If this is what happens when you give a director final cut with no constraints, I understand why they don't do it more often.

Running as long as two slightly-too-long movies, it often felt like he was padding a short to make it feature length. Sweeping vistas, swelling music, meaningful looks over the shoulder ... I get it! You know how to frame a pretty shot.

And the world building, good God, we didn't need four origin stories in one movie. Introduce them, suggest some history, and move on. Save the heavy-handed exposition for the solo films. Or better yet, don't do heavy-handed exposition.

I think it had a better story buried inside than the Whedon version. It definitely benefited from losing the tacked-on comedy and The Lip. And the tone was a better match for the story; wise-cracking is fun, but no one in this cast was Chris Pratt or Ryan Reynolds.

I'm glad I watched it at home, where I could stop several times to go do other things.

Plus explosions, both fire and electric.