Trailer Trashin’: Analyzing the Avengers: Age of Ultron Trailer
With the release this weekend of both Disney’s live-action Cinderella and the Liam Neeson actioner Run All Night, we’re finally out of the early-year movie doldrums. And as I’ve said many times, dear readers, it’s never too early to look forward to what’s coming out. In that spirit, this week’s Trailer Trashin’ column takes another look at the first big movie of summer 2015, Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Premise: With S.H.I.E.L.D. destroyed and the Avengers needing a hiatus from stopping threats, Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) attempts to jump-start a dormant peacekeeping program with Ultron (James Spader), a self-aware, self-teaching, artificial intelligence. But the plan backfires when Ultron decides that humans are the real enemy and sets out to eradicate them from the Earth, and it is up to Iron Man, Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), along with support from Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), to stop him from carrying out his plans. Along the way, the 
Avengers encounter the powerful twins Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), as well as the android Vision (Paul Bettany).
My Take: There’s less than two months left until Avengers: Age of Ultron finally hits theaters, and I’m ridiculously excited to see it. This is the third trailer that’s been released for the film, and it has plenty of new stuff for us to chew on. Starting with this column, I’ve decided to change up the format of Trailer Trashin’ a bit, by going through the footage chronologically and giving my thoughts on things as they play out.
The trailer starts with a moody, dramatic scene in a castle-like structure somewhere in a mountainous landscape. Inside, we see Ultron himself sitting on a throne and draped in a red cloak; for longtime fans of the comic books, this is a nod to Ultron’s first appearance back in 1968, when he was disguised as the “Crimson Cowl.” The twins Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver approach the robot as he speaks. It’s clear they initially side with Ultron before joining the Avengers, although the reason why is not yet clear.
Ultron’s voice-over continues as Quinjet swoops over Digital Media City in Seoul, South Korea. It’s known that this film will be more globe-spanning than the first one, which largely took place in and around New York. The voice-over finishes on a shot of Ultron pulling a plug out of the back of his head. Was he transferring his consciousness to a new body? Stealing secret info from Tony Stark’s files? Recharging his batteries like a horrible, sentient iPhone? We’ll have to wait and see, but considering that this is immediately followed by shots of destruction, it’s clearly not anything good.
After the Marvel Studios logo, we get a shot of Avengers Tower, the headquarters of the team in New York City. In the first film, this was Stark Tower, but now it’s been repaired and given a shiny blue Avengers “A” emblem. Inside, robotic arms are building something out of what look like pieces of Iron Man’s armor. Is this the construction of Ultron? Ultron building his drone army? The creation of the Vision? We’ll find out.
Tony Stark gives exposition about what he wanted to achieve with the Ultron program, and how it went horribly wrong. This is followed by shots of Ultron drones erupting from under a concrete road, rising out of the water, and climbing up a sheer cliff face. Thor gets knocked to the ground, which doesn’t happen to him a lot, so clearly he’s faced with something powerful. Captain America races along a collapsing bridge and grabs the rear bumper of a car sliding over the edge…only for it to tear off in his hands, leaving Cap to watch helplessly as that car and another one plummets off the bridge. Things are clearly not going well for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
Next are several moments of the team members at what is supposed to be a ranch/safe-house owned by Hawkeye. Tony and Steve are outside discussing why they fight, which I have to think will be the beginning of what will be the main conflict of Captain America: Civil War next year. Bruce and Natasha are inside and looking like they’re having an intimate moment, expanding on the emotional connection they had in the first film. If I had to guess, I think this is after the Avengers have their first encounter with Ultron, and are forced to retreat to lick their wounds and form a new strategy.
Some quick action shots. Steve grabs his Captain America helmet. What looks at first like the claws of Wolverine from the X-Men franchise is actually Hawkeye using one of his new gadgets, a nine-arrow speed-loader; that said, I’m sure the shout-out to Marvel’s mutants is deliberate. Hawkeye goes through a doorway, ready for action. Finally, there’s the big money shot of this trailer, with all six members of the Avengers, in a snowy forest, flying across the screen in slow-motion. Thor swings his hammer as he leaps through the air. Hawkeye draws his bow and Black Widow does a flying kick as they both leap out of a moving jeep. Captain America jumping over a snowbank on his motorcycle. Iron Man rocketing through the air. And Hulk in the foreground looking very angry indeed. I don’t know who those two saps with guns on the far right of frame are, but they’re in for a world of hurt.
