1335. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson

Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Running Time: 147 mins

Captain America: Civil War is an American film and the thirteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After Tony Stark and Steve Rogers fall out on whether the Avengers’ activities should be monitored, their conflict causes a huge fracture within the Avengers.

This is hands down the best Marvel film to date. Expertly made by The Winter Soldier directors Anthony and Joe Russo, and featuring a complex and intriguing story combined with some astonishing action, Captain America: Civil War is a riveting, exciting, and most of all massively entertaining ride from start to finish.

I’m going to start with what I loved most about this movie: the action. The Russo Brothers proved in The Winter Soldier that they can make some amazingly exciting action sequences, and they’ve upped their game here in Civil War. From the word go, this film is filled to the brim with intense and exciting action, filmed in a brilliantly sleek way that makes it all the more enjoyable to watch.

There are at least four major action sequences (one of which is probably the best we’ve seen this century) in this movie, a fact that would normally condemn a film to being too explosive. Here, however, thanks to the longer running time, you get good and necessary breaks between those major set-pieces, meaning that when it’s time to up the tempo, it feels so satisfying to watch.

However, a great action movie is nothing without a good story. Fortunately, Civil War delivers stunningly on the storytelling front too. Despite being enjoyable to watch, Marvel’s films have had a tendency over the last eight years to feel a little thin when it comes to genuine thrills and drama, and that’s what makes Civil War stand out so much from the rest of the MCU.

I won’t deny that the film may be a little overlong, and a little overstuffed in the first act, but when the pieces gradually begin to come together, it makes for a thoroughly captivating watch. Civil War’s premise puts the world’s most powerful heroes at odds, and its story lives up to that perfectly.

This isn’t a civil dispute, this is a civil war, and at every moment, there’s a really strong and serious emphasis on how high the stakes are. This is a film that matters. It’s got emotional depth, political intrigue, and as many superheroes as you can imagine clashing in the most epic way, and that’s something that we’ve not seen from a superhero movie in any way since The Dark Knight.

Overall, Captain America: Civil War is a brilliant film. It’s just as entertaining as you’d expect from Marvel, but with a heap of astonishing action sequences and a more serious, intelligent and high-stakes story, it makes for hugely riveting viewing, and that’s why I’m giving it an 8.5.