Outstanding! Marvel is unstoppable!

Rating: 10/10 (13 April 2016)

CAPTAIN America: CIVIL WAR is the best Marvel movie yet. It's superhero conflict done right! Spectacular action sequences, it's well thought out, it's got nicely placed humor here and there, the plot and the motivations make sense, all the characters have fair share amount of screen time, and may I just say that the new Spider-Man is totally awesome! Even if you didn't grow up reading comic books, you will geek out every step of the way. This film is every bit as fun as 2012's "The Avengers." One of the many brilliant things that Marvel's Kevin Feige and his creative team and writers and directors did is that they already mapped out Marvel Cinematic Universe, they already know what A through Z will be and how to connect the dots in between. And so when Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt) shows the Avengers the disastrous consequences of their saving-the-world efforts, we the audience feel the impact as well because we remember those individual movies which lead up to this installment, they're still fresh in our memories. And in CAPTAIN America: CIVIL WAR, the repercussion of Cap vs. The Winter Soldier continues to be force that drives the story forward, because it's actually more layered than we think.
I know what you're going to ask me. What do I think of the new Spider-Man? Fair enough. Before we get to that, let me just say that my initial concerns that this movie would end up just being some kind of Avengers 2.5 instead of a Cap movie, because of the inclusion of so many characters, my initial concerns subside because again, by this time, Marvel already knows what they're doing, they know how to balance fun and intense action, they know that they have to showcase the skills and traits of each character instead of applying one size fits all. Screenwriters Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely with directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo are all master storytellers. OK.. so Spider-Man. He's alright. I'm kidding. He's awesome! And I truly mean that. Actor Tom Holland is perfect in this role. No offense to Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, but Holland's version is the Spidey that we the fans have been anticipating and I'm not talking just about his wise-cracking sarcasm, Holland owns it, he embodies it, he has some of the coolest lines in this film. And this whole idea of picking up the character from the middle and putting him into the mix, is absolutely brilliant because Spider-Man's time in CAPTAIN America: CIVIL WAR is as significant and as scene-stealing as Quicksilver was in "X-Men: Days Of Future Past," he's the one most fans will talk about long after this movie's done.
Another great addition is Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, and wait till you get a load of the surprise that Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) will have for you in the well-choreographed airport scene which is the part where both teams ultimately clash. That said, there is an underlying secret, there is a common enemy so smart that he doesn't even have to get his hands dirty, that's how clever this script is, because it's more than just about Sokovia accords or putting superheroes in check, and the reason the characters clash makes sense, it's more than just about a simple payback. That ability to keep itself fresh at every turn is one of the many, many strengths of CAPTAIN America: CIVIL WAR. The story ends with you wondering if your favorite heroes would ever join forces again when a greater threat like Thanos finally comes to town. What an outstanding film with great performances across the board. In this year where Daredevil is fighting Punisher on TV, Superman is fighting Batman on the big screen and apparently Charlize Theron's Ravenna is fighting Emily Blunt's Freya in "The Huntsman: Winter's War,"... CAPTAIN America: CIVIL WAR trumps all.
-- Rama's Screen --