Pros:

Joss Whedon. The guy just knows how to handle an ensemble cast and write snappy, humorous dialogue.

Exciting action set pieces.

As usual, Tony Stark’s tech is just so fun to look at. (see Hulkbuster)

A movie that never gets bogged down despite …

Cons:

… being bloated due to the addition of new characters and a plot that’s trying to be more than it’s predecessor

There are moment’s when Joss’ snappy dialogue is put to the test as he crams plot information down our ears.

Crass humor and swearing. I realize that I’m a cultural anomaly on this point, but I’m okay with that.

Thoughts:

Superhero films are forced, by the nature of the medium, to upstage their predecessors. And generally they do so by having bigger explosions and bigger fights. But Joss has added another element; relationships.

He does give us bigger and better fights, or least attempts to. His success can only be judged subjectively. But he also builds the characters relationships. We see them grow together.

But Joss is missing yet another component that could take the superhero genre to the next level.

World-view conflicts.

How does Captain America’s theism clash with Tony Stark’s materialism. I’m not asking for a rhetorical debate. I want to see them act out their world-views. Think Jean Valjean vs. Inspector Javert.

Now Ultron sounds like a villain with a world-view that justifies what he’s doing. But it’s all lost in a plot that can’t stop long enough to explore it. In the end his rhetoric and scriptural illusions mean nothing.

He’s just there to bring the Avengers out in force.

And the villains in these movies seem to know that’s why they exist. But wouldn’t it be more interesting to see a villain whose world-view made him believe he was the hero.

After all, I’m sure Hilter thought he was the hero of his story.