fantastic

Lustleigh is a stunning village that you’ve likely never heard of – unless you live in South Devon, that is. The hidden gem is a perfect destination to visit this autumn

Lustleigh is a breathtaking village you’ve probably never come across – unless you happen to live in South Devon. This tucked-away treasure makes for an ideal autumn getaway, with its charming thatched cottages and meandering lanes creating the sensation of having travelled back through the centuries.

Nestled within Dartmoor National Park’s boundaries, Lustleigh radiates “timeless charm and natural beauty,” the Visit South Devon website states. It’s not difficult to understand why, given the village regularly features on countless lists celebrating Britain’s most picturesque settlements.

The surrounding area has been inhabited since prehistoric times, with historians and archaeologists unearthing stone hut circle remnants and evidence of Stone Age occupation.

Some historians suggest the settlement appeared under the name Suðeswyrðe in Alfred the Great’s will, where he bequeathed the town to his youngest son Æthelweard. It subsequently appeared in the Domesday Book as Sutreworde in 1086.

Nevertheless, others contend that Sutreworde wasn’t today’s Lustleigh, but rather existed at a neighbouring location. Regardless, the village’s heritage clearly extends far into the past, reports the Express.

During the 19th century, the neighbouring settlement of Wrayland merged with Lustleigh, and the magnificent Grade-II listed Wreyland Manor has stayed within the village’s boundaries ever since.

Those keen to explore Lustleigh’s heritage should head straight for the beautiful church of St. John the Baptist and the renowned Primrose Tea Rooms.

The tea rooms occupy one of the village’s historic thatched properties and have earned praise from TripAdvisor visitors.

One reviewer remarked: “Beautiful place to visit. Excellent food and service.

“Everything is to such a high standard and so delicious. I can’t wait to visit again. The afternoon tea is fantastic!”.

Another guest commented: “My first visit and I was very pleased with the outstanding service and the wonderful cream tea. The tea room was bright and airy with lovely decor.”

The establishment operates seasonally from spring through late autumn, so visitors are advised to confirm opening times before travelling.

Whilst the tearoom closes during winter months, the area remains an attractive destination year-round. Christmas visitors shouldn’t miss the beloved Boxing Day duck race at Lustleigh Park, which has become a cherished annual tradition.

Earlier in the calendar, the May Day festivities on the first Saturday in May offer another highlight. This time-honoured celebration features a village procession, traditional maypole dancing, and the ceremonial crowning of the May Queen.

AMAZON has just slashed the price on a pair of wireless earbuds that shoppers are loving.

Right now, the Cillso H97 Wireless Earbuds are reduced from £129.99 to just £20.99, a huge 84% saving.

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Cillso H97 Wireless Earbuds, £129.99 £20.99 on Amazon

These pocket-sized earbuds are packed with features you’d normally expect from big-name brands with triple the price tag.

The sound profile is a real crowd-pleaser, powered by 14mm drivers that deliver solid bass with oomph up to 90dB.

And thanks to ENC noise-cancelling tech, background distractions fade away, leaving you with clear music and clear calls.

While ENC isn’t quite as advanced as ANC, it is designed to make calls clearer, rather than blanketly blocking out all ambient noise.

The Cillso buds are also built for everyday life, boasting an IP7 waterproof rating that shrugs off sweat, rain and gym sessions.

You get smart touch controls to skip tracks, answer calls or adjust volume with a tap, much like pricer models from Apple.

But, unlike Apple’s offering, the Cillso H97 buds feature a dual LED display that shows exactly how much battery you have left.

Speaking of battery, these little earbuds clock in at around six to eight hours of listening per charge, with the case boosting that to a massive 40 hours, plus fast USB-C charging when it’s time to top up.

Shoppers on Amazon have been won over, with an almost-perfect 4.9-star average rating and 95% of reviewers handing them a full five stars.

One thrilled buyer wrote: “Absolutely fantastic sound! I was going to splash out on AirPods, so glad I didn’t, these are THE best headphones I’ve ever had.”

Another raved: “The sound quality is excellent, clear, crisp audio with surprisingly deep bass for earbuds in this price range.

