With a new batch of Avengers lead by Captain America (Evans) now firmly established, the team have reached a level of comradery and are doing very well for themselves. But during a battle between the new Avengers and a band of mercenaries lead by Rumlow (Frank Grillo, returning following his appearance in Winter Soldier) in Lagos, one member accidently blows up a part of a nearby building and causes dozens of casualties. For some, this is one event too far, as Avengers old and new are brought in by the Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt, last seen in the MCU chasing after The Incredible Hulk) to discuss the U.N-approved paperwork that demands that the government controls the actions of the heroes – and those who decide against signing it must retire or else they be arrested for misconduct. This quickly separates the groups apart, with Steve demanding that they should be free to choose when and who to save whilst Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) decrees the 'Sokovia Accords' necessary, and things don't get much better when Rogers' childhood friend-turned-assassin Bucky (Stan) is accused of causing an attack in Vienna. As the heroes continue to drift away thanks to their differing viewpoints – and maybe even a little pushing from an outside force in the form of one Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl) - can a decision be reached before a super-powered war begins?
Opening with an important flashback ahead of jumping into the action, Captain America: Civil War immediately begins firing on all cylinders with its fierce action beats and screenwriting, with the Marvel Studios way of wits and story-telling still seemingly unable to fail. By spreading each battle apart and leaving plenty of room for the political debates (which never bore thanks largely to the sheer gusto both Evans and Downey Jr. give), plot delving and even a hint of romance, it helps the film flow at a great pace. However, this doesn't exactly mean that the film never starts to bore, as a capture in Vienna does show signs of the film needing a breather, whilst the mandatory moments of Zemo preparing his plan are let down by just how disinteresting he is compared to the main course that his side dish compliments. But the film does remain a real treat, with the aforementioned fight sequences being powerful and expertly manufactured; the grand battle in the airport will likely be one that the company will struggle to top in utter volume – enhanced by the quips and antics that players on both sides administer – whilst the final battle between Steve and Stark is a powerful two-hander that feels so real and heart-breaking that it's final moments will break you.
Leading the film is of course Chris Evans' Steve Rogers, who by this stage has got a clear understanding of the character and strives towards keeping his interpretation faithful enough for fans to cherish. And with the character's ethics being so understandable and his trust in his former WWII buddy Bucky, Captain America is even more likeable than before, even if the story his character goes through it eerily similar to the path he took in Winter Soldier – albeit with a lot more going for it. Anthony Mackie's Falcon remains a delight almost immediately, with his suit upgrades from his previous appearances pushing his potential further while having a fun relationship with both Rogers and Barnes. Speaking of which, Sebastian Stan as the assassin turned fugitive keeps his mostly-stoic presence going, but the biggest issue to be had with him is that his character is more of a macguffin here than anything, with the more in-depth aspects of his character instead coming from his relationships with the likes of Evans, Downey Jr. and Boseman. Elisabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff is still struggling a tad with her Russian accent, but as a side character with perhaps the biggest side-story at play here (with her interactions with Paul Bettany's Vision being rather insightful towards the two's future together); Paul Rudd as Ant-Man brings some much-needed levity to the team with some great dialogue coming right out of the gate; Jeremy Renner as the formerly-retired Hawkeye brings some fun moments too (especially a sequence with Rudd that I've personally been looking forward to for a long time), and Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter the insightive ally makes for a fine character...even if her actions as love interest are mostly in vain due to the factor that she and Evans don't share that much screen-time together.
Meanwhile on Team Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. gives off perhaps his most serious performance as the constantly-quipping Tony Stark, as the matters at hand hit home to him and hard. While this doesn't mean he stays serious throughout – this is Tony Stark, after all – it does bring about the actor's best work for the series to date, with some final moments between numerous characters striking and reacting strong. Don Cheadle as War Machine is essentially an amalgamation of Steve, Tony and the Falcon but still comes out strong; Chadwick Boseman as newcomer T'Challa/Black Panther brings out not only some brutal fight sequences but some pure emotion into why he's part of the fight – and one that echoes the villain's; Scarlett Johansson as the one in the middle ground (being supportive of the act but respecting Steve and his decision) presents herself strong and with a great rapport going on with every one of her co-stars; Paul Bettany is somewhat fun but fearing as Vision, with a mild subplot about becoming more man than machine being an enjoyable aspect for those time-outs; and then there's Tom Holland. For years, we've struggled to find an actor who could portray both Peter Parker and Spider-Man, but we've finally found it in the form of Holland. He's hugely entertaining ("You've got a metal arm? That's so cool!") as the naïve entity that Stark brings in as back-up, but who's only real flaw is that he is a tad shoe-horned into the movie ahead of his grand first appearance. But if this is anything to go by, Spider-Man Homecoming should be a real treat.
And despite all of these characters, there's still a whole lot more to go. William Hurt returns to the role of Ross as though 8 years never passed; Frank Grillo's minor appearance presents a stronger threat than he ever was before; Martin Freeman's Everett Ross is a small part but one that looks promising (if you can overlook his American accent; an oddity for the renowned Brit); Marisa Tomei as Aunt May may seem like an odd choice out of context, but they play around with the younger actress look with some interactions with Downey Jr.; John Kani as T'Challa's father brings about a regal presence; and then there's Daniel Brühl as Zemo, who's sadly the weakest element of the entire enterprise. While it's easy to understand how and why he makes the moves he does, and it's refreshing to see a villain use his wits instead of his muscle to fight his enemies, but it does make for a dissatisfying antagonist, and one that may unfortunately be placed on fan's Best Villain lists. However, Brühl does what he can with quite the foreboding performance.
By this stage, it's easy to expect that the Russo brothers are competent directors, and it's certainly obvious that they were born to work with the action genre. As I've mentioned before, each fight sequence is filled to the brim with powerful and violent attacks which the audience can feel, and with the larger (or in Ant-Man's case, smaller) magnitude by comparison of the last Marvel effort what with the increased number of characters and abilities it's even more applaudable in just how well they've done here. Add some stunning cinematography and visual effects, which are unfortunately downgraded with the post-3D conversion, and you have a film that's aesthetically pleasing on the eye.
By having the next step in a journey that’s so far been eight years in the making be one where heroes must oppose to one another and fight as a last resort, Marvel has cemented themselves as kings of the comic book movie in the form of Captain America: Civil War. Whilst not quite the masterpiece that's been conceived due to its lacklustre antagonist and occasionally slow moments, Civil War is a film that plays around the often-criticised Marvel formula and feels refreshing – a fun-filled political piece where you're so invested in the characters that the sight of seeing them strike against one another is both heart-breaking and riveting – that it's hard to deny that it's one to watch. To put it simply: it's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice done so, so, so right. 8/10.
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