One of Marvel's Best

Rating: 9/10 (27 April 2018)

While Marvel and DC are perpetual rivals, never before did they really go head to head with similar movies before the Spring of 2016. After the massive disappointment of Batman V Superman, Marvel gave it a shot with their own version, also an adaptation of one of the most popular comic stories of all time. I bring up DC because it's hard to think about Civil War without thinking of Batman V Superman because of how similar they are, and how close their release dates were. And it's quite clear that part of what made Civil War great was that it succeeded where Batman V Superman failed. This review is not just hating on DC, but it really is important. Right when this movie came out, the disappointment from BvS was still fresh on our minds. But enough about BvS, on to Civil War.
Marvel has two types of movies, the mystical, cosmic ones and the earth-based ones. This is clearly the latter. It feels more like Winter Soldier than any other Marvel movie, and not just because it's a Captain America movie. There's a lot of talk about the politics within the MCU's world, which is vital to the plot. The Avengers are torn as to whether they should be put in check or not. For those who may not be interested in fictional politics, this will be rather boring. It's kind of like the politics in the Star Wars Prequels, only with way better writing. The Sokovia Accords are something interesting to thing about though. What if this was your world? Would you want them kept in their place?
The characters in this movie is the most important aspect. You have the clear division between Cap and Iron Man, where the tension they built over the previous few movies destroys their friendship. At the end of the movie when they're fighting each other, it is actually sad. You saw them build a relationship over the past few movies, and now look at them. Of course, this movie's show stealer was Black Panther. Wow. Everyone knew he would be a fun character to watch, but he was much better than anticipated. The way his character develops makes for a very great sub-plot, which this movie definitely needs. Zemo is one of Marvel's best villains. He has no powers, no super-suit, no magic weapon, none of that. All he has is an idea and some Soviet secrets, and you could very well argue that he wins in the end. There's an interesting relationship between Scarlet Witch and Vision, where she takes Cap's side to and Vision takes Tony's, seeming more like a robot but yet with a bit of humanity in him. Most of the rest of the Avengers are just there for comic relief, like Ant-Man and Spider-Man. That's welcome though. Most of this movie takes itself quite seriously, and the humor helps keep the mood up.
The action scenes are fantastic. The airport battle is the best MCU action scene (haven't seen Infinity War yet), and it's not even close. It goes on for 15 minutes, and it's fun to watch, climactic, and has some great lines thrown in. The final battle was epic, emotional, and a great end to a great movie. If there is one thing to complain about, the movie's a tad bit long. It's just over 2 and a half hours. It's still a great movie, and one of my favorite MCU films to date. Team Cap!