A large part of what made The Avengers so successful was the relative simplicity of the plot; straightforward and it didn't really require knowledge of the five films that preceded it, even though seeing them all would have enhanced the experience.
Age of Ultron was unquestionably a part of a serial, and part of the problem of serials is that they require knowledge of previous chapters or some sort of recap to explain the current situation based upon previous events. Without that emotional investment in the characters, the gravitas is lost; at this point, either you like the characters and have intimate knowledge of them, or you don't care and the entire relevance of the story is lost.
As the MCU continues to add layers with each additional chapter, the universe becomes more complex and convoluted; either you are on top of everything or you aren't and have to focus on the basics each new film provides and then the individual merits of any given chapter boils down to how well it functions as a standalone chapter (Guardians of the Galaxy was particularly successful in accomplishing this).
I was satisfied. But, I have seen all chapters multiple times and have read a lot of the source material that was the blueprint for the films while not being emotionally attached to the source materials in that I expect consistency between the two mediums. It's not fair to expect this of a general audience.
As the penultimate chapter of Phase 2, it had quite a few game changers leading into Phase 3, but none of that really doesn't matter to a casual viewer or anyone without an emotional investment in the MCU.
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