This One Owns the Hype

Rating: 9/10 (7 May 2016)

Long story short, Civil War delivers on expectations in a way that one might be hesitant to hope for. It's basically everything that it needs to be, and those are a lot of things. Wrapping up the excellent Captain America trilogy with heart and integrity; evolving the Avengers as a team; and introducing new characters Black Panther and Spider-Man in ways that build momentum and interest for their own respective, upcoming films.
This is one of the most packed, busy films that I have ever watched, so much so that it could be a point of criticism if it wasn't handled so well, if the many parallel stories weren't woven together with such grace and sensitivity. Terrific job by the writers, directors and editors. This is how it's done, and even though it is a Captain America film, it's also the best Avengers film yet.
Action, humor, philosophical discussions about superheroing, tension, emotion, it's all here. I might not be disposed to hand out a perfect ten/ten score, but really I emerged from this screening satisfied by the experience and energized for the next one. It's beating a dead horse to say so, but a certain other big film this year failed hard to elicit those two things in me. Civil War, on the other hand, gets it done with style and substance. Very good stuff.