Better than the first

Rating: 7/10 (14 May 2015)

A strong 7, although it was a bit too esoteric erring on the Christopher Nolan Batman side.
Some very good and strong action vs. the first. A lot less hand-held camera. I could actually see what was going on. The opening was very fluid although the actual characters looked very much animated. Like a video game. I was consistently engaged with the action.
A big film, too which was, at times, juxtaposed with being very small (the finale in the small building and the bridge). Even the farmhouse felt cinematic. The other locations not so much.
But the story was familiar. Bad guy wants to end the world. They were stretching Ultron's lapsed logic from birth but it still worked. Jarvis to Vision was fine. Hulk and Black Widow romance seemed by-the-numbers and familiar.
I know I'm going to be a broken record but Spader stood out. OK acting from everyone else, even Johansson (which is a big improvement for her).
The big problem I had was The Avengers put an end to Hydra's work at the castle. But then they left it completely unguarded. Sure, there was no movie without some place for Ultron to escape to and build his army. But it was impossible to ignore.
Also, it sure seemed that Ultron's army was very poorly constructed.
All in all entertaining due to very high production values. But nothing that captured the imagination. Winter Soldier was a better film.
(But really? Hawkeye? Why? He never runs out of arrows and, well, his weapon is arrows. Arrows?)