Funny, beautiful, but a bit forced

Rating: 8/10 (5 May 2017)

So I thought this was a very entertaining ride, possible funnier and with better visuals than the first (which is saying something.) However, I'm starting to notice a trend with Marvel sequels. Some sequels will try to crank up the action or the humor, sometimes effectively, other times less effectively. The issue with Marvel sequels seems to be that they try too hard to push the inter- character drama. We've got no less than four character conflict plot-lines going on in this film and they're all in some way forced on us in a way that does not feel to develop naturally within the confines of the film.
In a way the humor also felt a bit "forced" but it was in rather a good way--kind of like in how explaining a bad joke makes the bad joke even funnier.
Marvel has long been known for their weak villains, but I'm starting to think that it's not necessarily the villains that are the issue, but that, instead of focusing of the conflict that the villain presents to the characters, Marvel films insist on focusing on conflicts between the protagonists. And, in the way that a villain feels weak if we aren't convinced by their motivations in doing their nefarious deeds, neither does the character infighting drama really connect to us if we don't buy their motivation for bickering with one another.