Age of Marvel

Rating: 7/10 (1 May 2016)

Despite the rather similar line up, it has obviously been decided that Captain America films would involve a little more of the adult world, leaving the Avengers movies for pure SMASH. Hence the Age of Ultron was a bit of a mess, but the Cap is ahead of the curve. Another clue is the leaving out of the ultra cartoons Hulk and Thor.
One of the advantages of Captain America is precisely his lack of charisma. That throws the laugh lines to everyone else - even the Vision gets to clown about. And it's the humour, interjected in the action and intrigue that is handing these films a massive boost. The Black Panther is mainly given space to be Noble (joking aside, he is the one actually enhanced black guy, not mere sidekick). And Spider Man, take 3, is probably the best man / boy for the job.
Once you get used to the sudden switches of city (usually with the name written across the entire screen) the frenetic pace doesn't trip the film up. There are still a number of plot holes and lacunae, but these are forgotten about because we got to see gems like Tony Stark sitting in Peter Parker's student room, chatting up Aunt May.
The plot is certainly one we've seen before, but is a better way to house this type of titanic film than 'beat the super villain.. GO" or battle for the super thing-my. One of the strongest lines is given to the injured War Machine (or Iron Patriot. Or War Hammer) - who expresses his support for the hardline position right to the death - giving the film a palette of grey that allows for a serious review.