Overstuffed, undercooked, disjointed but enjoyable

Rating: 6/10 (6 June 2015)

Where to begin? It really is a massive credit to Joss Whedon that this isn't a complete disaster. There have been reports that give the impression that the film nearly killed him and I can bloody well shows!
If the gigantic cast of characters and plethora of plot lines didn't break his creative back then it definitely herniated a few discs and strained a few muscles. There are SO many characters and SO much going on that the movie felt like a massive traffic jam that had to be navigated on the way to Phase Three of the MCU.
You can feel that Whedon on many occasions tried make it as personal a film for him as he possibly could. However, You can also sense the despondent torment he must have felt throughout the movie. On more than one occasion, it was noticeable that a scene or a sequence was written at a point of pure creative and artistic hopelessness. That's scary! Whedon deserves to take a very long vacation and then make a very self-indulgent low-budget art-house film after this.
With so much going on and so many character to keep track of doesn't come without its drags. It's a film that ultimately comes out as overstuffed and a tad undercooked. It was entertaining nevertheless. The bright spots from the first Avengers movie are all there with a whole new, darker more sinister escapade in tow. James Spader's Ultron came off as a bit of a naff and cartoony antagonist compared to Hiddleston's Loki in the previous instalment. The surface level philosophising is fairly obligatory and mirrors the same level of politicising that was in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
AOU could have done with an extra half an hour on to its running time with a few scenes altered slightly to make it a more satisfying experience on the whole. I didn't feel any particular plot line of the many that were included came off with as much grace or ease as they could have. Overall, a rollicking good time albeit a headache- inducing one.