Age of Ultron manages an impressive feat - being even better than The Avengers

Rating: 10/10 (1 May 2015)

Avengers: Age of Ultron already assumes that the audience is familiar with superheroes, who they are, and what they can do. After all, a film with a genetic beast, spies, a billionaire vigilante, a God, and a super soldier kinda already demands you assume this is a universe of the fantastic.
After raiding the last of the evil Hydra's headquarters, the Avengers stumble on the last remnants of secret technology that Stark uses to create artificial intelligence, Ultron, in order to protect the world from future conflicts that the Avengers could not face alone. Unfortunately, after gaining sentience in Stark's rush to exploit the tech before being whisked away to Thor's home world of Asgard (land of Norse Gods), Ultron commences an attack on the Avengers, which slowly starts looking more like an attack on mankind after he starts gaining more perspective on life, though his real motivations remain mysterious for the majority of the film. Tagging along are Pietro and Wanda Maximoff - experimented twins who team with Ultron who have a personal vendetta against the Avengers. It's up to the Avengers in a globe sprawling adventure to stop Ultron before his plans come to fruition.
First, I have to say that the first Avengers is a mad feat of complexity as an ensemble film - giving enough time and personal arcs for each character to make a cohesive whole from everyone's story. With Age of Ultron, things are ratcheted up to 11 as character stories seamlessly flow in-and-out of a labyrinth of a narrative. I feel like this movie will become even better with repeat showings as character beats and story revelations will become more enriched with hindsight of where they lead to.
Characters who got the short end of the stick in the last film in terms of screen-time, like Romanov and Barton, are given particularly more story to enjoy as most of the other characters deal with one form or another of the choices they've made and where they choose to proceed in terms of the world they want to leave behind. Never in my life would I think that a superhero film would more ponderous about the impermanence of life, the concept of immortality, and moral pragmatism than Age of Ultron. In a film that could have been so easily tempted to streamline story elements, writer/director Joss Whedon crafts a story that demands an attentive mind to examine every piece of dialog, story beat, and (yes) even joke to bring a holistic view of a grand superhero story. It's mature without falling into being lethargically dour, grandiose without being just an empty light-show, and uplifting without being simple-minded about it. Great acting, snappy dialog, deep thematic content, and terrific action scenes make Age of Ultron the gold to which not only every superhero film will be judged by, but every film that identifies itself as a blockbuster. It's not merely a stopping point for a dull viewer to enjoy as they wait for the sequel, but a fascinating perspective on humanity as a whole.
The Avengers show the world (and the audience) that at the end of the day, their job (or responsibility depending on who you ask) is to protect people, and while there will always be disagreements as to how to accomplish it, there's no question that these people with the ability to change the world will always answer the call.