Captain America : Civil War

While its main competition Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice didn’t fare well with the critics, Captain America: Civil War has been praised for being one of the most ambitious and boldest movies to come from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely did an excellent job in making sure the story was exclusively reliant on the characters. The incredibly impressive cinematography is the biggest achievement of the directing duo: Joe Russo and Anthony Russo.

With an ensemble of superheroes, Civil War features more costumed vigilantes than any other movie from Marvel Studios. It sets the stage for a standalone film for Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), set to be released in 2018. It introduces the newest silver screen version of Spider Man (Tom Holland) before its 2017 reboot and Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) adds some humor to the film. While Hawkeye (Jeremy Renners), just like previous Marvel installations, and War Machine (Don Cheadle) feel underutilized.

Similar to Dawn of Justice, Civil War shows an internal conflict among superheroes due to the political pressure; costumed vigilantes being held responsible for their actions. It begins when Cap (Chris Evans), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) set out on a mission to search for a villain from a previous film and things end up going awry when not all innocent people are saved. Elsewhere, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is finding it difficult to live with the mistakes he’s made. This leads him to team up with the Secretary of State Ross (William Hurt) to devise an accord which makes the Avengers no longer an independent organization but answerable for their actions to the United Nations. While some of the superheroes are on board with idea of being liable for the damage – Tony Stark, Black Widow, Vision (Paul Bettany), and War Machine – others believe they need to stand alone and not be bound by any commission.

Whilst their internal conflict is rising, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) is being successfully framed by someone for the killing of King of Wakanda. T’Challa aka the Black Panther, the King’s son, wants revenge but the Cap wants to save his friend’s life. Cap wants to know what’s going on and doesn’t want to use conventional ways to figure it out. Unsurprisingly, this leads to the exciting centerpiece of the movie; an epic 17-minute face-off between heroes at an airport.

From the twelve movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, captain America: Civil War is easily the second best movie after Captain America: Winter Soldier. The movie lacks a massive alien entity or malicious industrialist conspiring to takeover which gives it a new and refreshing feel. The action packed character drama is something that typically isn’t seen in a high budget superhero movie which is not to be missed. It is more intense, craftier and much more entertaining than the previous movies with its loud and flashy combat scenes while also being emotional and passionate.