7/10
An entertaining let-down. Setting aside the flack Whedon got, the script is a mess and it felt like he was trying to please everyone (himself, the actors, Feige). I applaud Whedon for trying something different, even though he re-uses one of the best scenes in the first pic as an in media res opening for the second. It just doesn't work as well.
And the thing is, while it feels like a follow-up to the first Avengers movie -- it doesn't feel like a proper follow-up to the movies leading up to it. The events in CA:TWS are referenced, but Steve Rogers isn't the person he was in that film. And the subplots, including the forced pairing between Natasha and Bruce and Hawkeye's family, doesn't feel true to the characters.
I'm thinking maybe Whedon, Feige, and the Marvel brain trust should've had several meetings while the story was being outlined. That way they could've agreed on what could stay and what could go before writing started in earnest, instead of clashing in the editing room. It would feel more organic and less forced.
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Yes yes, all of this.