*Spoiler Alert*

Thou shalt not read further if thou hast not seen the movie yet. It’s been an entire week. You don’t have an excuse, so go watch it, then come back. I’m patient. I’ll wait.

Last week I did a post titled, Will Avengers: Age of Ultron Be a Letdown?

Opening weekend has come and gone, the votes are in, and the truth is out.

I can say with delight that it was NOT a letdown. Far from it. Avengers 2 was like a beautifully composed symphony, blending different notes and tones, and adding layers of harmony that made it one of the best movies I’ve seen.

To be fair, I’m a Marvel fanboy, so this is my biased opinion, for what it’s worth.

Should You Watch Ultron?

Yes, even if you’re not a huge Marvel fan. It was a well-made movie complete with humor, characterization, epic battles, a formidable foe, touching moments, and even hints of romance. As I said before, a perfectly composed symphony that hit all the right notes.

10 Reasons Why Avengers: Age of Ultron was Amazing

1. The movie maintained a good balance between the softer character scenes and the earth shattering CGI battles, creating a perfect blend of gentle and epic moments.

2. While not as dynamic as Loki, Ultron was an adversary worthy of the Avengers, almost strong enough to rip them apart. He didn’t act like a typical villain and his pseudo-biblical perspective made him interesting to say the least.

3. The humor was priceless. Typically the realm of Stark, it extended to the other characters in a way that cracked me up countless times. The punchy one-liners were as rampant as Ultron’s minions.

4. Unlike the first Avengers movie, the team was formed and cohesive at the start of the movie, but Ultron’s machinations brought discordant harmonies into their ranks to test their unity, and Stark was a lit match to a can of gas. Scarlett Witch also added conflict that helped add depth to the characters.

5. The fact that Stark was responsible for creating Ultron made the entire story more personal. By messing with AI and trying to create a human-like robot, Stark made life worse for everyone despite his good intentions. That added another layer of character conflict and helped strengthen the setup for Captain America: Civil War.

6. New York didn’t suffer one broken windowpane. After so many battles there, it was refreshing to see the conflict taken to a new location. The flying hunk of city at climax was wildly entertaining and unexpected.

7. The characters developed more in this movie. Not only did we get a glimpse into Black Widow’s past life, we saw Hawkeye’s present life and faint hints of what might be coming for Thor.

8. It’s hard to pick a primary theme, but the movie dealt with several probing topics.

• Was Stark right in building Ultron?
• When does protection turn the corner into tyranny?
• Some of Ultron’s accusations seemed accurate, so what were the implications for the Avengers?
• When humans try to play God, bad things happen.

9. After an amazing climax, the ending was bittersweet. It was almost as if the team was taking their curtain call and stepping aside for the next generation of Avengers.

10. The hints at what lies in store for the Avengers and the MCU in general, while scant, gave a glimpse into some potentially staggering outcomes in the future, whetting my appetite for more Marvel-ous movies.

The Weak Parts

Wait, it had weak parts? Much as I’m loathe to admit it, the movie was lacking in a few places.

• I thought The Vision was cool—Jarvis personified, basically—but for some reason, he came across as a “meh” character. I understand the setup for forthcoming Avengers movies, but his presence almost felt like an interruption to the team unity.
• There weren’t any mind-blowing moments. Plot twists aside—they were good but not spectacular—I didn’t have a jaw-dropping reaction to anything.

Ignoring my picky complaints, Avengers 2 was a great movie. I loved the characters and I can’t wait to see what their lives have in store.

Whatever it is, it will be awesome.

What did you think of Avengers: Age of Ultron? Did you enjoy it more or less than you expected? I would love to hear your thoughts.