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Review - Avengers: Age of Ultron

 

The much-anticipated sequel to the first Avengers movie finally arrived in May 2015 after months of teaser trailers and leaked plot details. The tone of the movie was slightly darker, and the behavior of the Avengers themselves reflected that change. Let’s look at some aspects of this summer blockbuster in light of what God reveals in His Word:
 

• Surprisingly the movie’s first words are an expletive delivered by Iron Man, perhaps the most charismatic and popular of the many heroes on this movie’s roster. It was a fairly shocking way to begin a movie that is very clearly marketed at pre-teens and teens. Captain America then immediately reprimands Iron Man for his choice of words. The rest of the team then mocks Captain America for having a problem with such language. This becomes a running joke throughout the movie until the Captain finally gives in and uses his own salty word. It seems that Captain America’s character is almost used as a way to comment on our society. He was frozen in the 1940’s and then awoken in the modern era. He initially struggles to make sense of the world that we know today. His attitude is symbolic of a bygone era, a time when using expletives in public would be considered rude and perhaps even offensive. Captain America also seems to maintain a generic Christian viewpoint of the world as a righteous man. The main villain, Ultron, even refers to him as “Captain America – God’s righteous man.” The message communicated to Captain America is that we have advanced past that point; we no longer have to worry about being squeaky clean and everyone can loosen up a little bit.
   

• This movie seemed to have more killing that the previous Avengers movie. Perhaps it was simply the difference between the deaths of aliens in the first movie and the deaths of human soldiers in this movie. Either way, I was a little stunned with how many on-screen deaths there were.
   

• There’s much to be said about the character of Ultron. He is the product of combined scientific efforts from Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk. Once awakened with artificial intelligence, Ultron immediately educates himself on the history of the human race by means of the Internet.

  • Ultron immediately decides the human race needs to be destroyed in order to save the world. He recognizes our destructive tendencies and selfish behavior. This assessment of humanity is in keeping with what the Bible has to say about us as a whole. We are sinful from conception (Psalm 51:5), and our thoughts are inclined to evil all the time (Genesis 6:5). Thankfully God did not take Ultron’s course of action and wipe us out. Instead He promised to send His own Son to rescue us from sin and from ourselves. Even when He destroyed much of the population by means of a flood, He preserved Noah’s family and kept the line of the promise alive.

  • Ultron quickly develops a god complex and references the Bible in a mocking tone. He calls himself “I AM,” which is, of course, the name God used for Himself when speaking to Moses from the burning bush in Exodus 3. When confronted by Iron Man in a church, Ultron sarcastically asks, “Are you here to confess your sins?” Upon obtaining a particularly strong type of metal for his purposes, Ultron announces, “Upon this rock I will build my church.” The overall picture we get from Ultron is that Christianity is overwhelmingly childish.

  • Iron Man originally intended Ultron to be a “suit of armor” around the entire world. He hopes this will lead to peace in our time. This always seems to be the concept of safety people have when they are not familiar with God’s Word. God often promises us that there will be trouble in our lives. We will experience a distinct lack of peace, especially as a result of living out our Christian faith. This trouble serves as an important reminder that we are not home yet, we are aliens and strangers here on earth (Hebrews 11:13). The peace we have as God’s children comes from the knowledge that our sins are forgiven and Christ has prepared a place for us in heaven. The “suit of armor” we wear is the Word of God, as described in Ephesians 6. No matter what happens here on earth, we can know that “God works all things for our good” (Romans 8:28) and “nothing will separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
     

Overall, Avengers: Age of Ultron does not seem to reflect the worldview which the Bible gives to us as Christians. That probably will not be terribly surprising to most of you reading this. I found the attitude towards Captain America and the biblical quotes to be particularly disappointing, however, and the teens here in Cincinnati shared that viewpoint. It’s interesting to see how a conservative view of Christianity is portrayed in worldwide media. Hopefully, this review gave you a few things to talk about with your friends when the Avengers come up in conversation.