What did you expect?

Rating: 5/10 (1 May 2015)

The summer movie season kicks off with one of the most anticipated movies of the year, Avengers: Age of Ultron. Now, I myself am not a big fan of the Marvel movies, as I've always seen them as basically the same movie: Bag guy wants to destroy/rule the world, good guy stops him, good guy is hailed as a hero. No real deviation.
What made the Nolan Batman movies so great is that they put a new, realistic, and almost deconstructing spin onto the superhero genre. They weren't made just to entertain, but to also make the audience think. But all the Marvel cares to do is have you buy the tickets to watch the movies a dozen times and get excited for the next 30 films that they have planned. And really, that's the major problem with Marvel: They do not see film as art. It's all about money. The Joker said it best in The Dark Knight: It's not about money, it's about sending a message. And personally, that's how I think film should used.
So now that I've explained why the Marvel movies don't work for me, it's time to get into why Avengers 2 followed this formula specifically.
In comparison to the first Avengers, which I actually like, the directing in this film is bizarrely bad. All of the action scenes are shot like it's in a Transformers movies, as in, the camera is too close to the action, so it's hard to figure out who's punching who or doing what. In The Avengers, it pretty easy to tell what was going on, and it made the fight scenes more enjoyable to watch. But in this film, it can be downright incoherent. Hell, I've seen better cinematography out of the Star Wars prequels in terms of action. At least I was able to get an idea as to what was going on in those scenes! Another problem is the action is simply too fast. One blink, and a character will be on the other side of the entire city because we're not allowed take in to what's going on! Overall, the directing is a major step down from from the first Avengers. And I've seen both movies in theaters.
The acting is passable, though I can't say any of the actors shine or really pull through in terms of giving a performance. Like they were all there to give their lines and put in their B-game, not their A-grade material. James Spader as Ultron truly delivers a menacing voice, but the script doesn't allow him to be that terrifying of a villain. Like seriously, after his first scene, he sounds like an old Jewish mother complaining about how things aren't going her way. Ultron made a lot of quips and sarcastic remarks, and quite frankly, it didn't suit him. Which leads me to my next point.
I know that humor and light-heartedness are what distinguishes Marvel movies from DC movies, but I swear, every single character in this movie is a comedian. Everybody's the funny guy! It's good to have one character that's comic relief in an ensemble cast, but not every single character! Like I know that everybody has a humorous side to them, but after the first 30 minutes, the joke's just get old. Like, with each action beat in the story, there HAS to be beat of humor every 5 minutes! Even when a horrible accident happens in the film, not a minute later, somebody else is trying to do a wisecrack! Can we PLEASE tone it down with humor and be serious for a MINUTE!?!
So yeah, Avengers: Age of Ultron is littered with your typical superhero plot, barely comprehensible action, a somewhat disappointing villain, unnecessary humor, and standard CGI fights with a standard climax to the story. It's more of the same from Marvel, but hey, that's what their fans seem to like.
More and more and MORE of the same.