Avengers Age of Ultron (contains mild spoilers)

Rating: 7/10 (5 May 2016)

Age of Ultron is a worthy follow up to the first Avengers, though it ultimately is bogged down, ever so slightly, by its inconsistent tone and muddled stakes.
Marvel movies have become almost their own genre at this point. They all follow a similar rhythm, yet somehow still seem to retain their own voice. It seems to me that the best, thus far, have been the original Avengers and the 2nd Captain America, both of which are considerably better than this. Though Ultron offers somewhat compelling moral philosophy and the usual excellent choreography, the tone of Ultron as a villain is ultimately too comical to succeed. Furthermore, though the elimination of humanity is certainly high stakes, this movie inexplicably takes place in a small, out of the way Eastern European country that we don't care about, partially because it doesn't exist. Beyond this, given Tony Stark's seemingly endless resources, we are left to wonder what actually matters.
What works here, though, is the usual stuff that works for Marvel. The interplay between the Avengers. The fight choreography is top notch as always. Jess Whedon directs clear and concise battles; it is always evident who is fighting who, and how much progress is being made. James Spader mostly works as Ultron; the man is a natural talent. His voice is haunting, and his talent possesses a tangible texture that is miles ahead of the other actors here. To be fair, James Spader is miles ahead of MOST actors. The hero aptly named Vision is another standout, as are the twins Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.
At the end of the day, though, even if this is less than you wanted from an Avengers sequel, it's still a quite good movie. It's still extremely palatable, even if it does go down a little easier than you'd like. More significantly, it's still miles better than anything DC has done with Superman or Batman.
7 out of 10.