Funny, Smart, and Great Character Development

Rating: 9/10 (5 May 2016)

Captain America: Civil War is in my opinion the best Marvel Studios film to date, I do not say that lightly. I loved Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Avengers, but Civil War does everything that Marvel has needed to do for a while. Civil War is perfectly written, crafted with care and heart, and feature brilliant character development. All things considered Civil War is a feat, because it finally shows that Marvel is willing to take some risks, all the while remaining true to what has made their films so enjoyable.
When looking at Civil War, in specific the story, it's almost perfect. The story serves as a culmination of all the events that have occurred in the ever expanding marvel cinematic universe. The great thing about this film is it's the first comic book film to intelligently address the issue of how do people respond to the seemingly endless carnage created by the main characters. Such a simple idea is perfectly applied create a thought provoking movie where every action has a repercussion.
The brilliance of this film can't be understated, because the politics within the film are fictional, but feel realistic, and are dominated by shades of grey. The film finds a way to be more brave than any of the previous marvel films by taking risks and attacking deep issues, but keeps the iconic sense of humor marvel has become known for. It should be noted that the film's not dark or anything, but it does attack complex themes, and conveys a surprising amount of emotional depth for a summer blockbuster. When you consider the density of the story and the amount of characters featured it's amazing that the film worked as well as it did.
That brings me to what I consider the most impressive element of the entire film, the character development. It's difficult to have a film with as many characters as this film has, and make every character feel well developed, but this film does that, more so it makes you feel for characters who are brawling with each other. The acting was one reason the characters feel so well developed as the actors brought small nuances that sold the characters that much more, and while Chris Evans is great in this film the real superstar is Robert Downey Jr., who brings so many emotions to his performance in this film. This is in my opinion the best portrayal of Iron Man since his original film, but the irony is that the show stealer is Spider-Man who marvel nailed.
For those who enjoy films that are funny, touching, action-packed, or just good stories this film won't disappoint. This film is what Batman v. Superman should have been, however is even more impressive because the film finds a way to juggle so many different tasks, and does it well. Captain America: Civil War is one of those great films that everybody can watch and enjoy for different reasons. If you like movies of this genre, check Civil War out because it's one of the best in recent memory.