(This review may contain spoilers).
It has taken me a little while to write the review for this movie, though I have seen it three times and have very much enjoyed it each time I watched it.
The first scene does in fact take place directly after the first Thor movie. This isn’t a movie it’s easy to watch without keeping up to date with the MCU, as there’s a lot that comes together throughout from the rest of the world.
Right from the start of the movie, I found myself drawn in. While there were a lot of serious moments in this movie, there was a really nice mix of humour that worked to defuse the tension.
It was nice to see the different plotlines come together, though the movie did jump around quite a bit. It worked for the story, but did make it necessary to pay complete attention to what was going on.
I particularly liked Wanda and Vision’s relationship in this movie, as I’d enjoyed seeing them together in the comics. And it was especially good to see Cap and his allies head to Wakanda. I liked seeing the characters from Black Panther join in the battle, though it was a bit disappointing not to see any sign of Nakia. Or Valkyrie, for that matter. As both played quite big roles in their movies, it was strange not to see them even referenced by the other characters.
I also really liked seeing grumpy teenager Groot, but Rocket remains my favourite character in the Guardians. I did like Drax slightly better than in Guardians of the Galaxy 2, but I felt he still came across as lacking in intelligence rather than just taking everything literally and lacking in subtlety.
This movie was a realy great mashup of the Marvel superheroes, with enough action and humour to keep me entertained throughout. Unfortunately, as the movie is only part one, there is still a lot to see.
Make sure you stay to the end if you see this movie, as there is an end-credits scene.