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Just got back. The movie is great The final few minutes of the actual flick ( not end credits ) are incredible. Without being overly intrusive on Spider-Man, they manage what I consider to be a major plot point for the MCU and a great cameo in one quick scene. Then there's that last few seconds. Those are easily on par with "I am Iron Man" and "Avengers, a--" Keaton is great. No shocker there. Holland is a great Peter Parker and a great Spider-Man. RDJ is on point, of course. Favreau as Happy Hogan is fun throughout the movie as Tony Stark's point man with the fledgling Spider-Man. Aunt May. Ned Leeds. Some of the visual effects were a bit off. I think they tried to give Holland a degree of superhuman speed that made it look wonky at times. It wasn't nearly as seamless as it was in Civil War. I think the overblown diversification of the cast is worthy of some head-shaking, but I didn't dislike any of the new incarnations because of it. Really, considering how incredibly well-cast the Sam Rami films were in the regard of bringing the drawings to life with real people, (for the most part... *cough* Topher Grace *cough*) an argument can be made that we've already been given that faithful adaptation, so moving away from it isn't all that stressing. I give the Gwen Stacey points to Amazing Spider-Man. That's absolutely the only thing I'll give those two films credit for, though Ned in particular is great, which is a good thing, because he has a significant role in the movie. The twist with Liz Allen and her dad was a surprise, but didn't throw me off or take me out of the movie. Things to do, so I'll stop there. If you're a fan of Spider-Man, go watch it. I don't think you'll be disappointed. May even go watch it again next weekend if I don't have too much to do and the available showtimes aren't terrible. Sometimes they are for second week films in my area. The Marvel Golden Age continues

Now that the website is back up, I can post this. Watched Civil War yesterday. Main verdict is that it's not knocking Winter Soldier out of my #1 spot. That said, the plot certainly had a Winter Soldier vibe to it. It's a darker storyline with some unexpected twists. The beginning feels a little slow after the opening scene. The action in that is really good, even though I feel as if they wasted Crossbones. After that, it feels to me as if it drags for a while. More or less until the next action scene. It just doesn't have the energy of Winter Soldier. Falcon's action scenes are superb. The use of his new wings and tech really makes him dynamic and fun to watch. Of course, Anthony Mackie delivers his lines with panache, same as he did in Winter Soldier. The stairwell scene is awesome. So is the tunnel chase. Black Panther is great. His accent, body language, and demeanor are perfect. Chadwick sells it big time. Ant-Man is a great addition. Paul Rudd is killing it, and the twist in the airport scene with him is awesomesauce. Looking forward to Ant-Man & the Wasp. I'm still not ready to call Holland the best Peter Parker and best Spider-Man, even though he gets an unexpected amount of screen time in this to establish the character. He's good as both, but I still need to see a movie centering on him before I'll make that call. He's got great lines ( beyond the ones shown in the trailers ) and looks awesome. One thing I will say for certain is that I like him better than Garfield in both parts. I really didn't like the ( now middle ) reboot. We'll see if he edges out Toby. Seeing Vision in street clothes was just weird. I get where they're going, trying to add a little fan service suggesting the comic romance between him and Scarlet Witch, but I don't think they really sold it. It's so lightly suggested that I don't even consider it a spoiler. They're the most underwhelming characters to me. Further viewings may change my mind as I catch other nuances, but the first impression is meh... Hawkeye was fun, and his comic persona comes through more here, as it did in AoU. Getting to see the arrow-riding scene made it worth him being in there, although it almost feels as if he was in there exclusively for that purpose. Rhodey's plot point is what bumps him up a notch. Naturally, I won't spoil that. Black Widow's fighting is naturally awesome. Her place in the film is exactly what you would expect it to be, considering her character. The last third is easily as good as Winter Soldier. It's fast paced and gut-punching. Zemo is a decent villain. He has a fair back story, his evil plan is convoluted, and it gives that mastermind feel. Thunderbolt Ross maintains his black-ops feel from Hulk, but tempered by someone who's been promoted to a suit. I think he did quite well. Wakanda looks great in the end. They didn't sell me on Sharon Carter. What's going on with her feels even more fan-servicey than the romance between Vision and Scarlet Witch. Freeman didn't have much to do here. What I hear is that they're establishing him for Black Panther. I barely noticed him, honestly. Evans and RDJ kill it, of course. To me, this is somewhere around AoU, so far as how much I like it. It's not at the top with Winter Soldier, Guardians, Deadpool, the first Avengers, the first Iron Man, etc. It's well worth the watch for the action alone, but it just isn't as fast-paced as Winter Soldier, keeping up the energy from start to finish. I'll probably go back for a second viewing next Friday. We'll see if I add to this.

