[trackercowe]

I assume this thread is needed so people can avoid spoilers in the general thread.

So the movie is pretty great, and definitely the best of the second wave of Marvel films. It goes through a lot of the same beats as we saw in the Avengers (and the other movies), but I think the characters in this one are much more interesting. Also the action set pieces are better, and I found the movie to be more sensible despite the massive scope of the plot.

I liked how they incorporated Hydra into the movie as well, as that keeps up with the comics. Also having them control Winter Soldier works better than him just being a Russian assassin. I could see how some might say he was kind of shoehorned into the movie, but I really liked the scenes of him and Cap, which really connected for me. It will be interesting to see what direction they go in the third movie; which I am assuming he'll be back for after seeing the post-credit sequence.

Chris Evans has definitely exceeded my expectations, and I'd almost go as far as to say he's surpassed Downey Jr. as my favorite of the Avengers. Maybe it's because of my affection for Cap as a kid, but Evans does great work no matter what's required. He also delivers in action sequences (including hand-to-hand combat), whereas the others might not. It may not be worthy of an Oscar nomination, but he does great work.

The constant references were nice too (Pulp Fiction, the crappy Captain America Movie, Paul Newman), and at least some of the jokes landed. The performances were all great too, aside from maybe Scarlett Johansson's, but that's a minor quibble. I just don't think she does great work with her dramatic set pieces.

Another minor issue I have is how similar it is to the other movies. Again much of the movie revolves around hellicarriers, ships, and other massive set pieces. There's just so much going on and many characters that need to be followed; it's a lot for one to take in. Marvel keeps trying to top itself in every movie especially in terms of action set pieces. I would love it if they would work in a few smaller movies as well, as not every movie needs to be a huge 200 million dollar blockbuster.

Having one or two of these every year is great, but a change of pace would be welcomed. That's a reason why I've began to like The First Avenger that much more is that it's somewhat different than the other Marvel films in that it's just as much a war movie as a huge action spectacle. It looks like with them moving forward with Ant-Man and Doctor Strange franchises we're going to get that, so I'll be waiting for those smaller movies in anticipation.


So yeah definitely worth a look, and I am sure most will enjoy it. Days of Future Past is going to be in tough to top it, but with that story it very well could.