The same shopper continued, “The noise-cancelling feature works really well, blocking out background noise during calls and when listening to music.”

A third said: “The battery display counted down remaining hours and achieved a full day of playback before recharge.”

With feedback like that, it’s no wonder these are quickly becoming one of Amazon’s most popular budget audio buys.

The Cillso Wireless Earbuds are still in stock at the time of writing, but at £20.99, it’s easy to see why shoppers are snapping them up.

I’ve also spotted a few other Amazon steals this month that are well worth a look.

Another pair of noise-cancelling headphones dropped to just £22, with shoppers calling them “better than Apple”.

And for those chasing power, Amazon fans love this “incredibly fast-charging” £140 power bank, now only £26.

To see how the Cillso model stacks up against the big names, check out my tried-and-tested guide to the best noise-cancelling headphones.

Cillso H97 Wireless Earbuds, £129.99 £20.99 on Amazon

Shares of Nvidia (NVDA -0.01%) are down 3% in Wednesday’s after-hours trading as of 7:42 p.m. ET, following the artificial intelligence (AI) tech leader’s release of its report for its second quarter of fiscal 2026 (ended July 27, 2025).

The stock’s modest decline can likely be mainly attributable to the uncertainty still surrounding the Chinese data center market. On the earnings call, management said it has received U.S. government licenses to resume selling its H20 data center AI chip to several Chinese customers, and that it has the immediate capacity to sell $3 billion to $5 billion of these chips to China in the third quarter. However, due to geopolitical issues still being “open,” as management put it, it did not assume any H20 sales in its third-quarter guidance.

That said, Q2 revenue and adjusted earnings per share both beat Wall Street’s estimates, as did Q3 guidance for both the top and bottom lines.

In my Nvidia earnings preview, this chain of events is as I predicted: “I’m predicting it [Nvidia] will beat Wall Street’s earnings estimate. That said, I think the stock’s movement will largely depend on H20 news and related Q3 guidance.”

Image source: Getty Images.

Nvidia’s key numbers

Data source: Nvidia. YOY = year over year. GAAP = generally accepted accounting principles. Fiscal Q2 2026 ended July 27, 2025.

Investors should focus on the adjusted numbers, which exclude one-time items.

Wall Street was looking for adjusted EPS of $1.01 on revenue of $46.13 billion, so Nvidia exceeded both expectations. It also handily beat its own guidance, which was for adjusted EPS of $0.98 on revenue of $45 billion.

For the quarter, GAAP and adjusted gross margins were 72.4% and 72.7%, respectively.

Platform performance

Data source: Nvidia. OEM = original equipment manufacturer; OEM and other is not a target-market platform. YOY = year over year. QOQ = quarter over quarter.

The data center segment’s revenue accounted for about 88% of total revenue, so it continues to drive the company’s overall performance.

The data center platform’s strong year-over-year and sequential growth was driven by “demand for our accelerated computing platform used for large-language models, recommendation engines, and generative and agentic AI applications,” Colette Kress said in her CFO commentary.

Notably, within data center, Blackwell revenue grew 17% sequentially. Blackwell is Nvidia’s graphics processing unit (GPU) architecture that is currently in full production.

The other platforms also performed very well. Auto had particularly powerful year-over-year growth. Its growth was driven by “strong adoption of our self-driving platforms,” Kress said. The driverless vehicle revolution is advancing — and Nvidia is the best driverless vehicle stock, in my view.

What the CEO had to say

CEO Jensen Huang stated in the earnings release:

Blackwell is the AI platform the world has been waiting for, delivering an exceptional generational leap — production of Blackwell Ultra is ramping at full speed, and demand is extraordinary. Nvidia NVLink rack-scale computing is revolutionary, arriving just in time as reasoning AI models drive orders-of-magnitude increases in training and inference performance. The AI race is on, and Blackwell is the platform at its center.

Guidance for the third quarter

For Q3 of fiscal 2026, which ends in late October, management expects revenue of $54 billion, which equates to growth of 54% year over year. This outlook does not assume any H20 chip sales to China.

Management also guided (albeit indirectly by providing a bunch of inputs) for adjusted EPS of $1.22, or 51% growth.

