Great fun with a few glaring flaws

Rating: 8/10 (3 May 2015)

Firstly, Age of Ultron is a good movie. I'm going to pick apart a few mingling annoyances. But these are still minor gripes, and ultimately, this is the most fun I've had in a theater since Guardians of the Galaxy. I did not leave the theater thinking I'd wasted time and money, I left enthusiastically chatting with my viewing companions about what would happen next.
Which, in a way, is my biggest criticism of the film. Whereas the first Avengers felt like something that could stand on it's own, Age of Ultron falls a bit short of that, investing a significant amount of the film setting up the next movie. Sure, we all knew a third was coming, but I went to see Age of Ultron, not an extended trailer for the next one. And though setting up the next in the series isn't a bad thing, if I were to have watched Age of Ulton without a passing knowledge of the comics, I would have felt some of the character actions seemed very random and confusing.
The other big issue I have with the film is the inconsistency of character development. I couldn't help but notice that, whenever the action winded down, these characters were all painted as these flawed and troubled people with varied motivations. Then the action would start, and it was like a switch had flipped and every character starts whipping out witty one-liners (to mixed success), as if the characters knew there was enough else going on that they didn't have to carry the film anymore.
Let me say it again; I had a great time. And maybe I'm hitting that wall. Seeing so many super-hero movies lately, I could be reaching heroics saturation point. I don't know. But I can't honestly say I enjoyed Age of Ultron quite as much as it's predecessor.