Some say that Captain America Civil War is practically Avengers 2.5 seeing that not only will we be getting another story about Captain America, but also a story about Iron Man and a bunch of other Marvel superheroes. To me, this is just a series of films that keeps getting better and better. The first Captain America movie was pretty good and the second movie in some respects was even better, but this movie might as well be the best of the three because of its creative action set pieces, interesting conflicts and deep storytelling.
Taking place a little after the events of Age of Ultron. The government oversees the actions and destruction caused by The Avengers and recommends to them to agree to the Sokovia Accords which will only allow the government to oversee their fighting crime which will save hundreds of lives. Captain America (Chris Evans) of Steve Rodgers doesn't like the idea of having the government taking control of their actions but Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) or Tony Stark sees it a different way and thinks the Sokovia Accords is a better option to earn the trust of the people and the government. Suddenly the Avenger team is separated into two sides and to make things more complicated, Captain America tries to help his friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) (The Winter Soldier) by getting taken from the government for psychological testing which makes Steve and his allies outlawed and a threat to Tony and the other side of the government. This leads our heroes to the fight of their lives for what they believe is right way of doing things.
The thing I love about this story the most is definitely the conflict, it could have been so easy to say Iron Man was wrong and Captain America was right or vice versa. Both sides of the argument have their pros and cons and why certain characters take certain sides are very well explained and understandable. The stakes are much higher than previous Marvel movies and they tackle some very deep themes including friendship and betrayal. I remember how in Age of Ultron how Tony Stark’s reasons for protecting people with the Ultron program were very under-explained, but this movie is the complete opposite. In just one scene you fully understand why Stark takes the side that he does even when it seems like he takes things a bit too far. You're still routing for him and Steve Rogers to work something out even when they are fighting. The movie isn’t all dark and sad though as the film still carries the stuff that we loved about previous Marvel movies like the charming characters and the comical humor and it balances with the more complex stuff almost expertly.
Unlike the last Captain America movies, there are more characters that get balanced into the mix and it's not just Captain America and Iron Man as we get to see returning favorites like Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Vision and even Ant-Man as well as new additions like Black Panther and Spider-Man. Each character gets the right amount of screen time and their personalities are larger than life that work great off one another. If there is one character I admit that I didn't like, it would be the main antagonist Zemo. he just felt like a very bland Marvel villain and was only there as something for our heroes to fight against. However, the conflict between Iron Man and Captain America is so good that it honestly makes me forget that Zemo is even a part of this movie.
The visuals and cinematography in previous Captain America movies have always kept pushing the spectacle of how grand and epic everything is and this film cranks up the visual splendor to 11. The action scenes in particular are some of the best that the MCU has ever choreographed. Every character you see on the screen uses their superpowers in very engaging and interesting ways and it's very cool to see the different heroes fighting against each other which can lead to some exciting and even gripping moments. This is especially the case with the airport scene which is one of the best and memorable scenes in any MCU movie since the battle of New York in The Avengers. It brings out the creative use of the characters' powers and the CGI effects look great even when they are fake looking because it's so creative. It's also cool how a lot of set locations are from around the world and not just in the USA. True, previous marvel movies have taken place around the globe as well but there is something the way this movie does it that makes it very unique and visually interesting.
The Music score is once again done by composer Henry Jackman who scored the previous Captain America movie The Winter Soldier, and scored the soundtrack for Wreck-it Ralph and Big Hero 6. Jackman goes all out in making music to match the growing conflict between Stark and Rogers. The final fight between the two has the most operitic and tense music that it may even be enough to make you feel emotional at times.
Many fans rank this movie among the best of the MCU and I honestly might be right with them. I may not like the central antaginost that much but I love almost everything else from its gripping action packed storytelling, lovable characters that are all understandable, great visuals that are some of the best of Marvel, and an excellent score from Henry Jackman. I consider this to be the best Captain America movie and also one of the best movies from MCU. get ready to pick a side and strap yourself in because you're in for one heck of an experience.
(Final Grade: A)