What's so civil about war anyway ?

Rating: 8/10 (16 May 2016)

Marvel's path to comic-book film dominance was made a great deal easier after DC's Batman V Superman virtually took a giant dump in the pockets of those that paid for their tickets last March. Nonetheless, after 2015's bland Avengers sequel I was a little apprehensive about the quality that would be presented in Civil War, these concerns were soon forgotten about. With the Russo Brothers at the helm, as expected, Civil War is essentially a hybrid of previous films; The Avengers and Winter Soldier. The action scenes are grounded in a contextual reality that is reminiscent of Winter Soldier but incorporates the ensemble cast with a fluidity similar to the Avengers Assemble. The finished product is an extremely well balanced action film that keeps your attention from beginning to end and considering this is Marvel's longest film to date, it achieves this with a certain sense of passivity. The film is proficient at preserving the relationships that it has established throughout it's predecessors while harmlessly introducing MCU newbies Black Panther and Spiderman. The casting of these two characters is impeccable and I eagerly await the solo films that will ensue. Any criticisms that arise throughout the film are of the nitpicking variety and mostly consist of some convenient plot points and the occasional flat scene. Civil War justly deserves a seat in the higher echelons of the already over-saturated genre and the Russo Brothers have set the standard for all future Marvel films.