Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Running Time: 147 Minutes

Release Date: Friday 29th April 2016

The Captain America franchise has always proven to be something of an MVP when it comes to Marvel’s now monolithic ‘Cinematic Universe’. His first outing back in 2011 carried the prestigious addendum of being The First Avenger before Joss Whedon’s merry band of superhero misfits even assembled, and many at the time called the impactful and superbly crafted Winter Soldier ‘Avengers 1.5’ in recognition of both it’s quality and narrative thwack. 

And now, after the somewhat clumsy semi-misfire of last year’s jumbled Avengers: Age of Ultroncomes Captain America: Civil War, which for all intents and purposes serves as Avengers 3 minus the big green one and the hammer god. But to label it as simply another sequel, particularly when that means lumbering it in with Ultron, would actually do a disservice to the fantastic, powerful work the brothers Russo do here, continuing on from the solid foundations they laid down in Winter Soldier.

"Captain America and his unit of super special comrades

have hit a bit of a snag; their do-gooding seems to have

racked up a degree of collateral damage usually reserved

for the darker deposits of Michael Bay."

Captain America (Chris Evans) and his unit of super special comrades have hit a bit of a snag; their do-gooding, whilst demonstrably for the greater good and chomping at the bit with all-American virtue and selflessness, seems to have racked up a degree of collateral damage usually reserved for the darker deposits of Michael Bay. The world has woken up to the calamity and destruction these super beings can cause, and have decided - courtesy of a suitably snidely William Hurt - that something must be done. 

A treaty is formed. Lines are drawn in the sand.

On the one side, the ever-valiant Cap, stung by his experiences with the manipulations of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, and fresh of the bat of Winter Soldier’s villainous machinations, believes handing over his super team to be placed under the control of U.N. suits and officials will inevitably lead to disaster and skulduggery. Tony Stark, meanwhile (the ever reliable Robert Downey Jnr. flying on slightly more serious and intense mode) believes such power needs to be kept in check, and signing away the Avengers' own liberty and placing them under watchful eye is merely keeping ahead of the inevitable curve.

It’s a conflict that is neatly pitched throughout - audiences will likely find themselves swaying back and forth between the two perspectives, particularly when a stray Alfre Woodard appears waving guilt-inducing photos of her dead son, or on the flip side the intent behind said treaty (see: ‘accord’) begins to look potentially a little shady. It’s a testimony to writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and of course the insanely good siblings heading up the whole thing that the dilemma facing some of our favourite characters consistently challenges us - the audience - at the same time. There’s no Tony Stark: the villain to be found here. Allegiances switch. Revelations punch through any bias.

In fact, the same can be said of the character work throughout; all involved clearly realising that it is not what is super or incredible about these characters, but rather what is distinctly human and relatable, that really resonates. In fairness, it’s a knack Marvel have demonstrated throughout their ‘MCU’, but nowhere has it been stronger, or put to such weighty tests, as here. And whilst some may argue by the end of the film that the wider narrative hasn’t really been pushed all that far, in regards to some of the franchises key characters, it is arguably their most pivotal and important instalment yet, with some major revelations springing up towards the end in particular.

"Tom Holland as Spider-Man... tremendous fun, more

than a little tongue-in-cheek, and perfectly captures

the youthful charm and pep of the character... 

one of the biggest highlightsof the whole film."

And Civil War is positively bursting at the seams with characters - enough in fact to make either Avengers film before it look a little slim pickings. No, there’s no Thor or Hulk as mentioned, but on top of almost every other major Marvel hero swinging or flying in to return (including Paul Rudd’s hilarious Ant-Man on scene-stealing form), we get some shiny new additions to the roster which, somehow, amazingly still manages to avoid feeling over-saturated. Chief amongst these is the hotly-anticipated debut of Tom Holland as Spider-Man, and it’s a turn that certainly doesn’t disappoint. Stepping confidently out of the shadows of the Raimi-Webb imaginings of recent years, the incarnation of the character found here is tremendous fun, more than a little tongue-in-cheek, and perfectly captures the youthful charm and pep of the character without bogging it down in any weighty exposition outside of an Aunt May by way of an enjoyable Marisa Tomei. 

Weaving in the introduction of Spider-Man and setting up a major new franchise such as that amidst all the mayhem must have seemed like an impossible and potentially foolish task at the outset, but not only do the Russo’s pull it off, the character actually becomes one of the biggest highlights of the whole film, his inclusion pitched just enough to make an indelible impression, whilst also being brief enough to make his 2017 solo outing an extremely exciting prospect. 

Daniel Bruhl is on villain duty as the enigmatic Zemo, and after the Lokis and Ultrons and Malekiths and their zany antics of world domination, it’s nice to see a distinctly more human villain with an equally relatable drive being the one who threatens to bring it all crashing down. Bruhl gives a fine performance in his limited screentime, and much like in Winter Soldier the Russo’s do a good job of using him to maintain a sense of mystery and uncertainty right up until the finale. It’s a tense, ominous and engaging story that nevertheless leaps along at a whippet pace, bringing along with it further new faces such as Chadwick Boseman’s majestic yet imposing Black Panther, before exploding into the mother of all final acts featuring not one but two incredible protracted showdowns which are by some measure the strongest set pieces Marvel-dom has offered yet.

From a truly stunning, thrilling and regularly hilarious all-stars duke-out at an airport which sees the two teams truly brass knuckle it out against each other in exhilarating, gloriously inventive style, through to a more intimate but no less dazzling final clash, the action and excitement here is truly Marvel at it’s superhero apex. What’s equally impressive though, is that the Russo’s trademark ability for breathtaking action is propped up by a story and film around it that is just as robust and punchy.

"What's equally impressive though, is that the

Russo's trademark ability for breathtaking

action is propped up by a story and film

around it that is just as robust and punchy."

When the dust settles and the inevitable mid-credits sequence plays out, there is a small nagging sense that Civil War could probably have pushed the MCU metanarrative that bit further than it does; it’s hard not to imagine that much of the film’s endgame will probably be fairly easily and abruptly U-turned come Infinity War, but in many ways that’s acceptable - that two part War being, after all, the biggy; what the entire Marvel universe has geared toward from day one. And it’s a two-parter that has been placed too, mercifully, in the game and incomparable hands of the Russos. On the basis of the weighty, thrilling and best-Marvel-movie-yet Civil War, it’s going to need to be something spectacular indeed to outdo themselves.

Then again, I said the same after Winter Soldier. 

In the Russos we trust.

RATING - ★★★★★

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