For the next four years, Marvel and Disney are coming together to bring comic book superheroes to the big screen.

The company began in 2008 with "Iron Man" and is now bringing together its biggest film, "Avengers: Age of Ultron." The ultimate result is another fun action movie with a rehashed plot that is ultimately as messy as the action on screen.

"Age of Ultron" doesn't seek to tell a new story. The story is as always, a science experiment goes wrong and a villain is created that wants to destroy the world. In come the Avengers who bicker at some points, fight each other and later team up to kill the powerful villain. There is nothing new or fresh about this plot line.

So what is the story? Tony Stark aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) works on a peace keeping program that goes awry and creates the villainous Ultron (James Spader) who wants to maintain peace by destroying the world and thus evolve the world. As a result, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Captain America (Chris Evans) must work together to defeat the robot and his new army.

In the midst of this plotline are two new Avengers, Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). The twins, who were revealed at the end of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," seek revenge on Tony Stark for the death of their parents. As a result, they join Ultron.

The two characters are unfortunately not as fleshed out as one would hope as they get a small amount of screen time. However, thanks to Olsen and Taylor-Johnson, who are magnetic in their roles, their suffering comes through and their motivations are understood.

The rest of the film is one action sequence after another with very little character development for Captain America, Thor or Iron Man. In fact, the cracks in Marvel's big network are starting to show, with major plot lines from individual films failing to make impacts in this move. There is no glimpse of Tony Stark's remorse after almost killing his lover Pepper Potts in the third Iron Man. Moreover, how he becomes Iron Man again, despite the events that close the third stand alone film, is also not addressed. Captain America's own plight from "Winter Soldier" is not mentioned. Instead, it feels like he came out of the 2012 "The Avengers." And there is only one mention of New York, the central event from the predecessor "Avengers" film. It does not seem like any of the actions in the interim have really affected anyone or helped improve their characters.

The only ones who actually get some character development are those who have yet to get solo films. Black Widow and the Hulk have a couple of scenes in which they develop a love story. The scenes are subtle, but moving particularly one in which Black Widow reveals that she is sterile because of her training. It allows the audience to get a better picture of who this character is and why she behaves the way she does.

Meanwhile, Hawkeye gets a subplot in which he has a wife and kids. After having barely no screen time in the first film, Hawkeye gets some tender moments with his family. There is now a reason to care and hope he makes it out okay from the chaos.

But Marvel fans will probably wonder how the action sequences are. Director Joss Whedon definitely crafts some of the most spectacular sequences of the year particularly the opening which is a long take that introduces the characters. The final sequence is also incredibly well staged as Whedon is able to balance all of his characters and give each one even screen time to showcase the dangers and even the remarkable powers they have.

The performances from the cast are solid as they all bring the usual wit and humor to their characters. James Spader, who plays Ultron, in particular is comic and snarky in many instances. Like all the Marvel villains audiences have come to love, Ultron does not always come off as the ultimate villain.

Paul Bettany finally gets to suit up as The Vision and brings his usual charisma as the voice of Jarvis. However, like the newcomers, the screen time is limited. There are also a number of cameo appearances. Andy Serkis, Stellan Skarsgard, Hayley Atwell and Idris Elba appear in brief scenes that help to move the plot forward.

One of the most frustrating cameos, however, comes from Thomas Kretschmann, who plays Baron von Strucker. The character, which was set up in "Winter Soldier," seems like a throwaway, especially because he ultimately does nothing in the film despite his set up being so grandiose and menacing.

All in all, there are way too many characters in this film and it seems like Whedon had too much on his plate to balance the development of all these characters. With "Infinity Wars" coming out in a couple of years, it will be interesting to see how many more characters are added and how the Russo brothers will bring all these superheroes together. It will also be interesting to see how Marvel brings together the "Guardians of the Galaxy" plot line since "Age of Ultron" finally reveals the Infinity Stones plot. What is definitely apparent is that "Infinity Wars" will be bigger.

In conclusion, "Avengers: of Age of Ultron" is a fun and engaging film filled with impressive action sequences. However, for moviegoers looking for something refreshing, original and innovative, disappointment awaits as this film offers none of the above.

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