Age of Ultron doesn't live up to the hype, but still provides a solid installment in the Marvel Saga.

Rating: 8/10 (1 May 2015)

It's impossible not to compare Age of Ultron to the Avengers first outing in 2012. Many critics and fans will be divided. Some claiming it's better than the first film and others saying it doesn't live up to it. I for one am one of those people who still enjoyed the first Avengers film more than Age of Ultron. This doesn't mean I didn't like Age of Ultron. As a matter of fact it's in my top 5 films of the MCU. A few weeks ago I would have said Age of Ultron was going to be the best of the MCU. I found myself a little bit disappointed in the overall project and here is why.
1. Ultron.... Ultron in the trailers looked to be a promising villain. I myself have found the typical MCU formula to be filled with underused and unmotivated villains. The only villains I really care about in the Marvel saga is Loki, Thanos and The Winter Soldier. Rarely will you ever hear someone talk about their love for Obadiah Stane, Maleketh the Accursed and.....Whiplash.... The trailers for Age of Ultron promised a very interesting, powerful, menacing and overall threatening villain. Walking out of the movie, I found Ultron to be forgettable, not much of a menace and overall not the Ultron I was looking forward to. Ultron's ultimate quest was to destroy humanity while also, for some strange reason, trying to make himself more human, aside from the fact that he wants to destroy humanity. Now destroying humanity is a typical plot device initiated by villains however Ultron promised to be more than the typical 'monster to destroy the world.' But in the end that's all he ends up being. SPOILERS ALERT; his creation was rushed, actually he was created by Tony sometime between Iron Man 3 and Age of Ultron but couldn't be activated because the technology wasn't working until they got Loki's staff from Hydra. SPOILERS END. Aside from his origins being rushed, from the trailers it seemed Ultron would be protecting the Earth for a little bit in Act 1, setting up his development as a character and ultimately making his turn to destruction far scarier. SPOILER ALERT This doesn't happen, as soon as Ultron is born he scans the internet and decides to destroy humanity. SPOILERS END. James Spader's voice is perfect for Ultron, but his goals and motivations were, in the end, underdeveloped and unconvincing. Not to mention, although he's supposed to be the biggest threat so far in the MCU, he just seems like a typical villain like Whiplash and Ronan the Accuser. His threat against Earth isn't convincing and isn't large enough on scale to provide fear for the audience. Tony seems to be so scared of Ultron yet Ultron does nothing the entire movie that gives evidence to why an audience should fear him. The Invasion of New York mastered fear for the audience. Ultron just didn't.
2. A VERY slow first act I myself am a film fanatic and greatly appreciate character development. You can have a slow first act in a film and it can be great if it's solid character development. Age of Ultron's first act seems to be shoving unnecessary character development in the audience's face for no reason at all. We had the first film for that, not to mention all of Phase One set before The Avengers. We know these characters. We love these characters. We know their back stories, even if we haven't seen it before, like Black Widow's back story, we have heard about it and don't need to see it. It just felt like Whedon was trying to show you who these characters are even though we already know. It was a bit annoying. The first act could have been so much more. We did see how Ultron was born, but this SHOULD have been act one instead of being rushed. Instead of giving us character development, develop Ultron more, show his journey to evil. The first act was overall slow. All talking and boring.
3. Humour....too much humour The Marvel films are known for their use of light hearted humour. I love it and it works. However Age of Ultron uses SO much humour that to me it took away from the darkness and threat of Ultron and, with all of humanity at stake, you would think the team would be too scared to make jokes. I love comedy, but Age of Ultron was filled to the brim with it and it just took away from the overall seriousness of the film.
4. Have I seen this before? The final act of the film felt a lot like the final act of the first Avengers. While still immensely entertaining, the final act was pretty much the same as the first film. SPOILERS ALERT; not to mention, the scene where Hulk is possessed and goes on a rampage and fights Iron Man, while awesome, we have seen this before, when Hulk went crazy in the Helicarrier in the first Avengers. Don't get rid of the scene just play it out differently.
Now for some things I did like.
1. Hawkeye has great development.
2. Sweet as fight scenes
3. Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and the Vision are awesome!
4. The final scene
Seeing SPOILERS ALERT; the new avengers team was cool. My only nitpick is it was a perfect moment to bring in Spider-man, Dr Strange, Black Panther, heck any Avenger we haven't seen yet. Wasted opportunity.
6. The Cinematography Honestly, along with Guardians of the Galaxy, Age of Ultron has the best camera work in the MCU
Overall Age of Ultron, while a bit disappointing due to overhype, a slow first act and underdeveloped villain, is still a great film and a fine addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.