Expected Better

Rating: 5/10 (3 May 2015)

Avengers: Age of Ultron had a lot to live up to. The first Avengers managed to take 6 unique characters and do them all justice in the story, all while providing a good buildup of action. Avengers 2 tries to up the ante and ends up being a mess of unexplained and unrelated pieces. If you are out for an action packed superhero movie you will probably have a good time at Avengers 2, but it will not stick with you as a classic. Add a dozen or so more superheros to the usual lot and you have people and creatures wielding all types of unexplained powers for reasons unknown. All comic book movies require suspension of disbelief, but Avengers 2 goes the trending route of powers that make no logical sense to get out of situations that back characters into corners or are needed to end a scene that has no flow or purpose.
Some elements only touched on would have made a better film. The exploration of Hawkeye's family would have made a good story element if it was developed. Superheros have people waiting at home for them too, like real world soldiers. The romance of Black Widow and Hulk would have worked if done well. Girl falls for the ultra-nerd/ultra-bad boy even though she knows it will lead down a dark path. Could have worked, but didn't. Tony is so concerned about saving the world that he is destroying it. Started that line, but didn't flesh it out. Captain America is trying to find himself in the world. Could have been an fascinating journey. Next movie maybe. Thor, the god who knows more about the universe than any mere mortal, ends up being just a dumb hammer swinger.
On top of all that add characters like Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch who were inconsistent and served no purpose in the story. If I did not read about them ahead of time I would have not known who they were. Throw Vision into the mix who appeared briefly, can wield Thor's hammer and reappeared by the end of the film long enough to say goodbye. Oh yeah, Ultron, he was in it a little bit. Didn't really catch what he was trying to do, but the world was going to end somehow and the Avenger's had to stop him. Tony wanted to create some type of special project that was never explained and somehow Ultron came out of that, but accidentally and not as part of the program. Didn't really explain how.
I'm being difficult on this movie because I really like the original Marvel movies and hate the trend away from story telling and towards incoherent action.
What was good about this movie? Robot zombies. That was awesome! Hawkeye admitted that maybe he should have a weapon better than a bow and arrow. Maybe the Super Ironman too. Would be good to see more of that, except it beat up the Hulk and that wouldn't happen. Kind of tired of Ironman being indestructible and invincible. It's a tin can. It can be destroyed.
Anyway, Avengers 2 will make a Gozillion dollars and millions will enjoy it. However, I want the story telling back in Marvel movies.