Avengers: Age of Ultron wages war against the close minded.

Rating: 9/10 (2 May 2015)

Let me begin this review by stating that, if you're sick of the "typical Superhero story formula", then this movie is absolutely not for you. The people that are going to get the most enjoyment out of this movie are those that have enjoyed previous Marvel films. With that being said, let me get to the key points of what made this movie a success through my eyes.
The absolute most important thing for these movies to accomplish, is bringing comic book characters to life, to the point that you forget that you're watching someone portray a character, and simply are viewing the character in their natural form. For that, I'll give this movie an A+. The cast is the same as the previous films, but never before has each character seemed so comfortable within their roles, and their relationships to one another.
Ultron, as a Villain, is one of the best that the Marvel Universe has created. If I had to fault this movie for anything as it pertains to Ultron, I'd fault them for not involving his character enough. The screen time that this character receives is far less than he deserves, and I absolutely hope that's made up for with the directors cut once it's released. Ultron is convincing, funny, maniacal, and really just bizarre. Ultron, as plenty of great villains do, believes that he is the good guy throughout the film. He's not evil for the sake of being evil. He's good in his own mind, and that belief actually caused me as the viewer to almost feel bad for him, before remembering that he's a machine. He'll very likely be my favorite villain in the entire Marvel Universe after a few more viewings, and that's saying something, with how fond I was of "The Winter Soldier" as a Villain.
The "typical Superhero story formula" is definitely present throughout this film, but if you can keep your mind open, and look at everything else that's going on, you'll come out of this film satisfied. The character development, humor, and even storyline are so prominent and well done that it outweighs, by far, the "I've seen this before" thought process, because a lot of it, you really *haven't* seen before. I'm not going to say "Ignore the critics", but I will say simply, see this movie for yourself. Form your own opinion. Judge it based on what it is, not what you'd like it to be. If you walk into the theater, or turn on your TV, with an open mind, then you'll likely be as impressed with this movie as I am.