There Was A Lot Of Hate Directed Towards "Avengers: Age of Ultron"

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle,

Written and Directed by Joss Whedon

The Story:

Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) enlists the aid of Bruce Banner (Ruffalo) to create a worldwide peacekeeping solution called the Ultron Program. However when the program becomes sentient and becomes Ultron (Spader), it decides that the Avengers are part of the reason why there is no peace on the planet and sets out to exterminate them.

Avengers, Assemble!

So, was Avengers 2 as good as the first Avengers film?

Absolutely not.

However, not for really a lack of trying.

Avengers was the first time that crazy concoction of teaming up all the characters had ever been done before, and it was lightning in a bottle.

But if you go back and look, you'll find glitches and plot holes abound in that one as well, fans were just eager to see the big-screen spectacle, we either didn't notice, or didn't really care.

This time around, the bar was already set too high, and it was bound to fail to reach those lofty heights, but you might as well try, right?

And they did.

And there is SOOOO much to enjoy about this film. The banter amongst the Avengers is wonderful, and it makes them human and it also foreshadows what's to come in upcoming films. There's a lot of different opinions and egos on this team, and it will come to a boiling point in the next film, and it should.

However, I happily watched this installment and walked away very happy.

The action sequences were well done, and the giant cast of characters seemed to share the screen and story in equal chunks so that everyone, and no one, is the absolute star of the film.

It was nice to see Hawkeye's (Renner) role fleshed out a bit more. I always enjoyed the Avengers that weren't super-humans, yet found a way to hold their own with the big boys, and Hawkeye and the Black Widow (Johansson) continue to shine in this role.

In fact, the only thing I didn't really care for was Ultron. Spader put too much personality or himself into the role, and it came across as...weird... I guess.

Ultron is a relentless program whose sole purpose is to upgrade, upgrade, upgrade in an attempt to be the best possible Ultron...and kill the Avengers...

Cracking wise... that's not Ultron.

My biggest gripe, but when he's the main villain, it starts to stand out as the film wears on.

Still, a good movie, but not the best Marvel film of the year.

Final Grade: B+