I feel like I have the most arguments with fans of the MCU about Avengers: Age of Ultron. While Iron Man 3 may arguably be the most divisive, I think the perceived weaknesses of this film are blown out of proportion. The film doesn’t soar to the heights of The Avengers but that’s mostly because the initial excitement of seeing all the heroes together has faded. It would be hard to replicate that excitement twice (although Avengers: Infinity War hopes to do that and then some). All the elements are in place for this to be a solid sequel and I think it works a lot more than people give it credit for. During my re-watch of the films in preparation for Infinity War, I probably examined this one the closest and I just couldn’t see what the naysayers see. I still view it as a solid follow up that stands as a strong companion piece to the original.

Age of Ultron starts by dropping us in the middle of a battle, thereby allowing the film to ignore various continuity questions about the team re-assembling following the most recent round of solo adventures. It turns out that the Avengers are on a raid to retrieve Loki’s scepter and, once they get it, Tony Stark believes he can use it to realize his long-simmering dream of “Ultron” – a massive A.I. that can “encase Earth in armor” and protect it from an alien invasion.  Through various means, Ultron gains consciousness but does so with a chip on his shoulder. His goal is to upgrade humanity by destroying the people.

Some complain that The Avengers aren’t quite themselves in the film. I’ve heard discussions that the group camaraderie feels off and that they don’t gel like they did once before. I would have to say I disagree with this point. The chemistry is still intact and much of Ultron excels because of how the characters function as a group. Individually the characters do exhibit some changes but that’s merely a product of the story they’re in. Circumstances might not allow Tony Stark to be as snarky as we like or have Steve Rogers as a constant beacon of heroic representation. Some of these characters are affected by the solo adventures they went on before being reunited for this film and the fact that the story acknowledges it is necessary.

I will say the characters who haven’t been afforded their own solo stories do fare better amongst the cast.  Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is provided with a disturbing series of flashbacks although I will say her love affair with Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) comes out of nowhere and feels a tad forced. She showed more spark with Captain America in The Winter Soldier. Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) is given a family in order to provide an emotional payoff and since I’m a fan of the character, I’m glad he has more to do here because he was vastly underused the first time around.

There are also new characters this time around. Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) are thrown into the mix and while they are a bit underdeveloped, they are a fun addition. Johnson appears to be having the most fun of the two but Olsen sells the lowkey nature of her character well. Also, purely from a total nerd standpoint, seeing them put their powers into action is really fun to watch.

Usually, my major gripe is with the film’s villain and while I will say that Ultron’s genocidal scheme has a been there done that feel, his presence is elevated by some solid voice work from James Spader. The character isn’t really physically menacing but the voice makes him an imposing threat. If the motivation is going to be a tad redundant, I need a sense of danger from the villain and Spader is able to provide that with his words.

The effects in this film are very heavy. Director Joss Whedon proved he could handle the scope with the first film but I will say that some of the battle scenes get a bit chaotic at times. The action is fun and is entertaining for the most part but it can also get loud and very busy.  Where Whedon avoided the Michael Bay style of filmmaking with the first film, he comes a bit close to falling into that territory this time around. He is able to raise the stakes with one character demise that actually worked for me but the performers often get outdone by the effects which wasn’t the case the last time they banded together.

Despite some of its flaws, I don’t the film deserves the disdain it gets. It’s highly entertaining and gets the job done that it sets out to do. We can argue whether it’s a “necessary” chapter. I know I’ve gone back and forth with people that you could skip this, go to Ant-Man and land on Civil War without missing a beat but I think the film was necessary to get some of the characters beats. Each film allows them to grow on some level and there is some of that in Age of Ultron. Sometimes hype can bloat expectations and with some years removed from its release I have found that the film holds up and is worthy of your attention.