst big action movies and
special effects. I wasn’t expecting a good story going in to watch the first
Avengers movie, but I knew it would be a fun, funny, action movie and I
appreciated it for these qualities. Marvel has proved themselves consistent
with providing these elements. The latest installment, Age of Ultron, certainly
deliverers.
It has always been about the characters. Tony Stark “Iron
Man”, Chris Rogers “Captain America”, Thor, the Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawk Eye
all return, as well as a few new additions to the team. This is the franchise’s
strongest element and perhaps its most powerful message. They are a team easily
pulled apart, whether from external or internal forces. Self motivation always
seems to play a part. In this case, it’s Stark’s ambitions that set the stage
for disaster. Yet maybe this is why we love the Avengers so much. They’re a
broken team, but a team nonetheless. Obstacles can only be overcome together,
and alone, none of them would make it very far . . . at least until they get
their own movies.
This installment definitely played a darker angle. Fear
brought each character face to face with their worst nightmares. For many,
these fears were legitimate. Stark fears failing the entire team. The Hulk
fears being known only as a monster. Doubt leads them to consider failure, and
they almost give up. But the need for responsibility becomes the catalyst that
pulls them together . . . and the need to save the world of course. Hawk Eye,
arguably the most undervalued individual on the team, even confronts the
reality that the team needs him to help hold them all together. This is
touching as its set against his farmhouse inhabited by his wife and children.
[SPOILER ALERT] As this story grows darker, it is hard to
ignore the spiritual undertones. The villain, machine slash program, Ultron,
frequently quotes scripture, but terribly out of context. He speaks of purging
the earth in a Genesis flood type catastrophe and building “his church.” A villain
with a god-complex is a pretty classic scenario. After all, isn’t that Satan’s
problem? Ultimately, the antichrist will claim to do the same. In this case,
the newest member of the Avengers, the Vision, plays a type of Christ figure in
the story. While it is not entirely clear what sort of creature the Vision is,
half machine half alien technology half life, he ultimately defeats Ultron and
sets all to right. Before destroying Ultron, he speaks of looking toward the
human race with “grace”, since they are a fallen lot. Of course the analogy is
nowhere near perfect, but this is the power of stories. Stories should make us
think, and hopefully inspire us. Analogies also have power, for better or for
worse.
We can probably guess that Avengers will find its way into
one of the summer’s biggest movies. Probably rightly so, and the teamwork
message never gets old. After all, aren’t we all broken humans with our
strengths and weaknesses? We need each other, don’t we? We’re stronger
together, aren’t we? As Captain America states: “We’ll win together and if we
fail, we’ll do that together too.”
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