In the regard of being a summer blockbuster, I guess Avengers: Age of Ultron did its job. Take an action movie and throw in some romance and humor and you have yourself a hit, right? Unfortunately, I had higher expectations for the second installment in America’s favorite superhero team, but maybe I’m just picky.

I won’t stoop low enough to say that this film was not entertaining in its own right. Overall, Ultron had plenty of aesthetically and visually interesting action sequences (although I’m still not entirely sure of how I feel about the Hulk versus extra large Iron Man scene). It was a pretty movie, and it deserves recognition on that front.

I also found that the introduction of new characters such as Elizabeth Olsen as the Scarlet Witch was one of the better parts of the film, and one of my favorites. In its other aspects however, Ultron left a significant amount of well thought out plot to be desired. While trying to develop Olsen’s character as well as on-screen brother Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s (Quicksilver), Joss Whedon forgot how to write for the characters we initially fell in love with in the first Avengers film.

For example, I’m not sure what Whedon was trying to do to Black Widow in this film, but I definitely did not like it. I’m going to be honest with you; I adore a good romantic comedy. Are they the most unpredictable or exciting of films? No, but they do have their place in the world of cinema. Frankly, that place is not in an Avengers film. Never have I looked at this group of characters and thought, You know what this needs? An uncomfortable romantic subplot. But alas, that is what I got when this film seemingly pushed Black Widow and the Hulk together without them having any say in the matter.

This piece of plot mostly just confused me because why would you take Natasha Romanoff (one of my all-time favorite characters in the Marvel universe) and tear away everything that makes her Black Widow? This romance sprung out of nowhere at the beginning of the film and by the end left me debating who I could call to make it stop. I asked for a Black Widow solo film, not this monstrosity.

Where this film lacked in well-written heroes, it actually partially made up for with its villain. Ultron carried over a good level of sass from his creator, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) which made for some good quips between the two. Although Ultron may not have made a good character on his own, it was the interactions that he had with everyone around him that made him more interesting.

I may have a lot of negative opinions to go along with this movie, but I honestly don’t believe that it was entirely horrible. It definitely had its moments and if I had had lower expectations going into it, I might have found less wrong with it. For instance, as odd as it was I couldn’t help but smile at domestic Hawkeye as well as the close sibling relationship between the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. I can also see how some people might find the Hulk and Black Widow romance to be touching, but I will never be able to accept it because that is not the Black Widow that I know and love.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is still worth seeing, if only so you can stay updated on the increasing complex Marvel universe and all of its characters. Despite all of the issues I may have with it personally, I still think everyone should go into it with an open mind; you just might enjoy it more.

Watch the extended trailer below.