The first Superhero movie with no villain

Rating: 8/10 (1 May 2016)

No doubt about it, this film is something new that has never been done before. And it is done with elegance, sophistication and intelligence. For this CA:CW is the first superhero film ever created that effectively has no "baddie" in it.
Now that's a milestone in the genre because as we all know, it's generally the quality of the villain (not the hero) which defines how successful a hero flick will be in the marketplace.
CA:CW sets out more like a bond film than a hero flick. Espionage and politics reign supreme and for a while there, it can be difficult to follow for many of us film goers used to letting hero flicks "just wash over us" without having to use our brains.
But have patience punters during the first hour because it DOES all come together wonderfully in the end and there are very few strings left untied by credit roll time.
CA:CW takes the new "post modern, human hero" thing to a new level. Finally, we see that these heroes can and do have their limits. They CAN be beaten, they DO get hurt. I guess when you're in the Marvel universe and have so many of them, you can afford to lose some along the way.
The biggest surprise (SPOILER ALERT!) is how the whole film builds to make us think there is about to be a typical showdown between the Avengers and a group of mysterious "baddies" - only to find that these so called "baddies" have all now been taken out with a single shot each as they lay in their beds! As with most Marvel Universe stuff, this film builds a framework for future films yet to come.
CA:CW is the film that you and I always dreamed of having been made when we watched these things as kids. We would all just sit there and wonder how these heroes would survive in real life, and wish that someone would just "take out" the baddie for us quick smart so the rest of the movie could then give us an insight into the hero's loves, lives and the way they manage being heroes in a complex world.
Despite the slow and complex start, CA:CW will not disappoint. However the more Marvel make this kind of stuff, the more they put these characters in straight jackets for future films. I guess they don't care because when it comes to Stan Lee, there's plenty of heroes out there still "in the can" yet to open up.
Oh and one more thing : Designed by Owen Paterson! ANOTHER Aussie LEGEND (most well known for designing the Matrix films) and from the same mold as Colin Gibson (most recently winning big time for Mad Max / Fury Road). Good on ya mate.. no less than total world domination will do now eh. Maybe we should include Captain Invincible?...
ZM