Going into the report, Wall Street had been modeling for Q3 adjusted EPS of $1.19 on revenue of $52.76 billion, so the company’s outlook beat both estimates.

A fantastic quarter and guidance

In short, Nvidia turned in a fantastic quarter and guidance. The stock’s modest decline is likely due to short-term traders and will be recovered shortly, in my opinion.

The results were particularly impressive since they did not include any sales of H20 data center AI chips to China due to the U.S. government’s export controls spanning the entire quarter. And Q3 guidance was also particularly impressive for the same reason — it assumes no H20 sales to China. So any H20 chips that are sold to China in Q3 will be icing on the cake.

Marvel fans say this blockbuster was their best movie of 2025 and you’ll soon be able to stream it at no extra cost

Disney+ will soon be streaming one of the best comic book movies of the year at no extra charge.

The film is currently available to rent or buy at home, though you’ll still have to pay up to £13.99 on platforms such as Apple TV, Prime Video and Sky Store.

Thankfully, there’s not long to wait until Disney+ users will be able to stream the film whenever they want without paying anything on top of their monthly subscription.

Comic book fans have called it one of Marvel Studios’ best blockbusters in years – and, no, it’s not the recently released The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Instead, we’re talking about Thunderbolts*, which is set to debut exclusively on Disney+ on Wednesday, 27th August.

Starring Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Sebastian Stan, the film follows an unlikely team of heroes and villains from across the Marvel universe who reluctantly team up to protect the Earth from a dangerous and unpredictable new threat.

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Pugh returns as Yelena Belova, the new Black Widow, an elite mercenary who is struggling to find her place in the world when the enigmatic Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) entrusts her with an important but suspicious new mission.

Following a period of disappointment for the superhero franchise, both box office and critical, Marvel fans were pleasantly surprised when Thunderbolts* burst onto the big screen back in April.

One five-star Google review described the film as an “absolute gem of the superhero genre”.

“If you’re looking for a fresh, high-octane adventure with a unique twist, Thunderbolts is exactly what you’ve been waiting for,” they went on to promise.

“This story is a masterclass in reimagining the traditional superhero team-up, featuring a lineup of antiheroes, former villains, and morally ambiguous characters who are forced to work together for a common cause.”

Someone else gushed: “Thunderbolts* was an incredible surprise. This movie fixes so many of the problems that recent MCU projects have suffered from.

“It actually feels like one director was in charge of this, not a committee of executives. The humor also feels natural, not forced.

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“Which makes everything better. It doesn’t feel like this movie was reworked and reshot a thousand times. The characters are also great. Every actor is doing their absolute best and their chemistry is great.”

Another die-hard fan raved on X: “Had the time of my life with #thunderbolts! One of the best mcu projects in recent years.

“The movie does an outstanding job of exploring its themes surrounding mental health. I absolutely love [the] team and their dynamic, I cared so much about all of them. Easy 10/10.”

And a final viewer admitted: “Shocked how good THUNDERBOLTS* is. Putting emphasis on the character work and practical action makes this feel like the old Marvel that had us for a decade plus.

“Wish we’d gotten this sooner. Helps that this dysfunctional team has chemistry too.”

Will you be checking out Thunderbolts* for the first time or giving the film a much-deserved rewatch next week?

Thunderbolts* will be available to stream on Disney+ from Wednesday, 27th August.

It was clobberin’ time this weekend, as Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” nabbed the top spot at the box office with a performance that returned the Walt Disney Co.-owned superhero franchise to form.

The movie hauled in $118 million in the U.S. and Canada and grossed $218 million globally in its opening weekend. The film, which stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn, is just the latest remake of the comic book property, though the first under Walt Disney Co.’s ownership.

Formerly owned by 21st Century Fox, “The Fantastic Four” is one of several key intellectual properties now under the umbrella of the House of Mouse after its $71.3-billion acquisition of that studio’s entertainment assets in 2019.

Disney has already capitalized on its ownership of the “Deadpool” and “X-Men” properties — its 2024 film, “Deadpool & Wolverine,” garnered more than $1 billion in global box office revenue.

Fox produced and released three “Fantastic Four” movies, none of which were well-received by audiences or critics. A 2015 reboot was particularly reviled.

