Captain America Civil War is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and stars Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastien Stan, Anthony Mackie and a host of other Hollywood A-listers. The thirteen film in the $9 billion franchise behemoth, Civil War changes the MCU forever with a clash between two divided factions of the Avengers, one led by Captain America, the other by Iron Man after a dispute about the Avenger's missions. Also thrown into the mix is Cap's old best friend, Bucky Barnes who Cap tries to protect from the government.
Civil War is undoubtedly the best Marvel movie in its sprawling universe. Its huge ensemble makes it more of a Avengers 2.5 but at its centre is the relationship between Steve Rogers and Bucky, a delicate reminder of the patriot hero's old life. Chris Evans, in his fifth performance of the character, continues to find new levels to this surprisingly complex war veteran and he and Downey Jr. give some of the best performances in the superhero series. The addition of all the other Avengers but Hulk and Thor, plus first time appearances from Black Panther and Spider-Man, is justification for its 147 minute runtime as each character is given their own arc and their own 'moment' as it were, a time for them to show off. Tom Holland is the definitive Peter Parker, a wise cracking teenager with some massively entertaining action scenes whilst Chadwick Boseman is a cool, determined Black Panther who gets a worthy amount of screen time.
Civil War also embraces a slightly different formula for Marvel movies, instead of having the CGI heavy smack down at the end, the much talked about 'airport' scene is one of two climaxes in the last hour of the film and is quite simply, the most satisfying, nerd-tastic superhero smack down EVER. What makes the set piece so astonishing is the characters change their opponents frequently, Ant Man fights Black Widow, Spider-Man and Iron Man whilst Captain America squares off against Black Panther, Iron Man and Spider-Man. It is a Marvel fan's wet dream. The climatic face off between Rogers, Stark and Barnes is a thousand times better than the other superhero square off of 2016 not just from a choreography perspective but for emotional impact and utter devotion to these characters. One final shot is of Stark on the ground; his helmet, Bucky's metal arm and Cap's shield on the floor around him. There is a lot of symbolism there; the defining feature of each person abandoned as the civil war has changed them and pushed them beyond boundaries superheroes are not meant to be cross. Civil War also succeeds in causing an inner war in your head: who's team am I on? Team Iron Man may be the cooler and most correct of the two, but you understand Cap's motivations as much as Stark's and the lines are thinly drawn.
Captain America is a huge payoff for the MCU, a culmination of story arcs not just from its blistering opening but from Iron Man back in 2008, a film which was bettered by Avengers Assemble which was bettered by Winter Soldier which has now been bettered by Civil War. What can top this?
