A good film - but not a great one.

Rating: 8/10 (27 April 2015)

WARNING: THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SOME MINOR SPOILERS
Reading my summary and then seeing that I rate the film 8/10 must seem pretty confusing, but if you've watched, or when you watch, the film, it just seems to be lacking in a variety of ways.
This is a very good film. The action sequences are great, the humour is amusing, but only enough to be considered banter. But at times it just doesn't click.
References to future films are just not at all subtle, they're very much jabbing you in the face, and this film, though good, just feels like a huge advert for phase 3. Surprisingly, we didn't get an Ant-Man nod - and that's out soon. Instead we get taken to Wakanda and see Clawe get his arm cut off for no apparent reason; Cap & Stark are clearly having a lot of friction; and probably some other stuff I've missed out. Let's be honest, if you've been following the MCU news recently, you'll know who's signed up for what, meaning you know certain characters don't die straight off the bat.
The opening scene, IMO, was the best. It shows The Avengers taking on the Hydra threat that rose to prominence in Winter Soldier, and it was a great scene, showing off fascinating teamwork and giving viewers a couple of things to smirk about. But,as the film goes on,things just don't seem right. When you see them flying to the tower,for example,you instantly know that a certain Hammer scene from the trailers is coming up. Iron Man vs. Hulk wasn't as great as the trailer leads you to believe, & Von Strucker seems to be knocked off rather swiftly (though I doubt whether he really was - you know how Marvel are by now).
Ultron by Spader was brilliant, he was very Stark-like, in being both a charming, funny character,but at times very dark and serious. The Vision was also excellently portrayed. The Maximoffs? I started to like them,and it grew as the film went on - until something happens which completely made me less interested in how I felt before.
Whedon has said this film had been shortened, and we are apparently getting an extended cut (the original, 3 hour long or so cut) on DVD early this fall, as well as possibly an alternate ending and maybe even a different or new post-credits scene (we got a mid-credits tag in theatrical release). I'm not going to ruin that for you either, but it's nothing you can't live without, and it doesn't add to the experience as much as previous credits scenes had - and this again is a nod to a future film (but,annoyingly,not one I'm made more excited for by this mid-credits tag).
So, all-in-all:
THUMBS UP; + Spader as Ultron makes the second most memorable villain (tied with Red Skull) in the MCU to date. + The majority of new characters are integrated reasonably well. + The Avengers can now clearly function as a cohesive unit. + It's an action-packed film for anyone and everyone (but comic book knowledge,of course, does help feel closer to knowing what's going on). + the characters of Black Widow and Hawkeye get fleshed out much more, and you feel all the characters have more personality. + That closing line from Cap, though.
BUT, THUMBS DOWN; - Ultron doesn't have an ultimate,big bad form - thinking back,no MCU villain has. He almost completely destroys The Avengers early in the film,but doesn't upgrade later on? - They kill off a newly introduced character. It wasn't even necessary for the story,and all I've heard thus far is fans question the feasibility of it. You'll see what I mean. They had other characters who you feel it would make sense to kill off by now in this film,but a new character is instead. Question is, are they really? Or are they going to give them the Coulson/Fury treatment? - The Mid- credits scene just not what you'd want from Marvel at this stage. - Thor gets the role of Hawkeye from the first Avengers movie. - At times it feels like you're watching a Michael Bay film.