So much in it past just the amazing characters and stories

Rating: 10/10 (7 September 2016)

The trailer for this looked brilliant but I had pretty low expectations for some reason. Maybe I felt it was a bit contrived, generating a bit of excitement wit two main protagonists rather than one. And for the record I thought the first Avengers film was great, the second one pretty good although the long fight at the end in 3D made me want to just shut my eyes and go to sleep - too much for too long. But this in my opinion is the best of the Avengers films so far. The new characters were all brilliant, solid etc. Black Panther, Spiderman and Ant-Man all brought something unique and genuine and believable. Added value to the Avengers Universe. But the story is only really made possible by the baddie of the movie, Zeno, I think he's called. Yes, we get distracted by all the superhero stuff inevitably, but he brought an intensely human aspect to the movie. No super-robot, killer aliens, or universal tyrants. Just a guy looking to use the truth. He says something like, "a civilisation that is beaten can rise again. One that destroys itself from the inside out is gone forever." One of his great lines that adds dimensions of relevance to everybody in the the weird, corrupt, destructive and vengeful world we live in. I genuinely think this movie is, dare I say it, political. Also about forgiveness, friendship, rage, hurt, family, responsibility, recovery. I don't think it deals with these themes in a superficial way either. Genuine quality that can be enjoyed in so many different ways. Only slight negative is when it starts talking about the legality of the Avengers actions. eg. When they are locked up it is because they are criminals. Not signing, doesn't make them criminals. Not even sure the treaty was completed. So is a dubious assumption of authority. With the next bunch of films likely to deal with those power stones, and Thanos, I can't see how we are going to have such a grounded and relevant superhero movie for a long time. I really fought for Batman v Superman's corner but having re-watched Civil War, there is no comparison.