Quality was not an issue this time. The movie notched a 88% approval rating on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and an “A-” grade from audience polling firm CinemaScore.

The movie exceeded pre-release estimates. “First Steps” was expected to gross $100 million to $110 million in its debut weekend, on a reported budget of about $200 million.

The theatrical reception for “The Fantastic Four” is a relief for Disney and Marvel, which has struggled in recent years to reap the box office earnings it once did with its superhero films.

The Anthony Mackie-led “Captain America: Brave New World” received middling reviews from critics and brought in about $415 million in global box office revenue. Ensemble movie “Thunderbolts*” received strong reviews, but made only $382 million worldwide.

Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said earlier this year that the company “lost a little focus” in its zeal to produce more shows and movies for the Disney+ streaming platform, acknowledging that “quantity does not necessarily beget quality.”

“By consolidating a bit and having Marvel focus much more on their films, we believe it will result in better quality,” he said during an earnings call with analysts in May.

Anticipation was high for “The Fantastic Four,” and Disney went all out with the marketing. The company hired a skywriter to craft encircled 4’s in the sky near downtown Los Angeles on the day of the premiere and featured a drone show outside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion after the showing.

“While Marvel films have settled into a fairly predictable core audience after multiple under-cooked films and streaming series in the post-’Avengers: Endgame’ era, the brand remains sturdy when the right film comes along,” Shawn Robbins, director of movie analytics at Fandango and founder of site Box Office Theory, wrote in a weekend theatrical forecast published Wednesday.

Warner Bros.’ DC Studios’ “Superman” came in second at the box office this weekend with a domestic total of $24.9 million for a worldwide gross so far of $503 million.

This story contains spoilers for “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.”

Marvel’s First Family has finally made its formal MCU debut, which means it’s time to engage in everyone’s favorite tradition: breaking down the movie’s post-credits teases to suss out what’s next.

Directed by “WandaVision” helmer Matt Shakman, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” introduces audiences to Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn). The movie, which officially opens Friday, pits the quartet of superpowered astronauts against Galactus (Ralph Ineson), a cosmic entity with an insatiable hunger for planets.

As the title teases, “First Steps” marks the beginning of Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which will culminate with a pair of massive “Avengers” crossover films.

Like most MCU installments, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” features multiple post-credits stingers. The first, which is shown midway through the end credits, sets up the superhero team’s next big adventure.

The mid-credits scene takes place four years after the Fantastic Four’s showdown with Galactus. It shows Sue sitting on a couch, reading a story to her and Reed’s son, Franklin Richards. After finishing the book, she steps away to grab another, turning down robo-assistant H.E.R.B.I.E.’s suggested title. Sensing something is wrong, Sue starts charging her powers. She rounds the corner to check on Franklin and finds a mysterious cloaked figure interacting with her child.

While his face is not shown, his green cloak and the mask he is holding make it clear to fans familiar with their Marvel lore that this is Doctor Doom.

This marks the first appearance of the iconic villain in the MCU. The character, also known as Victor von Doom, made his comic book debut in “Fantastic Four” No. 5 (1962) and has been a foe of Marvel’s First Family ever since. In the comics, the character is both a scientific genius and a sorcerer hailing from the fictional country of Latveria. (The name of the country is briefly shown in “Fantastic Four: First Steps.”)

Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) and her son, Franklin (Ada Scott), in “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.”

(Marvel Studios)

Doom’s introduction into the MCU has been highly anticipated since Marvel Studios’ presentation last year at San Diego Comic-Con. Among the major announcements was that the fifth “Avengers” film had been retitled “Avengers: Doomsday” and that “Iron Man” actor Robert Downey Jr. would be returning to the franchise as Doctor Doom.

While Doom’s exact interest in Franklin is not revealed, it’s easy to assume that the child’s powers would be appealing to a supervillain. This encounter also hints at the reason why the Fantastic Four eventually make their way to the universe where the rest of the MCU heroes reside.

