Captain America: Civil War

I still maintain that this would have been a far better choice for Avengers 2. The Civil War storyline was a very good one in the comics, with the two factions really feeling like they belonged in their respective camps, plus the whole thing was built up on top of the House of M and then Decimation. 

The movie adaptation wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but once it got rolling it was a strong addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the pacing was a bit off, taking far too much time to get rolling, the eventual pay-off was enjoyable. If anything, we could have had less set-up of the Winter Soldier storyline and more focus on the divide caused by the 'accords' and a lot more discussion of what they actually were and how much they would control the team members. 

Another major problem was the lack of a serious antagonist. Bucky of course has two sides and is being controlled, so what's left is a rather uninteresting puppetmaster and a wild goose chase about other Winter Soldiers that ends up the film's biggest anticlimax and disappointment. 

Still, the film brings in some new Avengers members, chiefly Ant-Man (who gets a bit more of the decent powers of the Pym Particles this time) and Spider-Man, whose introduction is brief but workable, and whose motormouth is perhaps better-rendered here than in other recent representations. 

There are a few laughs and a few neat references, and probably the best Stan Lee cameo yet, but overall the film felt less impressive than I expected. It was great to see a split between heroes and the expected climactic duel, but overall, after so many adventures that seem likely to destroy cities, worlds or universes, catching Bucky or not doesn't fuel the story all that well. Indeed, in the middle, the film commits the cardinal offence of a comic book story and gets boring. 

But it doesn't stop me being engaged with these characters or wanting more. I'm very keen to continue with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, and also want to watch the Apocalypse movie, so my enthusiasm hasn't waned overall!