In Whedon, without the Studio Controlling Him, We Trust

Rating: 6/10 (2 May 2015)

Watching AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON can be summed up with the following words: entertaining, exhausting, and overstuffed. It's also one of the few summer action blockbusters that feels like it could have been better without all those incomprehensible, *forced* action scenes, in which the quiet character scenes between them are so much more memorable and interesting. With the numerous characters, even more so than the first, it's a miracle, then, that director Joss Whedon somehow manages to make the sequel coherent, balanced, and well paced. In the hands of a lesser director, the film could have been a disaster in more ways than one. Still, you can't help but feel Whedon going off a check list to satisfy fans of these superheroes, preventing the film to reach its potential (see: the cliffhanger ending setting up the inevitable sequel). Whedon takes some risks with this one, but overall, he plays it safe.