Marvel steps up their game with Captain America: Civil War.

Rating: 9/10 (4 May 2016)

Captain America: Civil War is the 13th feature film from Marvel studios and their universe. It is a sequel to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, directed by the Russo Brothers, and is once again back to helm this one. It basically stars all of the Avengers, so this is a stack cast for a Captain America movie. It is written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, whom of which wrote the first Captain America movie & The Winter Soldier as well.
So let me start by saying that I LOVED this film. I've seen it twice and it honestly got better the second time around. Is it a masterpiece? No. But it was near. The Russo Brothers NAILED IT once again. I consider Captain America: The Winter Soldier the best MCU film, and they managed to top it. The way they handled the characters, the story & the action was so well-done. Each scene of this film has a sense of effort and execution, and all that credit goes to the Russo Brothers. They've done a MARVELOUS job.
The story is very complex and has a lot of elements into it. These elements of which are interconnected in order for the movie to move along. The story also touches into many different themes/subject matters and I really liked that. For a film like this, that has a lot plot points and themes, an individual could easily be confused. I wasn't. Though to be honest, the first time I watched it, I was lost a few times, but all that are resolved when I watched again. The film does get busy because of it's story, but it doesn't get out of control. It's not messy. It's not tight and cohesive as THE WINTER SOLDIER, but the film still is structured well. What I loved about the story is that it's very personal. It's a character study between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. They're the centerpiece of this movie. This has been building up from the start, and to see it pay off here was an absolute blast.
All of the performances are GREAT. The original cast are better than ever, which is not a surprise. So let's talk about the new ones. BLACK PANTHER is MAGNIFICENT. Chadwick Boseman did a good job as this newly introduced character. Looking forward for his standalone film. SPIDER-MAN is AWESOME. He was so handled well. I didn't feel he was just shoehorned in. Pretty damn excited for his new movie. Tom Holland IS Spider-Man. Paul Rudd as ANT-MAN is just so perfect. From his standalone film, I was really excited to see him interact with the other Avengers and it didn't disappoint. Robert Downey Jr. as IRON MAN gave such a powerful performance here, so powerful. Basically everyone was in their A-game.
I was BLOWN AWAY by the action, it has the best action pieces in an MCU movie yet. The action was gripping, powerful, & emotional. Speaking of those things, the film was poignant but at the same time funny as well. The film was very well BALANCED. Whether it's balancing the tone, balancing the story, all of it which are balanced.
I didn't mind the villain. I understood his character. He had motives into why he was doing all his actions. Although his not a very fleshed out character. He was just there for the sake of the story. He was basically a functional villain that was used to move the story. He's not the worst, but he's certainly not one of the great things about the movie. The character was clever and low-key, and I liked that, I just needed to know more about him. Daniel Bruhl's performance was fine. I dug the soundtrack of The Winter Soldier, but this one just disappointed me. It's not TERRIBLE, but I was just expecting MORE from Henry Jackman.
Final say: With breathtaking action, complex and balanced story, CAPTAIN America: CIVIL WAR is a superhero film that's ABSOLUTELY entertaining, and at the same time has the gravitas and depth to the story and it's characters. You understand certain motives, you understand the conflicts, you understand both sides. This is not only a GREAT TIME of a movie, it has qualities that is pretty rare in these kind of movies.