Avengers: Age of Ultron
Dir: Joss Whedon
2015
****
At the time of release, Joss Whedon's first Avengers adventure stood as the third most successful film of all time, so no pressure with the follow up then. There is a somewhat daft notion that is often discussed in film magazines and social media that sequels are never as good as their predecessors. There is evidence of this but also evidence to the contrary. Age of Ultron being exhibit A. The first film, especially of this magnitude, will have an initial impact that a sequel can rarely match, it's what they build on that that counts. The Avengers have been together on screen before, that thrilling experience of seeing them all together for the first time and thus making a million little nerd's (like me) dreams come true, was a one off event. Everything after that is more of the same, with invariable highs and not so highs. There really aren't that many lows. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Joss Whedon just gets on with it. Iron Man, Captain America and Thor have had their time in the limelight, we know what is happening in the Marvel universe, there is no point in discussion, Whedon starts with thrills and continues in the same vain at breakneck speed until the end credits. It's not an action overkill movie either, the idea behind the story is very intelligent and fairly jargon-light. There are hints of things to come for hardcore fans but these little snippets aren't so obscure or random that they ostracize those that aren't. The balance of humour is perfect as we've come to expect from Whedon and why he is still the perfect choice of director. This helps greatly in pointing out the comradery in the group as well as the conflict. Whedon also slips into his old horror director ways too, with elements of the film delving into thrilling nightmare that adds an extra dimension to the overall production.
 What I really liked about the film though was the fact they gave Bruce Banner, Black Widow and particularly Hawkeye some much deserved screen time. Each character is explored a little more in detail which will do nicely in the absence of any stand alone films. Other highs include the continued issue with the unsustainable Hulk (and a rather brilliant conflict with a possible solution, produced by Stark and Banner), conflict between Iron Man and the rest of the team and the inclusion of some much loved Marvel characters. Scarlet Witch and her Twin brother Quicksilver are billed as one of the big pull new elements of the film, and they are interesting additions but it is The Vision that impressed me the most. It is lovely to see Paul Bettany become more than just a voice and, if we're talking about voices, then we have to talk about James Spader. Ultron is a fantastic bad guy (he's like a bad version of Iron Man and the computer system Jarvis - like Bad Ash in Army of Darkness) but getting his voice right was imperative to the character and they got it spot on with Spader. There are a couple of low points; the ending was a little too Superman Returns for my liking and certain scenes have been so heavily edited I do wonder why they made the final cut, especially when the cut scenes are in the original trailer. I also think they made a mistake with regards to the new Avengers but I don't want to spoil it for anyone. 
 In conclusion, Whedon has done what everyone said was impossible, bring a big superhero team together without giving too much to just one character at the same time as being true to the fans and original source material as well as appealing to new fans. Again. It is more of the same but with more action, more humour and more surprises. Which is exactly what we all wanted as far as I can tell, so I'm one happy little nerd.