“Avengers: Age of Ultron” debuted to a huge $187.6 million at theaters opening weekend, giving it the second largest weekend ever at the box office.

Despite the huge number, that’s far lower than analyst expectations, which projected the film to open at anywhere from $210 million – $230 million.

It’s also less than the first film, “The Avengers,” made back in 2012. That film surprised everyone when it debuted at a whopping $207.4 million to become the highest-grossing opening movie at the box office.

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CAST: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Paul Bettany, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen

DIRECTION: Joss Whedon

GENRE: Action

DURATION: 2 hours 21 minutes

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STORY: Following S.H.I.E.L.D’s dissolution in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as a preemptive measure to counter a possible alien attack that happened in the past (The Avengers 2012), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) creates a global peace initiative, which is an artificial intelligence Ultron (voiced by James Spader) that goes rogue. It decides to kill the Avengers, citing world peace. The superheroes soon discover that Ultron intends to wipe out mankind itself. Can the team save the world from the mess of their own creation?

[quote_center]REVIEW: [/quote_center]

Avengers: Age of Ultron is one heck of a superhero orgy as the mighty six – Iron Man (RDJ), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Capt America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) come face-to-face not only with the invincible Ultron, but various characters like Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany). With these numerous characters put together, you can’t wait for the ‘party to begin’ and Whedon rewards your anticipation, right from the beginning and maintains it till the end. Fangasm guaranteed.

AOU is no less than a spectacle (the opening scene in particular with the heroes in slowmo – midair as they pounce on their enemies) and you get exactly what you pay for. The unparalleled action is of epic proportions and makes the mammoth destruction shown in Man of Steel and the previous Avengers film pale in comparison.

However, unlike the previous film which was more massy, this densely plotted sequel may appeal to the geeks more. For those not acquainted with the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), getting the threads together of this layered film could be a task. So, brush up on your Marvel jargon before watching this one.