Avengers: Age of Ultron is surprisingly comprehensible — and actually kind of good

What can you say about the newest, biggest movie in Marvel's massive superheroic universe? Where to begin...

Avengers: The Age of Ultron
(Image credit: (Jay Maidment/Disney/Marvel via AP))

It's only May, but barring an upset from a little franchise called Star Wars in December, the year's highest-grossing movie probably just hit theaters. Avengers: Age of Ultron — the second big-screen team-up between popular blockbuster superheroes like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor — is here. (And over the past week, before its American premiere, it already earned a whopping $200 million abroad.)

The genius of Marvel's approach to the summer blockbuster is that it lets you opt in as much as you want. Depending on your knowledge of the Marvel cinematic universe, Age of Ultron is either a pivotal chapter in a grand, universe-spanning story of good vs. evil, or a popcorn blockbuster about a bunch of superheroes fighting a crazy robot.

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Scott Meslow

Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.