Avengers: Age of Ultron for the most part lives up to all the hype it received when it opened at the box office.
At the same time, the film could have been better in several areas. It’s just not the complete artistic success that 2012’s The Avengers was.
The opening credits go back a little bit to where the first Avengers movie left off.
The film (PG-13, 141 minutes) starts out with a really cool fight scene in Eastern Europe that features all the Avengers as they battle at the Hydra headquarters. That scene is also when we first get introduced to antagonists Scarlet Witch (played by Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson).
The main villain of the film, Ultron (voiced by James Spader), is not introduced until almost the midway point in the film.
The film does a good job of showing life outside the Avengers. I think one of the coolest parts of the film was all the Avengers sitting around, having a good time at a party, and of course it wouldn’t be a Marvel film without a cameo from creator Stan Lee.
One of the best fight scenes comes between Hulk (played by Mark Ruffalo) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr). It occurs just after the Avengers’ first meeting with Ultron, and Scarlet Witch has just put a “spell” on several Avengers that causes them to dive into memories from their past, and give viewers some background information.
I have several criticisms of the film. First, some of the scenes felt thrown together, and you could tell green screen was being used. I also thought the film was going to do a better job of setting the stage for Captain America: Civil War, which is due to come out next year. In addition, the romance between Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johansson) and the Hulk was unnecessary for the plot of the film. And finally, while Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were good additions to the cast, I think director Joss Whedon could have done more with their characters.
The very end of the movie sets the stage for Avengers: Infinity Part One, which is due to be released in 2018, and leaves the audience wanting more.