Very disjointed

Rating: 6/10 (20 July 2015)

What bothers me most about Age of Ultron is that it can't decide on what kind of tone it wants to set. Some of the old Marvel spirit that balances fun with character arcs and themes is struck here, but a lot of the time, this film is just depressing too. The themes get quite dark, almost DC dark at times, and that worries me, 'cause I think the Marvel movies have done a better job with the whole comic-book movie thing than DC have. Hope this is not a sign of things to come.
Furthermore, all plot and character development seems to have been thrown out the window. The first Avengers worked because it was the perfect melting pot for all of these characters' stories and character development at the time. Captain America was still getting used to life in the 21st century, and of course Loki and Thor's story was in direct continuation to the movie Thor. In Age of Ultron, the same attempt at character and story unity is just messy. I thought Steve Rogers (and Falcon) was going to search for Bucky Barnes, did he just put that on hold? On the whole, the Cap was underused in this movie, as was Thor (my two faves). And the whole romance thing with Natasha and Bruce only works because of the wonderful performances by Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo. These characters have never shown the slightest bit of chemistry together before, now suddenly we're told that they have a crush on each other. After a movie where the Cap and Romanoff had a lot of chemistry together. Sure.
Also, maybe it's just me, but I just didn't care as much about the fictional city, because, well, it's fictional. We've already established that these characters live in a world tangent to our own, and Loki's invasion on Manhattan felt far more visceral to the audience 'cause we could relate to it. Not setting the final battle in an actual Eastern European location really damaged my investment in it. I really, really like Ultron as a character, though, and his personality kept me excited. But how he and Jarvis were connected might've gone over the heads of many in the audience.
You will not walk away from this film all energized like after the first Avengers. Instead, you'll feel like this is the end of an era. Pros to Elizabeth Olsen for a great character, but as a Marvel movie, Age of Ultron is messy to say the least.