**A long form review originally posted in 2015:** I’ve just returned from two back-to-back viewings of _Avengers: Age of Ultron_, and I do not regret one bit going in for that second helping. I lost my steam on the _Age of Ultron_ wagon at a very inopportune moment. About three days before it came out. I was so heavily anticipating it for such a long time, that I was actually much more excited to see this movie when it was still two months away than I was waiting in line to get into the cinema it was playing at. The combination of the market-saturation and the fact that the _Ultron _hype-train has been running for literally years, with a first trailer dropping seven months before the damn thing came out, meant I got weary of the thing just a fraction too soon. But I’m a sucker for the MCU, and there was no way I was missing the sequel to my favourite superhero movie of all time. I won’t harp on too much, because I don’t want to spoil anything (especially given that the movie isn’t even out in most parts of the world), I will put out a spoilertalk on this blog at some point down the line, but for now just let me leave you with a couple of quick thoughts. _Age of Ultron_ is not the best film of all time. It’s not the best superhero film of all time, it’s not even the best MCU film. Honestly, I personally feel it’s not even the best MCU Phase 2 film. But it is still good. And that’s what’s important here. But what do I mean by that? Well, for starters, in and of itself, I loved it, a breach past an 80% approval rating from me is no small thing. The things we enjoyed from the first _Avengers_are here. The mesmerising action spectacles of course, but I more mean the character moments we got between the Avengers themselves, that was my favourite part of the first film and we get it here again in spades. Every new thing Joss has added to the plate works splendidly as well, real Hawkeye story, new heroes, a new villain, an updated world, all of these things are big ticks in lots of boxes. So if everything from _The Avengers_ works and everything they’ve added works great too, why is _Age of Ultron_ not a perfect film? For spoiler-free purposes I will not go into detail, but that’s okay because the answer is quite simple: Everything in _Age of Ultron_ is great. It’s what’s not in _Age of Ultron_ that’s the problem. Joss Whedon said that the film had to be cut by nearly an hour. That way you get more showings in, and that means more money. Now I’m not saying we need every minute of that hour back, but what we ended up being left with, was just enough for _Age of Ultron_ to be the _Thor: The Dark World_ of the _Avengers _franchise (it was a far superior film to _Dark World_, but hear me out). _Age of Ultron_ is little more than a holding pattern. The set-ups for future films take up too much time for the story to bear the weight of some actual story, but everything that occurs in the film itself somehow also has virtually no consequence on world it is a part of. I can’t say it more plainly than that: It’s a holding pattern. It introduces some stuff, but it doesn’t stand alone the first film did. It’s not such a big deal when the solo-movies do that (like the aforementioned _Dark World_) because we have _The Avengers_ films for those to pay off in. But when an _Avengers_ entry is just more of the same, I can’t fully get behind it. That all said, _Age of Ultron_ is of course a lot of fun. A huge amount of fun, I can’t state that enough. And there’s literally nothing more important something in the entertainment industry can be. These are just the things holding it back from taking it up to the next level (or if I’m being completely honest, even taking it to the level the first film was at). 75% -_Gimly_

Movie was great but felt like there was just too much action and fighting. The creativity of the choreography gets lost in the whirlwind of action and this I noticed most in Captain America's scenes. He does like a hundred different awesome things with his shield, but you don't have time to really take it in because you're already looking at Iron Man blasting 20 Ultron-bots to bits.

This is the movie where Captain America became my favorite Avenger. Sure he doesn't have monstrous abilities like Iron Man and Hulk, but to be holding his own on the same ground as them is just a testament to how great of a hero he truly is.

It has become a well-known fact that coming out with a sequel that's better than, if not on par with, the first one is an insane task. But kudos to Marvel for staying true to their colors with this sequel.

I expected more from Quicksilver. He would've been a great addition to the Avengers.

The thing that puzzles me is that in this film, Vision is presented to be a powerful hero, having the mind stone and all. But on the next films, he's become more of like a side character that just wasn't relevant anymore except for that little piece of stone on his forehead. Shame.

I'm glad to see that they found another role for Hawkeye other than being that one guy who seemed to be trying hard to keep up with the other more powerful heroes on the team. Now he's more of like the thing that keeps the team together and it suits his character well.

Movie was great but felt like there was just too much action and fighting. The creativity of the choreography gets lost in the whirlwind of action and this I noticed most in Captain America's scenes. He does like a hundred different awesome things with his shield, but you don't have time to really take it in because you're already looking at Iron Man blasting 20 Ultron-bots to bits.

I confirmed in this movie that what's really making these films successful is the chemistry that the actors have. You can really see that everyone's doing their best.

Strong film from beginning to end. Has just enough humor, angst, and drama to make it a film worthy to be called a sequel.

If you're a fan of action, suspense, and awe worthy moments, then this movie is the right fit for you! Overall outstanding performance by everyone both on and off screen.