Exactly what we wanted AND needed

Rating: 10/10 (3 May 2015)

"Avengers: Age of Ultron" is more well-balanced in comparison to the original film. There's more variety as nearly every character gets an appropriate amount of screen time. There's also this cohesive balance between the film's story and its action. It's very much about action and entertainment, but there are also new characters to introduce, a blossoming love story between two Avengers to showcase, the infinity gems to gather quietly in the background, and a new villain to develop. While Whedon's wit and sharp writing are clearly very much an integral part of the film the humor doesn't seem quite as on the mark as it was in the first film. You simply just don't laugh as much during "Age of Ultron" and that's a little disappointing.
The opening sequence of the film is incredible. It's pieced together as this seamless flurry of advanced weaponry, explosions, and Hulk smashing. The Ultron army circling sequence near the end of the film is just as impressive. The fight between Iron Man's Hulkbuster and Hulk is probably what everyone is looking forward to the most and it absolutely delivers. However Ultron himself may be the most enjoyable aspect of the movie. Ultron is born from a failed experiment by Tony Stark, so it's only natural that he possesses some of Tony's quips and attributes. James Spader is fantastic as Ultron. His facial expressions, body language, and hand movements are very clearly Tony Stark-inspired, but his purpose is completely monstrous and inhuman.
Tony is haunted by the nuclear wormhole he flew into at the end of the last film. In fact, it's the key element of his creation of Ultron. The camera angles utilized in the film are even more dynamic than they were in the previous film, especially during the Hulk sequences. They found a way to make the audience feel like the movie seat they're sitting in at the theater is in jeopardy of being within radius of Hulk's immeasurable wrath. Hawkeye's role in the sequel is also meatier this time around. Clint Barton proves that he's extremely essential to The Avengers team despite his lack of superhuman abilities.
While more screen time is given to the likes of Hulk, Hawkeye, and Black Widow, Thor and Captain America are seemingly left to pick up the scraps. As leader, Cap gets his fair share of one-liners and running gags but Thor's little side story is pretty weak. Excluding The Twins and Ultron, newer and additional Avengers members are practically nothing more than cameos. Introducing Vision is a cool concept, but he doesn't really do much of anything. War Machine and Falcon are mostly thrown in for one very important scene, but otherwise aren't around long enough to leave lasting impressions.
The second Avengers is better than its the original in many ways. The spotlight is spread amongst the six key members of the team much more efficiently than in the first film and the villain is a homegrown threat that is even bigger and deadlier than Loki was. The visuals and action sequences are considerably larger, as well. Even with regards to its few flaws, "Age of Ultron" is the most substantial and significant Marvel film to date that is equally entertaining and electrifying.