So I just got back from this - don't have time to read the rest of the thread right now, but I thought I'd share my first reaction.
I was very nervous going into it that it was going to suffer from too high expectations, that I might walk out disappointed even if the movie was good. I was also a little nervous about Spider-man, who used to be one of my favorite characters as a kid, but who I've been pretty much unable to muster any interest in the last few years (to the point that I wondered if I'd just somehow completely outgrown the character). Doubly so because his trailer appearance didn't really convince me at all.
As it turns out, there was absolutely nothing to be nervous about. Not only did it meet my expectations, it pretty much blew them away. It's easily the best Marvel movie yet. And Spider-man was actually one of the best parts.This might actually be my favorite movie in the genre, though I'd want to rewatch a few times to be sure. Certainly it belongs in that very small group of superhero movies which I consider to be pretty much near perfect. Literally the only things I could possibly say against this movie would be that I thought Vision followed Stark's lead a little too easily (although Bettany's excellent performance still sold me, and in conjunction with him sort of evolving and having unclear emotional impulses towards Wanda, it's sort of understandable that his head might not be entirely on straight); that it was a little weird how Wanda was instantly feared for a mistake, yet no one mentioned her responsibility for the Hulk rampage (is that a secret still?) and apparently no one is afraid of the Vision, even though he seems almost comparable to Thor in power and was literally created by Ultron (I guess I can just write that off as the movie simply didn't focus on him, but someone somewhere must've still been wary of him); leaving Sharon Carter behind seemed like a minor 'DoFP Quicksilver' moment - she is a top shield agent who could probably help (but it's hardly a big deal at all); and those scene opening location tags were way too big. That last one was really the only thing in the entire movie that really bothered me at all. And it didn't bother me very much, because, well, they're just location tags.
Some other random thoughts and reactions I had:
Ant-man was far funnier in this movie than he was in his own. The introduction scene was hilarious.
Black Panther felt sort of underwhelming in his earliest scenes, but he slow burned up to a stand out position in the movie. As I'd hoped, this movie really got me pumped for Black Panther. Especially the first glimpse of Wakanda itself (interesting that it's in a rain forest).
Spider-man was far better than I'd dared hope. Not only did he not bother me at all, he actually got me excited for a new Spider-man movie. I didn't think that was possible. I also really loved Aunt May.
Zemo was one of the best villains in the franchise, in part because he was so low-key and almost normal. I love (to hate?) the fact that he actually kind of did win in the end. Though I was surprised he had no connection to Hydra. Perhaps in phase 4?
Also very interesting that it ends with Cap and 'his' Avengers on the run, potentially stretching the civil war storyline out a bit more. I wonder whether we'll see anything about the different teams of Avengers in Black Panther or Ant-man 2. And how this will set up Infinity war part i.
Captain America might be the first trilogy I've personally ever seen which was fantastic all the way through without any disappointing installments.
The Russo Brothers have officially layed to rest almost every possible worry I could have had about the feasibility of the Infinity War movies. The only hurdle left is to get Thanos himself completely up to snuff.
Overall, absolutely great movie.
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