CREDIT: MARVEL STUDIOS
Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Quicksilver and Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch join the original group in the latest Avengers film, which dominated the box office May 1.

The world is ill. Murder, corruption and avarice roam the city streets. Now, from the skies above, the world darkens with new threats from far galaxies. S.H.I.E.L.D., the first line of defense, has been compromised and now lies in ruins, and only a small, disconnected group stand between the innocent and those who would see them destroyed.

These are the Avengers, a group barely held together by a strange mix of necessity and unlikely friendship. The second film in the Avengers series and eleventh in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (not including the shows Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, and Daredevil), Avengers: Age of Ultron tells a story of fear, darkness, truth, and redemption. It’s a story that defines Tony Stark, allows Hawkeye and Black Widow the room to become more than killers, and introduces strange, non-XMen versions of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.

Being part of a larger whole, this is a movie that feels almost part of TV series instead of a simple sequel. The story takes its time, pausing action to delve into deeper character issues and discuss the larger picture in a way most action movies simply don’t. This deviation from the typical fighting of bad guys until everything is dead can be occasionally frustrating as one imagines Ultron taking advantage of the break, but does a great deal towards making the characters – especially those who do not have their own franchises – more relatable and human.

Not surprisingly, Age of Ultron is a beautiful movie, as director Joss Whedon’s eye for the perfect shot hasn’t diminished at all over the years. The issue with the cinematics lies entirely in how much the movie was built up prior to release. The promise of something bigger, brighter, louder and more epic than the first film was not quite fulfilled, which may leave some fans feeling a bit let down.

The titular villain, Ultron, deserves some recognition as being a fairly unique reimagining of the rogue AI trope. While Loki is definitely a villain no one should ever have to follow, Ultron does an excellent job of demonstrating insanity, intelligence, and menace in equal measures. This may leave the audience feeling sympathetic and uncomfortable by turns, but the turn to typical supervillain occurs too early in the movie to make him a villain the audience can really feel for.

Perhaps the best moments are the small nods to the greater universe, including one-liners and jokes that only those who have been following from the beginning would be able to truly appreciate. The issue here is that, in adding these small moments, Whedon ran the risk of alienating a large portion of the viewers.

While Age of Ultron may not be the mind-blowing masterpiece superfans were praying for, it is still an amazing movie that manages to delve deeper into some of the greatest characters to ever show up on the big screen. A truly evil villain and some interesting twists make this a movie worth watching, with enough action to keep every eye on the screen.