Age of Ultron is massive entertainment, but not without some flaws

Rating: 9/10 (3 July 2015)

The first Avengers was a massive film that was loved by many comic book geeks and casual audiences alike. With that film being so successful, a sequel would have some big shoes to fill in. However, In my opinion I thought this was a very satisfying sequel. But it still has some flaws and they must be remarked upon.
First off, I have heard many complain that this film couldn't quite "capture the magic" of the first one. But when you really think about, how can it? The Avengers film was the first time we saw all those heroes together on the silver screen and that's what made that film special. Since we've already seen that, It would have been impossible to recreate that feeling in the follow up. So I went into this film knowing that I wasn't going to get that same amazement that the first film had to offer, and that's what ultimately made me enjoy the film.
I found the story of this film to be a step up from the predecessor. Unlike the first film which had a typical "save the world" type story, this story was a bit more sophisticated which I appreciated. The action scenes are very entertaining and they are the highlights of this film. I was smiling during some of those action bits because they were just super fun to watch. All characters are also entertaining, even during calm moments of the film. Some of the things they talk about are pretty funny, so the first film's humor definitely returns in this sequel. The main antagonist of the film, Ultron, was also a cool villain which was definitely a relief considering how some of the past Marvel villains were a bit underwhelming, besides Loki from the first film. I liked how Ultron seemed like an intimidating figure to the Avengers, but yet he still had some one-liners which offered a good balance. Speaking of Ultron, we also got some other new characters like Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch and they are all also fun as well.
Now what did I not like about this film? For starters, this film actually ended up being a lot different then what the trailers made it look like. The trailers made the film look like it was going to be a lot darker and more intense then past Marvel films, and that really ended up not being the case which I found a bit disappointing. That's not to say that I didn't like the overall feeling of this film, it's just that I really thought this film was going to be a lot more of a major turning point to the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe then it actually was. Now this film does set up some things for future Marvel films, but that ends up being another problem with this film. Sure these foreshadows get us hyped for future movies, but they were a bit much and they took up a little too much time in this film.
Overall, Age of Ultron wasn't perfect but its large entertainment value still makes this film an easy recommendation. I don't know if I would say I liked it better or worse than the first Avengers flick, I think each film has their own strengths and weaknesses. However, if you want some good action sequences starring earth's mightiest heroes then you will enjoy Avengers: Age of Ultron!