Rating of
3.5/4
Everything... And Then Some
Unknown - wrote on 05/11/15
'Avengers: Age of Ultron' is much heftier than it's predecessor. It's bigger in scope, delivers more bombastic action, and has more fan service than I thought possible. In some ways it does improve upon the first 'Avengers'. This installment adds drama between characters. Certain heroes without their own standalone films are given time to develop, allowing some investment for when the stakes are raised. New heroes/villains are also introduced to great affect. The fact that there are a multitude of well defined characters having balanced screen time in this massive endeavor, and they all have a handful of memorable moments to shine, AND the film still somehow manages to stay structurally sound... that is an incredible feat! What's more amazing is how fun and hilarious it is in addition to all of that. There are so many great one-liners and spectacular use of powers on display. The crowd pleasing aspect seems to be most important here. I reached that feeling of pure enjoyment many times throughout. The only thing holding 'Ultron' back from being a superior sequel is the heft of sprawling sub-plots. While the characters are handled excellently, a few of their individual tangents are unfulfilled. Most of the first half feels truncated. There's a sense that much editing has occurred to secure a specific run-time. I think the initial inception of the villain Ultron suffered a small bit from this, as did a few minor moments with other characters. The second half was very smooth by comparison. I think the rumored 'extended cut' would be the improvement I'm looking for. Besides this being borderlline bloated, I have no other criticisms. The final product is a worthy and satifying sequel that only amps up those great qualities of the first. It's an awesome spectacle worth the admiration of any self respecting superhero fan.
