Welcome to a new Age......of Ultron.

Rating: 6/10 (1 October 2016)

'Avengers: Age of Ultron' was the most highly anticipated superhero sequel ever since the smash-hit of it's predecessor; 'The Avengers'. Joss Whedon returns to the helm, but did he do as good of a job the second time around?
1. The main cast of the first film returns to great effect, but the new additions is where the weight is felt. The blatant fact that Whedon included Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor Johnson) and Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) to the cast simply because he said they looked cool, is really not a good reason at all. The two serve somewhat of a purpose, but could easily be removed and not change a thing to the plot. Robert Downey Jr. is the center of attention once again as he unleashes the villainous 'Ultron' after jump-starting a dormant peace-keeping program. It's obvious that this was a forced story- line since 'Ultron' was the creation of Hank Pym/Ant-Man and not Tony Stark.
2. This movie (unfortunately) follows the same beats as the previous in terms of plot points. Loki's scepter is once again the cause of confusion, a villain that is physically inferior (combative-wise), and another faceless army of minions for the Avengers to cut through during the climax. I'm actually glad Joss Whedon left the MCU, cause this would have been the sad direction 'Infinity War' might have been headed. James Spader does an amazing job voicing and motion- capturing Ultron himself. His appearance might be menacing, but he pales in comparison and disappoints every time he faces off against any Avenger. And just like Loki, Ultron is punked during the climax and smashed around by the Hulk.
3. There is a completely out-of-left love-story between Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) & Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), which is utterly sickening for the least since Whedon willingly ignored the existence of Betty Ross. I for one was actually relieved when Quicksilver died, cause he was just a waste of space. The introduction of the 'Vision' (Paul Bettany) in the last third of the film was exhausting to me since the movie was already crowded with characters at that point. Luckily the Russo brothers actually found a purpose for the Vision in 'Civil War', so he can probably be excused in this film. I'm still overjoyed that the Russo's will be directing the future Avenger films.
4. The climax is kinda underwhelming to say the least, since it's basically a repeat of the last film. The most impressive sequence actually comes in the middle when Tony Stark summons 'Veronica' (the Hulkbuster armor) to stop the unstable Hulk from rampaging through the streets of South Africa. Audiences were on the edge of their seats for that entire fight scene. Never would I take anything away from the visuals and CGI in this film, because they are fantastic. If it's one thing MARVEL gets right, it's the special effects using ILM. However, this film does way too much advertising of future films crammed into one and it becomes way too obvious and overbearing at times.
Don't get me wrong, the movie is still fun and enjoyable to watch, but then it doesn't really stand out due to the fact that nothing new is really presented. It's still worth seeing, but Whedon and company fails to ignite nor recapture the thrills they've achieved before.