HOLLYWOOD—I will be the first to admit; I was not the biggest fan of “The Avengers” when it was released back in 2012. I thought the movie was good, but in no way was it comparable to “The Dark Knight.” Yeah, I had ongoing arguments with plenty of people who thought, “The Avengers” was the best comic book movie ever, and I still disagree.

The movie went on to destroy the box-office bringing in more than $207 million in its opening weekend; the largest debut for a movie ever. So it was only fitting that a sequel would soon emerge. “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” reunites comic book fans with all of their favorites: Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson).

Bruce Banner aka The Hulk, and Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow are still my favs. They bring a level of heart and sincerity to the movie that the other characters lack a bit in my opinion. This sequel finds our super troupe doing battle with the villainous Ultron, voiced to perfection by James Spader. Spader should seriously consider doing more voice over work; he screams a level of menace to a villain that plays an equal adversary to our superheroes.

Ultron is an artificial intelligence that was created by Tony Stark aka Iron Man, and Bruce Banner, who has a desire to destroy all mankind; a robot with the ability to do very bad things to our superheroes, which gives a nice edge to the movie in my opinion.

Make no mistake this is a movie that does not take itself seriously; its goal is to entertain the audience. If you’re looking for something along the lines of unbelievable narrative, this is not that movie. Other additions to the movie include Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), for most comic book fans they are known as the twins with some unique powers. He moves at lighting speed and she has the ability to manipulate minds and telekinesis. Of course, they are initially foes of The Avengers, but soon team up to take down Ultron and his army.

So what makes “Age of Ultron” different from the first movie? Well it drags slightly, and doesn’t have as much action as a comic book fan might expect of a movie of this caliber. There are indeed epic action sequences, but the movie to some degree might leave the audience wanting just a bit more. It suffers a fate similar to “X-Men: The Last Stand” too many characters, and not enough time focusing on developing those characters. If you’re going to have 20 plus characters in the movie, make sure each role is absolutely vital to the narrative of the film, otherwise, empty space is being taken from a more notable character.

Director Joss Whedon knows precisely how to manifest a movie that allows the audience to have a terrific time, but it’s not going to be winning any Oscars or be considered one of those greats. It’s the perfect escape. Its serious, but not overly serious, thanks to perfect comedic timing from Downey Jr. as the wise cracking Stark. It doesn’t hurt to see our superheroes go at each other’s throats at times as well. They’re like family, and like all families arguments are prone to happen at some time.

“The Avengers: Age of Ultron” delivers what we expect of a sequel: to be bigger, bolder and to have more characters. While it falters slightly on a thrilling narrative, it gives us a villain that is so much fun to watch on the big screen that it makes up for it.