The Avengers was well-balanced and fun. It was a well-written superhero buddy comedy. The action was over-the-top but worked to enhance the laughs. It didn't take itself too seriously, which was welcomed at the time. Since, we have had a 3rd Iron Man film that sucked all the fun out of the Tony Stark character. A 2nd Thor film that was actually quite exciting and full of surprises, especially compared to the first, which was like a romantic TV sitcom. And we've had not only one of the greatest sequels of all time, but also one of the best action films in over a decade, Captain America: The Winter Solider. So to write there was a lot of hype for Avengers 2 would be an obvious understatement.

Age of Ultron is so unbalanced in so many ways, it's hard to know where to begin. The film is successful in a few areas. It does a great job of making us fear what Ultron is capable of. While Loki was charming and mischievous, Ultron is frightening. What's disappointing is that in a film called Age of Ultron, Ultron is not given enough screen time. The best scene has the Avengers taking turns trying to pick up Thor's hammer. Unfortunately, this scene was already revealed in the trailers and the actual film doesn't offer anything better. The most interesting aspect of the film, visually, are haunting visions given to the characters thanks to Scarlet Witch. This causes Thor to go off on a side quest, which is much more mysterious and interesting than what we are left watching. It also causes the much anticipated Hulk vs. Hulkbuster scene, which is played for laughs and is over much too quickly. It's all downhill from there.

Age of Ultron is at it's best when it's being horrific and when it's revealing it's heart, which in the film's biggest surprise, lies with Hawkeye. We are introduced to some new characters that we are never given much reason to care about. Other than Scarlet Witch giving the Avengers their visions, both her and Quicksilver seem like pointless, lazy additions that take up screen time that could have been better spent with the characters we paid to see. What's worse is the time wasted on an out-of-place and unfitting love story that develops between Black Widow and Bruce Banner. It's so forced and unnecessary, it actually causes us to loose interest in their characters. Hulk no longer has the impact he once made. Tony Stark has long lost what made him such an exciting character and this film doesn't do anything to make us excited to see him again. Hawkeye is the only one we are given reason to care whether he lives or dies. In the final act, we are introduced to yet another new character that is so poorly executed, it makes us glad this is the last Marvel film Joss Whedon will be directing.

In The Winter Solider, the intensity of the action scenes was taken to a whole new level. The comedy stayed in the interactions between the characters while the plot and action seemed like a very serious threat for once, keeping us on the edge of our seats. Avengers: Age of Ultron takes place shortly after the events of The Winter Solider, yet it's a step back into light, silly cartoon action where there's no real feeling of danger. As threatening as Ultron is, we never worry that one of the Avengers might actually die. And even if they did, we know they won't stay dead.

Between what James Gunn did with Guardians of the Galaxy and the Russo brothers with Winter Solider, the stakes were raised too high for the over-confident, under-talented Joss Whedon. Age of Ultron gets too close to a Michael Bay film with so many failed attempt at humor, tension and surprise.