Captain America: Civil War

In an industry that’s increasingly keen to play it safe, there’s a lot to be said for taking risks. In Captain America: Civil War, those responsible for creating what could arguably be labelled the most successful film franchise ever threaten to tear that project to the ground. But fear of irreparable damage hasn’t dissuaded Marvel Studios, who present a story of inner turmoil within the superhero community, pitting former friends Captain America and Iron Man against each other. It’s a conflict that builds incredibly naturally, emotively and (critically) without alienating one side or the other.

With the Russo brothers behind the camera and Marvel veterans Markus and McFeely on scriptwriting duty, the film provides a much more generous serving of the quippery that made its predecessors such a joy. All is deftly realised by an ever-growing cast of now familiar characters, with Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man and Anthony Mackie’s Falcon getting some of the best lines. Newcomers Black Panther and Falcon are sure to be fan favourites. Above all, the tone is masterfully managed: levity is upheld with ease, but when it comes time to deal out emotion, the film proves itself surprisingly genuine.

Similarly, when the time comes for action, Captain America: Civil War doesn’t pull its punches. From the Bourne-esque punch-ups of the movie’s opening to magnificent set pieces only glimpsed in the trailer, there’s an astounding amount of visual variety at play. That’s not to say that everything is a perfect hit; it can be hard to look past the overt falseness of the Iron Man suits or some of the tech. The score is bombastic but without any real themes. Most disappointingly, the bad guy side plot is cursory at best, Daniel Bruhl’s talents largely wasted.

That said, those are mere flies in Civil War‘s ointment, as the film manages to impress from start to very end with lovable characters, genuine emotion and awesome action to boot. It does its predecessors proud and, more importantly, it inspires hope that blockbusters can still have ample heart and brain to go with their brawn.

James Ager

Captain America: Civil War is released nationwide on 29^th April 2016.

Watch the trailer for Captain America: Civil War here: