Reel Critics: ‘Age of Adaline’ goes a little too long

“The Age of Adaline” is a multilevel period piece covering a century of change in American culture and fashion. Blake Lively is well cast and sultry in the title role. Adaline is a young woman in the early 1900s whose DNA is altered by a freak lightning strike. She survives the strange event to become mysteriously ageless at 29 years old.

As friends and family age normally, she remains unchanged. To keep her secret, she must disappear from the lives of those who become close to her. Every 10 years or so, she leaves her current situation to set up a new identity in a new place and start life over again.

The look and feel of the movie is old school Hollywood that could have been filmed in the 1950s. The lavish cinematography, set design and costumes are first rate. Ellen Burstyn as Adaline’s daughter and Harrison Ford as a former lover are excellent.

The premise is very interesting but not fully realized. The screenplay turns long, slow and sappy as the last love story of her life finally unfolds.

— John Depko

*

A Marvel of Comic Chaos

From the get-go, “Avengers: Age of Ultron” shows the flippant, frenzied superhero action that we so loved in the first “Avengers” movie back in 2012.

But be careful what you wish for: After a while the sight of Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye flying through the air becomes mind-numbing. It’s great to see Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner again, but we sometimes forget who or why they’re battling.

We do get wonderful villains in the robotic shape of Ultron (slyly voiced by James Spader) and flesh-and-blood Russian twins Pietro and Wanda (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen). There is also a benevolent android, Vision (Paul Bettany), whose first order of business is to sprout a flowing cape from his manly CGI shoulders. Never mind the world could be ending — a guy’s gotta look good.

Mark Ruffalo, as Hulk/Dr. Bruce Banner, again has a sweet melancholy in his scenes with Johansson. Her sultry “Hey, big guy” seems to be the only thing that can soothe the savage green beast.

“Avengers” doesn’t take itself seriously and the characters take playful jabs at their images with glee. There’s a funny scene with our heroes, while having “revels,” trying to wield Thor’s magic hammer.

The plot is silly but fun, as befitting comic book characters. With plenty of wit and eye candy for kids and grownups and eye-popping special effects, you’re practically guaranteed to laugh and wolf down your popcorn at ludicrous speed.

— Susanne Perez

JOHN DEPKO is a retired senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office. He lives in Costa Mesa and works as a licensed private investigator. SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a company in Irvine.