“First Steps” is set on Earth-828 — a tribute to “Fantastic Four” co-creator Jack Kirby, who was born Aug. 28, 1917 — a retrofuturistic world in a separate corner of the Marvel multiverse. But the “Thunderbolts*” post-credits scene shows the Fantastic Four’s spacecraft Excelsior appearing in their world on Earth-616. Could Doom have kidnapped young Franklin and taken him to an alternate universe? Whatever the reason, Samuel Sterns’ warning from the “Captain America: Brave New World” post-credits scene was apt: The multiverse is coming.

Fans might wonder how the “Fantastic Four” post-credits scene might have played out had the studio not altered its original plans to feature Kang the Conqueror as the franchise’s next big bad. In the comics Kang and Franklin are part of the same family tree so it’s easy to imagine him as the surprise interloper Sue sees. Either way, a magical nanny might have been helpful. (Marvel Studios pivoted from its original plan after Kang actor Jonathan Majors was convicted on assault and harassment charges in 2023.)

The second “Fantastic Four: First Steps” credits scene is shown after the full credits roll and serves more as a fun bonus and tribute to the eponymous superhero team’s animated past.

“Avengers: Doomsday,” hitting theaters Dec. 18, 2026, will be a massive MCU crossover featuring members of the Fantastic Four, the Thunderbolts/New Avengers and more. Confirmed “Doomsday” cast members include veteran “Avengers” stars Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Captain America), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes), Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki), as well as Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), David Harbour (Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian), Lewis Pullman (Bob Reynolds), Wyatt Russell (John Walker) and Hannah John-Kamen (Ava Starr/Ghost).

Up next for the MCU is “Wonder Man,” a series starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II that will debut on Disney+ in December. The next Phase 6 film is Marvel and Sony’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” slated for a July 2026 release.

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” slots into summer blockbuster season like a square peg in a round popcorn bucket. Prestige TV director Matt Shakman (“WandaVision”) isn’t inclined to pretzel himself like the flexible Reed Richards to please all four quadrants of the multiplex. His staid superhero movie plays like classic sci-fi in which adults wearing sweater vests solemnly brainstorm how to resolve a crisis. Watching it, I felt as snug as being nestled in the backseat of my grandparents’ car at the drive-in.

This reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise — the third in two decades — is lightyears closer to 1951’s “The Day the Earth Stood Still” than it is to the frantic, over-cluttered superhero epics that have come to define modern entertainment. Set on Earth 828, an alternate universe that borrows our own Atomic Age decor, it doesn’t just look old, it moves old. The tone and pace are as sure-footed as globe-gobbling Galactus, this film’s heavy, purposefully marching into alt-world Manhattan. Even its tidy running time is from another epoch. Under two hours? Now that’s vintage chic.

“First Steps” picks up several years after four astronauts — Reed (Pedro Pascal), his wife, Sue (Vanessa Kirby), his brother-in-law Johnny (Joseph Quinn) and his best friend Ben (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) — get themselves blasted by cosmic rays that endow them with special powers. You may know the leads better as, respectively, Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and the Thing. For mild comic relief, they also pal around with a robot named H.E.R.B.I.E., voiced by Matthew Wood.

Skipping their origin story keeps things tight while underlining the idea that these are settled-down grown-ups secure in their abilities to lengthen, disappear, ignite and clobber. Fans might argue they should be a bit more neurotic; screenplay structuralists will grumble they have no narrative arc. The mere mortals of Earth 828 respect the squad for their brains and their brawn — they’re celebrities in a genteel pre-paparazzi time — but these citizens are also prone to despair when they aren’t sure Pascal’s workaholic daddy will save them.

Lore has it Stan Lee was a married, middle-aged father aging out of writing comic books when his beloved spouse, Joan, elbowed him to develop characters who felt personal. The graying, slightly boring Reed was a loose-limbed version of himself: the ultimate wife guy with the ultimate wife.

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But Hollywood has aged-down Lee’s “quaint quartet,” as he called them, at its own peril. Make the Fantastic Four cool (as the movies have repeatedly tried and failed to do) and they come across as desperately lame. This time, Shakman and the script’s four-person writing team of Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer valorize their lameness and restore their dignity. Pascal’s Mr. Fantastic is so buttoned-down that he tucks his tie into his dress shirt.

