Ugh, this one hurts a little.

I like comic books... a lot. I like comic book movies...a lot. So why didn't I like Avengers: Age of Ultron? As one critic stated, "I didn't hate Avengers: Age of Ultron. I just hated the fact that I didn't love it." My thoughts exactly.

I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't see this film. It's a decent flick. But there are a ton of problems with the film.

First off, the directing. Joss Whedon bit off way more than he could chew. There are some horror elements to AAOU, but they're not well executed. Instead, they're cliched and silly. Whedon is out of his league here and it's painfully obvious. The direction is simply nonsensical at times.

Secondly, there are way too many story lines in this film. My biggest complaint with Marvel movies is that they can never just be. They're obligated to serve a bigger picture. There isn't just one arc. There's the movie's arc and then there's the franchise arc. I didn't mind this for a while. It was present in Guardians, but it was kept at a distance. But AAOU is just too much. Each Avenger has to reference either their past film or their next film and it's annoying as hell. I don't give two shits about the next Thor movie. I just want to see this movie. The Ultron story isn't bad. It's not great (and there are a ton of plot holes), but it would have sufficed. However, it's so muddled with every other characters' personal story that it becomes difficult to follow.

Third, Hawkeye. Just no. AAOU has the same problem as The Walking Dead and Looper. Once the characters reach "the farm," the story comes to a screeching halt. The movie becomes tedious and borings and Hawkeye is to blame. You don't need to flesh out his character. Just let him shoot arrows and be done with it.

The action is a bit too much as well. AAOU starts to resemble a Michael Bay film at times. There's just too much on the screen and you don't know what to look at. In the first Avengers flick, if the Hulk did a cool move, the camera focused on him. Well now you have the Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, and Hawkeye all doing a cool move...at the same time. Honestly, it's just too much and I don't know where we can go from here.

The performances are okay. Downey seems a bit disinterested and most of the actors don't have much to do. Nobody really has a chance to shine (with the exception of one character/actor, which I'll get to in a minute). Spader's VO work is top notch as expected. But his character and character design are both flawed.

Now for the good. Vision. Good god, Vision is amazing. It's so cool to see him on screen (finally) and Paul Bettany knocks it out of the park. He's easily the best thing about AAOU and I would recommend seeing the film just for him. Oh and Andy Serkis is in the film. You can bet your sweet ass he'll be back as another vital character in the franchise (as Ulysses Klaw).

So there you have it folks. Flawed directing, too much action/story going on at once, and plot holes galore. This is going to be one of those films that people praise when it first comes out and then criticize once they start asking questions (just like The Dark Knight Rises or Man of Steel). The hype will die and it will die fast.

C- for me.

And for Christ's sake, 15 movies later and Thanos still doesn't have even one fucking Infinity Gem. Let's get the ball rolling people!

I refuse to watch it. I also don't watch Iron Man. I liked the comics as a kid. If the films were grittier I'd enjoy them. They also have to be written well. They also need to get rid of the media whore RDJ.

^^^

These kinds of movies do nothing for me as well. I'm usually bored out of my mind. Didn't like the first one at all.

I like em, pure escapism, great when you're in the mood, though didn't think Ultron was as good as the first Avengers and do worry that the story arcs are now getting a little messy...

We were totally psyched for it but I didn't like this one as much as my hubby and son did. I loved the first one though. This one I thought was a little too much of what the Avengers do on their off time. Not that it has to be all action, but the non action stuff was a bit awkward and a little boring. I'd give the first Avengers an A but this one a C.

Agree with almost all of the op.  

Only thing I would disagree on was Ultron who was my favourite character by far.

Overall it was a snoozer.  

It's not how big the action is that matters. It's how much it means.

It's all getting very meaningless. A handful of men destroy city after city. The sense that Earth is anything worth protecting is sadly lacking.