This latest movie teams Cap, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Hulk, and Hawkeye with newbies Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Vision and pits them all against a nasty robotic menace known as Ultron.
Here is what I learned. Tony Stark just needs to be contained. He has lots of money and inventive abilities, but left unchecked causes nothing but trouble both on personal and global levels. This time around, he decides that Earth needs a planetary system that will protect humanity from alien menaces while also allowing the Avengers to retire. He talks Bruce Banner into helping to create this massive artificial intelligence, names it Ultron, and immediately regrets it.
The rest of the movie consists of their efforts to contain Ultron, as well as lots and lots of anguished retrospection. Seriously, these guys have a lot of personal angst. Oh, and everyone took turns lecturing Iron Man about being a thoughtless dick. Eventually, Ultron is defeated, at least one hero is killed, several heroes seemingly retire, and a new team is born.
Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were interesting. I'm not sure that I like what they did with Wanda's powers. She went from having chaotic hex powers to telepathic and telekinetic abilities. I guess it makes sense. The latter powers are easier to define for a movie audience. Still...
Also, J.A.R.V.I.S.'s transformation into Vision was an interesting development. I'm not sure what's going to happen to this character once Thanos eventually assembled all of the Infinity Gems and loads them into his Infinity Gauntlet. I guess that's a a story for another time.
It was also nice to see some other heroes in this movie, including War Machine and Falcon.
This film had its moments, but it was probably my least favorite of Marvel Studios'"Avengers" movies. It wasn't horrible. It just dragged way too often. Hopefully this summer's "Ant-Man" movie will make up for this one.