'Avengers: Age of Ultron' - Are our expectations too high? 

Movie lover, wannabe director and resident DC nerd.

By now, the whole living world knows about \'Avengers: Age of Ultron\' and pretty much everyone who\'s been on the internet in the past couple of weeks has seen the trailer. Now, with a sequel to what is - whether you like it or not - such a generation-defining a movie like \'The Avengers\' it almost goes without saying that the hype is off the charts. Personally? I loved the Avengers, it\'s a fun, engaging film with a servicable plot and some great acting. Not to mention that it\'s the fulfillment of every nerdy dream I ever had (that wasn\'t about the Justice League). But from what I\'ve seen of Age of Ultron, I have a lot of concerns. Mostly small, but with some larger ones as well.

First off, the Ultron drones. I mean, they look cool and all, but we watched the Avengers take down hordes of expendable robotic soldiers in the first Avengers, right? One of the things that got me excited when they announced that the sequel would be called \'Age of Ultron\' was the idea that they would be changing things up from it\'s predecessor by having one virtually indestructible villain to fight. I don\'t want to see a repeat of the final act of the Avengers, it was cool at the time but we need to see something different. Why not have the Avengers take on Ultron in his different forms as he evolves throughout the film, meaning that the stakes are raised every time we see a new battle. Part of what makes Ultron unique is his inabilty to stay dead. So even though the Avengers defeat him multiple times by the end of the film, by the final throwdown at the end we see an Ultron that is familiar with their tactics and has gotten himself a Vibranium body. But instead of developing Ultron, it looks like we\'re going to see a much more generic villain with his army of drones. But hey, we won\'t know that until we see the movie, and I\'m willing to give it the benefit of the doubt on this one. Why? James Spader. That is all.

This is one that could end up being completely arbitrary, but if not and Age of Ultron does turn out a bit convoluted, well then I get to say I told you so. But if we think about it, here are all the things the film has to get through:

As well as developing the Avengers themselves and most likely giving them some character arcs to get through. Is it just me or does that look like a lot of stuff to get through? I mean if they want it to flow naturally then the film\'s going to need a good three hours. And while I know I wouldn\'t mind seeing a three hour long Avengers film, part of the first entries brilliance is its simplicity. There\'s a guy who wants to rule the world so he steals a magic space stone that lets him teleport his army to Earth. The government then attempts to recruit some extraordinary people to fight him but they don\'t get on very well until they all unite against a common enemy to kick ass. I appreciate that in the grand scheme of the cinematic universe there\'s more to it than that but strictly as its own film, that\'s the plot. So giving \'Age of Ultron\' so much legwork to do is a large risk. But it\'s one that I really hope pays off.

Namely Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and the Vision. How do you raise the stakes when one of your heroes can manipulate? Or move faster than the speed of sound? Or even walk through walls by density shifting? I mean, up to this point in the cinematic universe, the idea has been to try and make these characters relatable. Even Thor, who shouldn\'t come under that bracket, (being a god and all, sorta) is fairly relatable as he spends the first half of his movie without his powers. So how is it going to work with the new characters being introduced? How is Ultron meant to pose a threat when the Vision can just turn intangible, float over to him and stick his arm through Ultron\'s chest?

Now, don\'t get me wrong, these characters are awesome, but the whole USP of the on-screen universe Marvel have crafted is that we can understand these heroes as people. But with such overpowered heroes coming into this universe, will they be able to keep that relevance with their characters while at the same time respecting the comic book character? It\'s one of the problems with Superman. He\'s a great character, but when you try and make him more real-world and relatable, you end up with what people will either tell you is terrible, or just not the Superman we know and love.

I\'m looking forward to Age of Ultron, I really am. But that doesn\'t mean I have my concerns. After all, it\'s never going to be easy to succeed The Avengers. But do you agree with me? Or are you vehemently opposed to my lack of faith? Either way, feel free to let me know in the comments, and until next time guys, enjoy you lives!!!

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