Can the Sequel Live Up to the Hype?

Rating: Null/10 (18 November 2018)

The first Avengers movie was a massive success, becoming the third highest grossing film of all time. So it was no surprise that we would be getting a second Avengers movie. What was a surprise was that the villain would be Ultron, not the teaser villain Thanos from the last film. The film was released to mixed reviews, but it had the same cast and crew of the first film. Why was this?
Joss Whedon came back to write and direct the film. Marvel and Disney wanted Ultron to feature as the villain, as he is a massive bad guy from the comics. On top of that, Whedon also had to introduce Scarlet Witch, Vision, Quicksilver, the concept of Wakanda, and build up Civil War, Ragnarok, and Infinity War. Whedon had a lot to stuff into this movie.
The cast is perfect, as to be expected. The Avengers really feel like a team in this movie. Evans nails the leader role as Captain America, you really feel like he knows what he's doing. Downey Junior is funny as hell as Iron Man. Hemsworth doesn't have a lot to do as Thor, but he is still good. Ruffalo and Johansson have a forced relationship, which doesn't really work, but they still give good performances. Jermey Renner shines in this movie as Hawkeye, with his personal life and revealed family really giving him a strong character. Elizabeth Olsen is good as Scarlet Witch, with her killing Ultron in the end being a highlight of the film. Aaron Taylor Johnson is fine as Quicksilver, but he's outshined by Evan Peters interpretation. Paul Bettney is great as Vision here, in what I feel is his best performance as the character. James Spader is great as Ultron, when he's threatening. Ultron joking isn't good. When he's a legitimate threat, it's incredible. I think this cast is great.
The writing is good for what Whedon can do. Disney wanted all of these individual prices introduced in this film. While a lot of them do work, including Andy Serkis as Klaw, some do not. The best example is easily Thor's trip to understand the Infinity Stones and set up Ragnarok. It really kills the flow of the film and has nothing to do with anything. But the quips and action and characters all make sense, so I still think the writing is good, though over stuffed.
The effects are pretty good. Hulk still looks great, and the action all looks good, mostly. Their are a few scenes in the opening action scene where it looks pretty bad. In particular when Thor kicks the guy on the tower, it looks terrible. But Ultron looks great, as does Vision. The fight between the Hulkbuster and the Hulk looks amazing. I think the effects are good, with some bad moments.
In conclusion, I really like Age of Ultron. I think it is a good follow up to the first film, and gave me what I was looking for. I feel like people went in expecting this incredible movie, but I went in looking for a fun action movie, and that's exactly what I got.
8/10