First things first, It's somewhere in the middle. Not Winter Soldier/GotG level, by any means. I'd put it somewhere in the Dark World range. Well worth the watch, and in my opinion, worth spending the money to go watch it in the theater. The story is focused, but there are more than enough ties to the larger MCU to make it feel like part of it. I would actually say that this movie feels more connected to the larger MCU than Thor: Dark World. Falcon was already shown in the trailer, and he gets at least as much action in this as he did in Age of Ultron. I would say more. The mid-credit and end-credit scenes are both well worth the wait. Hang out, by all means. As has been mentioned before, we get some glimpses into the MCU between Captain America: First Avenger and the original Iron Man -- circa the 1980s. Two important MCU characters ( and actors ) show up in these scenes. So, that's three with the Falcon. Other scenes bring that number up to five. We also see some historical milestones in these scenes linked to other movies, such as Winter Soldier. There are connections to the ABC television shows as well, but they're also connections to the MCU. No Coulson, modern SHIELD, Secret Warriors, Inhumans, etc. No ties to the Netflix segment of the series side either. Regardless of all of this linking, it does not feel like it's setting up other movies the way Iron Man II did. It is an Ant Man movie throughout. There are some good laughs beyond those already shown in the trailers, and even some where the punchlines in the trailers get a second punchline that's just as funny. The trailers also have alternate lines that aren't as sanitized in the theatrical version. The core cast is all solid, and give great performances. There's one bit near the end that feels rushed, but they also play it for some good laughs, which makes that forgivable. It's not all laughs, though. There's solid drama in there as well. It's another fine addition to the golden age of Marvel live action.

First things first: The movie doesn't feel anywhere near as long as its run time. Second, I will be going to watch it again next week. It's going to be well worth a second viewing, and doing so in a theater that isn't as full will enhance my experience dramatically. I was running late, had a crap seat, and having a bunch of people around me makes me want to pace like a caged panther. Despite that, I still enjoyed it thoroughly. Tuesday's episode of Agents of Shield? It's a direct lead-in to the start of the movie I could have potentially seen the Coulson/Maria Hill scenes as the opening of the movie, similar to how the first Avengers started with Shield. Overall opinion: It's a toss-up with the first Avengers film, I believe. That ties it with Guardians of the Galaxy. Winter Soldier to me is still the #1 film of the MCU. Everybody's in it. War Machine gets to see action for the first time outside the Iron Man trilogy. They take the time to cover something people have been saying about all the solo movies, as well. The humor you always expect from a Marvel movie is there, and even references some of the moments in the first Avengers film. I don't see one of the criticisms that I've heard despite trying to avoid any and all spoilers. Some critics are saying it's too much of a setup for upcoming Marvel films. Doesn't feel that way to me at all. The elements are there, but they're well done and don't overwhelm the main Ultron storyline. Hawkeye gets some brilliant moments in this. Joss said it was also supposed to be a lot about the Hulk -- or rather Banner -- but I think Hawkeye shines more. There's a big surprise about Hawkeye that is going to surprise some people making speculations about a certain something *laugh* Can't really say more than that in a no-spoiler post. Speaking of which, I think I may as well close this out. There's not much more I can say without spoiling the movie. And, with that, I'm going to watch a couple of the reviews I've been avoiding now.