The scenario is that Sue is readying to give birth to the Richards’ first child just as the herald Shalla-Bal (Julia Garner), a.k.a. the Silver Surfer, barrels into the atmosphere to politely inform humanity that her boss Galactus (voiced by Ralph Ineson) has RSVP-ed yes to her invitation that he devour their planet. In a biologically credible touch, the animators have added tarnish to her cleavage: “I doubt she was naked,” Reed says evenly. “It was probably a stellar polymer.”

Typically, this threat would trigger a madcap fetch-this-gizmo caper (as it did in the original comic). Shakman’s version doesn’t waste its energy or our time on that. Rather, this a lean showdown between self-control and gluttony, between our modest heroes and a greedy titan. It’s at the Venn diagram of a Saturday morning cartoon and a moralistic Greek myth.

The film is all sleek lines, from its themes to its architecture to its images. The visuals by the cinematographer Jess Hall are crisp and impactful: a translucent hand snatching at a womb, a character falling into the pull of a yawning black hole, a torso stretched like chewing gum, a rocket launch that can’t blast off until we get a close-up of everyone buckling their seatbelts. Even in space, the CG isn’t razzle-dazzle busy. Meanwhile, Michael Giacchino’s score soars between bleats of triumph and barbershop-chorus charm, a combination that can sound like an automobile show unveiling the first convertible with tail fins.

There is little brawling and less snark. No one comes off like an aspiring stand-up comic. These characters barely raise their voices and often use their abilities on the mundane: Kirby’s Sue vanishes to avoid awkward conversations, Moss-Bachrach’s Ben, in a nod to his breakout role as the maître d’ on “The Bear,” uses his mighty fists to mash garlic. Johnny, the youngest and most literally hotheaded of the group, is apt to light himself on fire when he can’t be bothered to find a flashlight. He delivers the meanest quip in a respectful movie when he tells Reed, “I take back every single bad thing I’ve been saying about you … to myself, in private.”

Yes, my audience giggled dutifully at the jiggling Jell-O salads and drooled over the groovy conversation pits in the Richards’ living room, the only super lair I’d ever live in. The color palette emphasizes retro shades of blue, green and gold; even the extras have coordinated their outfits to the trim on the Fantasticar. Delightfully, when Moss-Bachrach’s brawny rock monster strolls to the deli to buy black-and-white cookies, he’s wearing a gargantuan pair of penny loafers.

If you want to feel old, the generation of middle schoolers who saw 2008’s “Iron Man” on opening weekend are now beginning to raise their own children. Thirty-seven films later, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has gotten so insecure about its own mission that it’s pitching movies at every maturity level. The recent “Thunderbolts*” is for surly teenagers, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is the drunk, divorced uncle at a BBQ, and “First Steps” extends a sympathetic hand to young families who identify with Reed’s frustration that he can’t childproof the entire galaxy.

Here, for a mass audience, Kirby gets to reprise her underwatched Oscar-nominated turn in “Pieces of a Woman,” in which she extended out a 24-minute, single-take labor scene. This karaoke snippet is good (and even a little operatic when the pain makes her dematerialize). I was as impressed by the costumer Alexandra Byrne’s awareness that even super moms won’t immediately snap back into wearing tight spandex. (By contrast, when Jessica Alba played Sue in 2007’s “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” the director notoriously asked her to be “prettier” when she cried.)

This reboot’s boldest stride toward progress is that it values emotionally credible performances. Otherwise, Pascal aside, you wouldn’t assemble this cast for any audience besides critics and dweebs (myself included) who keep a running list of their favorite not-quite-brand-name talents who are ready to break through to the next level of their career while yelling, “It’s clobbering time!”

Still, this isn’t anyone’s best role, and it’s a great movie only when compared to similarly budgeted dreck. Yet it’s a worthy exercise in creating something that doesn’t feel nostalgic for an era — it feels of an era. Even if the MCU’s take on slow cinema doesn’t sell tickets in our era, I admire the confidence of a movie that sets its own course instead of chasing the common wisdom that audiences want 2½ hours of chaos. Studio executives continuing to insist on that nonsense deserve Marvel’s first family to give them a disappointed talking-to, and send them to back their boardrooms without supper.