Avengers: Age of Ultron Review

        Avengers: Age of Ultron, the second installment of Avengers came out on DVD and Blu-ray a couple weeks ago.  I happened to see it when it was in the theaters this summer which was cooler since the sound in general is better, and the images had more impact.  However, it is definitely worth seeing at home on your smaller screen.
     The movie continued the story set out in the individual franchise movies like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, in addition to the first Avengers movie.  Developing the characters with more depth and including the plotlines of the other movies.  For instance, the Bruce Banner/Tony Stark relationship of geeky-science-bro was expanded in Age of Ultron where they got to work together on their artificial intelligence project.  We learn more about what happened to Black Widow/Natasha Romanov when she was being trained by the Russians in the Red Room, which strangely has ties to Agent Carter storylines from season one.  We also find out that Hawkeye has a secret life beyond the Avengers and SHIELD that Nick Fury has helped him hide.  All of these relationships and more tie into the plot well and make you more interested in the characters.
     Another thing Marvel does well is adding humor to both their characters and the situations that they get in.  For example, Tony Stark bugs Captain America throughout the movie for chastising Tony for his colorful language which either shows Capt's age and shows his "goodie-good" quality or shows Stark's crassness.  Other characters also mirror Stark's teasing behavior to Capt.  Also, some of the minor heroes or "sidekicks" like Falcon and War Machine provide humor too.  Since they are more down-to-earth, the Avengers act like their sidekicks don't do much important work, but they are still amazing to the public.  The relationship between Quicksilver and Hawkeye is antagonistic in the beginning, but it grows in some interesting ways.
     Continuing the tradition of inspired villians, Ultron (voiced by James Spader) is hypnotic in his speaking and intellectually creepy.  He isn't alone as a challenge to the Avengers.  They also face the Twins and another branch of Hydra, albeit, not for very long.
     Finally, the plotline ties into the entire Marvel Universe really well including one more infinity stone--so stay around for the very end credit scene, not just the mid-credit one!  Agents of SHIELD tied this new season and the end of last season into Ultron which comes as a surprise in the show.  Even though Pepper Potts and Jane Foster are not actually in Ultron, they are still referred to and given updates on them in a friendly argument between Tony Stark and Thor.
     I highly recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys hero movies and science fiction with a bit of humor.