Several shots of the individual members of team, most of which we’ve seen before. The one we haven’t is Tony, wearing one of his Iron Man gauntlets, holding Loki’s staff from the first film. The post-credits scene of Captain America: The Winter Soldier showed that the staff was in the possession of Baron von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) and his Hydra cell, and he was using it to experiment on people. If the early part of the film has the Avengers taking on Hydra, then the staff – which Loki used to mind-control people – might play a role in the creation of Ultron and/or the Vision.
Two more quick shots in the ranch/safe-house we saw earlier. The first shows most of the team standing together, but with Bruce Banner very visibly “cut off” from the others by a thin pillar. We’ve heard a lot that something big is going to happen with the Hulk in this film, and Bruce feeling like an outsider would definitely play into that. This is followed by a bit from Nick Fury, who’s wearing a dapper light gray jacket.
More action shots. Iron Man lands in front of Cap and Thor, and we see that they’re facing off with Ultron, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver, presumably inside Ultron’s underground base. Iron Man and Ultron both firing energy blasts from their hands. A moving jeep exploding next to a machine gun nest, in the snowy forest from earlier. Tony, Steve, and Bruce atop Avengers Tower, with Tony saying he doesn’t expect that they’ll all get through this alive, and Steve grimly replying “I got no plans tomorrow night.” Hawkeye running through that same forest, with explosions going off around him. Cap and Ultron on top of a speeding truck, with Cap throwing his shield and it sticking in Ultron’s chest. Ultron yanks the shield out and tosses it onto the road, where Black Widow races by on her motorcycle and grabs it while on the move.
Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth in “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” © 2014 – Marvel.
An ominous shot of Ultron looking at Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, saying that they can tear the Avengers “apart…from the inside.” Another shot of the much-anticipated Hulk vs. Hulkbuster Iron Man fight, with Hulk repeatedly punching Iron Man with such force that he’s essentially able to “ride” Iron Man up the side of a building. As Ultron’s line finishes, there’s a downright creepy shot of Scarlet Witch using her hex powers on Black Widow, causing the latter’s eyes to turn red. This is followed by a shot from the 3 vs. 3 confrontation inside the underground base, with Quicksilver knocking Captain America to the ground with a single super-speed punch. Then the shot we’ve seen before of Thor grabbing Tony by the throat and lifting him off the ground. This is followed by Scarlet Witch on a city street in front of a burning building, gesturing in the way she does to use her powers. This is immediately followed by a car, with Cap clinging to the roof, being flipped upside-down as the concrete beneath it buckles. Finally, another shot from the 3 vs. 3 fight, as Ultron takes to the air, followed by Cap getting slammed against a railing by either Ultron or one of his drones.
Finally, we come to the last big part of the trailer, with what looks like the final battle of the movie. The Avengers, looking quite battered and bruised, are in a partially-destroyed city. Thor shouts “Is that the best you can do?!” and Ultron responds by laughing an evil laugh and summoning a massive horde of drones, causing Cap to snark “You had to ask.” Black Widow draws a cool new weapon, a pair of shock-sticks. This is followed by several shots of the Avengers, now joined by Scarlet Witch, and presumably an off-camera Quicksilver, standing back to back and fighting off Ultron’s drones. In the overhead shot, the team are standing around a strange metal “thing” that appears to be standing on three legs. I’m guessing this is some kind of weapon or device that can stop Ultron and his drones, and the heroes have to hold off the bad guys long enough for it to charge up and fire.
Finally, we at last get a proper look at Paul Bettany as the Vision, an android created by Ultron who, we can assume, turns on him and sides with the Avengers. I don’t know if the Vision is created through CGI or with makeup, but he looks pretty awesome. I especially like the detail that his eyes almost look like camera lenses or something similar.
Well, that was a pretty exhaustive rundown. As you can tell, I’m absolutely chomping at the bit to see this movie. When the beginning of May rolls around, no power on earth will be able to stop me from seeing Avengers: Age of Ultron on opening weekend.
ANTICIPATION: Moviegoers, assemble!!!
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgård, James Spader, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston, Thomas Kretschmann, Claudia Kim, and Andy Serkis
Director: Joss Whedon
Writer: Joss Whedon, based on The Avengers by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Timothy Monforton
